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At least 181 records · Page 10

Procedures for estimating the frequency of commercial airline flights encountering high cabin ozone levels

Three analytical problems in estimating the frequency at which commercial airline flights will encounter high cabin ozone levels are formulated and solved: namely, estimating flight-segment mean levels, estimating maximum-per-flight levels, and estimating the maximum average level over a specified flight interval. For each problem, solution procedures are given for different levels of input information - from complete cabin ozone data, which provides a direct solution, to limited ozone information, such as ambient ozone means and standard deviations, with which several assumptions are necessary to obtain the required estimates. Each procedure is illustrated by an example case calculation that uses simultaneous cabin and ambient ozone data obtained by the NASA Global Atmospheric Sampling Program. Critical assumptions are discussed and evaluated, and the several solutions for each problem are compared. Example calculations are also performed to illustrate how variations in lattitude, altitude, season, retention ratio, flight duration, and cabin ozone limits affect the estimated probabilities.

Holdeman, J. D.↗

Global sensing of gaseous and aerosol trace species using automated instrumentation on 747 airliners

The Global Atmospheric Sampling Program (GASP) is collecting and analyzing data on gaseous and aerosol trace contaminants in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Measurements are obtained from automated systems installed on four 747 airliners flying global air routes. Improved instruments and analysis techniques are providing an expanding data base for trace species including ozone, carbon monoxide, water vapor, condensation nuclei, and mass concentration of sulfates and nitrates. Simultaneous measurements of several trace species obtained frequently can be used to identify the source of the air mass as being typically tropospheric or stratospheric.

Perkins, P. J.↗

Flight selection at United Airlines

Airline pilot selection proceedures are discussed including psychogical and personality tests, psychomotor performance requirements, and flight skills evaluation. Necessary attitude and personality traits are described and an outline of computer selection, testing, and training techniques is given.

Traub, W.↗

Circumpolar measurements of ozone, particles, and carbon monoxide from a commercial airliner

Trace constituent data are presented from the unique flight of an airliner around the world over both poles. Relatively high resolution and simultaneous measurements of ozone, carbon monoxide, light-scattering particles, condensation nuclei, and meteorological parameters were obtained. The mutual variations of the data in the polar stratospheres, and in the tropical upper troposphere, are discussed in their meteorological setting. The data from the Arctic lower stratosphere are consistent with a tropospheric source of condensation nuclei, but not of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide mixing ratios in the Antarctic stratosphere averaged 44 ppbv. In the tropical troposphere they averaged 66 ppbv over the Pacific versus 89 ppbv over Africa. A local area of higher concentration (115 ppbv) was encountered over tropical Africa; its possible relation to carbon monoxide production by vegetation and deep convection is discussed. Evidence was found in the tropical upper troposphere of distinct boundaries between air masses of different temperature, ozone content, and particle content.

Pratt, R.↗

NASA satellite helps airliners avoid ozone concentrations

Results from a test to determine the effectiveness of satellite data for helping airlines avoid heavy concentrations of ozone are reported. Information from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer, aboard the Nimbus-7 was transmitted, for use in meteorological forecast activities. The results show: (1) Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer profile of total ozone in the atmosphere accurately represents upper air patterns and can be used to locate meteorological activity; (2) route forecasting of highly concentrated ozone is feasible; (3) five research aircraft flights were flown in jet stream regions located by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer to determine winds, temperatures, and air composition. It is shown that the jet stream is coincides with the area of highest total ozone gradient, and low total ozone amounts are found where tropospheric air has been carried along above the tropopause on the anticyclonic side of the subtropical jet stream.

Source record↗

Preliminary Survey of Icing Conditions Measured During Routine Transcontinental Airline Operation

Icing data collected on routine operations by four DC-4-type aircraft equipped with NACA pressure-type icing-rate meters are presented as preliminary information obtained from a statistical icing data program sponsored by the NACA with the cooperation of many airline companies and the United States Air Force. The program is continuing on a much greater scale to provide large quantities of data from many air routes in the United States and overseas. Areas not covered by established air routes are also being included in the survey. The four aircraft which collected the data presented in this report were operated by United Air Lines over a transcontinental route from January through May, 1951. An analysis of the pressure-type icing-rate meter was satisfactory for collecting statistical data during routine operations. Data obtained on routine flight icing encounters from.these four instrumented aircraft, although insufficient for a conclusive statistical analysis, provide a greater quantity and considerably more realistic information than that obtained from random research flights. A summary of statistical data will be published when the information obtained daring the 1951-52 icing season and that to be obtained during the 1952-53 season can be analyzed and assembled. The 1951-52 data already analyzed indicate that the quantity, quality, and range of icing information being provided by this expanded program should afford a sound basis for ice-protection-system design by defining the important meteorological parameters of the icing cloud.

Perkins, Porter J.↗

Eastern Airlines LOFT program

Beginning with scenario design and development issues, Eastern Airlines committed itself to the full four-hour LOFT training format without the additional time for specific maneuvers. Abnormals and emergency conditions, pacing, and quiet periods are included in the scenarios which are written for the instructor to follow verbatim. Simulator capabilities, performance assessment; training vs. checking; crew composition and scheduling; satisfactory completion; the use of video performance printouts; the number of instructors; instructor training and standardization; and initial, transition, and upgrade training are discussed.

Beach, B. E.↗

An automated system for global atmospheric sampling using B-747 airliners

The global air sampling program utilizes commercial aircrafts in scheduled service to measure atmospheric constituents. A fully automated system designed for the 747 aircraft is described. Airline operational constraints and data and control subsystems are treated. The overall program management, system monitoring, and data retrieval from four aircraft in global service is described.

Lew, K. Q.↗

An analysis of airline landing flare data based on flight and training simulator measurements

Landings by experienced airline pilots transitioning to the DC-10, performed in flight and on a simulator, were analyzed and compared using a pilot-in-the-loop model of the landing maneuver. By solving for the effective feedback gains and pilot compensation which described landing technique, it was possible to discern fundamental differences in pilot behavior between the actual aircraft and the simulator. These differences were then used to infer simulator fidelity in terms of specific deficiencies and to quantify the effectiveness of training on the simulator as compared to training in flight. While training on the simulator, pilots exhibited larger effective lag in commanding the flare. The inability to compensate adequately for this lag was associated with hard or inconsistent landings. To some degree this deficiency was carried into flight, thus resulting in a slightly different and inferior landing technique than exhibited by pilots trained exclusively on the actual aircraft.

Heffley, R. K.↗

Analysis of the nature and cause of turbulence upset using airline flight records

The development and application of methods for determining aircraft motions and related winds, using data normally recorded during airline flight operations, are described. The methods are being developed, in cooperation with the National Transportation Safety Board, to aid in the analysis and understanding of circumstances associated with aircraft accidents or incidents. Data from a recent DC-10 encounter with severe, high-altitude turbulence are used to illustrate the methods. The analysis of this encounter shows the turbulence to be a series of equally spaced horizontal swirls known as 'cat's eyes' vortices. The use of flight-data analysis methods to identify this type of turbulence phenomenon is presented for the first time.

Parks, E. K.↗

Wind shear measuring on board an airliner

A measurement technique which continuously determines the wind vector on board an airliner during takeoff and landing is introduced. Its implementation is intended to deliver sufficient statistical background concerning low frequency wind changes in the atmospheric boundary layer and extended knowledge about deterministic wind shear modeling. The wind measurement scheme is described and the adaptation of apparatus onboard an A300 airbus is shown. Preliminary measurements made during level flight demonstrate the validity of the method.

Krauspe, P.↗

Planning fuel-conservative descents in an airline environmental using a small programmable calculator: Algorithm development and flight test results

A simple, airborne, flight-management descent algorithm was developed and programmed into a small programmable calculator. The algorithm may be operated in either a time mode or speed mode. The time mode was designed to aid the pilot in planning and executing a fuel-conservative descent to arrive at a metering fix at a time designated by the air traffic control system. The speed model was designed for planning fuel-conservative descents when time is not a consideration. The descent path for both modes was calculated for a constant with considerations given for the descent Mach/airspeed schedule, gross weight, wind, wind gradient, and nonstandard temperature effects. Flight tests, using the algorithm on the programmable calculator, showed that the open-loop guidance could be useful to airline flight crews for planning and executing fuel-conservative descents.

Knox, C. E.↗

An error-dependent model of instrument-scanning behavior in commercial airline pilots

A new flexible model of pilot instrument scanning behavior is presented which assumes that the pilot uses a set of deterministic scanning patterns on the pilot's perception of error in the state of the aircraft, and the pilot's knowledge of the interactive nature of the aircraft's systems. Statistical analyses revealed that a three stage Markov process composed of the pilot's three predicted lookpoints (LP), occurring 1/30, 2/30, and 3/30 of a second prior to each LP, accurately modelled the scanning behavior of 14 commercial airline pilots while flying steep turn maneuvers in a Boeing 737 flight simulator. The modelled scanning data for each pilot were not statistically different from the observed scanning data in comparisons of mean dwell time, entropy, and entropy rate. These findings represent the first direct evidence that pilots are using deterministic scanning patterns during instrument flight. The results are interpreted as direct support for the error dependent model and suggestions are made for further research that could allow for identification of the specific scanning patterns suggested by the model.

Jones, D. H.↗

Comparative analysis of operational forecasts versus actual weather conditions in airline flight planning, volume 2

The impact of more timely and accurate weather data on airline flight planning with the emphasis on fuel savings is studied. This volume of the report discusses the results of Task 2 of the four major tasks included in the study. Task 2 compares various catagories of flight plans and flight tracking data produced by a simulation system developed for the Federal Aviation Administrations by SRI International. (Flight tracking data simulate actual flight tracks of all aircraft operating at a given time and provide for rerouting of flights as necessary to resolve traffic conflicts.) The comparisons of flight plans on the forecast to flight plans on the verifying analysis confirm Task 1 findings that wind speeds are generally underestimated. Comparisons involving flight tracking data indicate that actual fuel burn is always higher than planned, in either direction, and even when the same weather data set is used. Since the flight tracking model output results in more diversions than is known to be the case, it was concluded that there is an error in the flight tracking algorithm.

Keitz, J. F.↗

Comparative analysis of operational forecasts versus actual weather conditions in airline flight planning, volume 3

The impact of more timely and accurate weather data on airline flight planning with the emphasis on fuel savings is studied. This volume of the report discusses the results of Task 3 of the four major tasks included in the study. Task 3 compares flight plans developed on the Suitland forecast with actual data observed by the aircraft (and averaged over 10 degree segments). The results show that the average difference between the forecast and observed wind speed is 9 kts. without considering direction, and the average difference in the component of the forecast wind parallel to the direction of the observed wind is 13 kts. - both indicating that the Suitland forecast underestimates the wind speeds. The Root Mean Square (RMS) vector error is 30.1 kts. The average absolute difference in direction between the forecast and observed wind is 26 degrees and the temperature difference is 3 degree Centigrade. These results indicate that the forecast model as well as the verifying analysis used to develop comparison flight plans in Tasks 1 and 2 is a limiting factor and that the average potential fuel savings or penalty are up to 3.6 percent depending on the direction of flight.

Keitz, J. F.↗

Airline meteorological requirements

A brief review of airline meteorological/flight planning is presented. The effects of variations in meteorological parameters upon flight and operational costs are reviewed. Flight path planning through the use of meteorological information is briefly discussed.

Chandler, C. L.↗

Corporate/commuter airlines meteorological requirements

The meteorological information requirements of corporate and commuter airlines are reviewed. The skill level and needs of this class of aviator were assessed. An overview of the methodology by which meteorological data is communicated to these users is presented.

Olcott, J. W.↗

Crew coordination concepts: Continental Airlines CRM training

The outline of the crew coordination concepts at Continental airlines is: (1) Present relevant theory: Contained in a pre-work package and in lecture/discussion form during the work course, (2) Discuss case examples: Contained in the pre-work for study and use during the course; and (3) Simulate practice problems: Introduced during the course as the beginning of an ongoing process. These concepts which are designed to address the problem pilots have in understanding the interaction between situations and their own theories of practice are briefly discussed.

Christian, Darryl↗