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Copyright of Electronics & Control Systems is the property of National Aviation University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Electronics & Control Systems is the property of National Aviation University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In short, we must value critical thinking as a core combat capability and measure it. It requires the same degree of training, monitoring, and validation that flying qualification demands. The Air Force would never allow a nonqualified aviator to pilot an aircraft. The risk to individual life and equipment is too great. Similarly, we must ask, why would we be less stringent about larger situations of uncertainty that could introduce risk to thousands? In areas that demand verified critical thinking skill, why would we turn to one’s intuitive judgment that may be susceptible to unmitigated cognitive error? President John F. Kennedy once said, “Too often we. . . enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”15 As scientific studies have shown, intuitive judgment is flawed. Institutionalizing a culture of critical thinking will complement expert intuition by mitigating cognitive error and bias. In doing so, the Air Force will step toward a process that rewards true skill through measurement, accountability, feedback, and improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Takeoff and landing overruns account for most of the accidents that occur on or in the immediate vicinity of the runway, and it would cause accidental aircraft damage and loss of life. The current Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) materials are weak in water resistance and durability, expensive in acquiring and installing, and have negative environmental impacts. So it is significantly required to find a new alternative material with good mechanical properties, higher arresting coefficient and excellent environmental performance. In this article, the arresting properties of metal honeycomb material are studied. A Tire-Honeycomb material Interaction Mechanical Model (THIMM) is proposed. Combining with the dynamic model of aircraft, the theoretical model is coded by MATLAB to finish arresting simulation on aircraft B737-900ER and B727-100. In addition, finite element model of the tire-honeycomb material interaction was built to verify the correctness of the theoretical model. The results obtained by finite element simulation are in a good agreement with the theoretical results. In comparison with the results for traditional materials, the calculated results show that the honeycomb material can stop the overrunning aircraft more efficiently in the condition that the forces induced by the stopping process are safe for the passengers and aircraft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Institute, 264 accidents were identified as continued visual flight rules (VFR) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), during the past ten years. Approximately 89% of those VFR-into-IMC accidents were fatal, causing hundreds of deaths. VFR-into-IMC has been a major concern for the general aviation community, prompting focused efforts. Research, data analyses, outreach, training, and education are recommended practices to address risks associated with VFR-into-IMC. Researchers of the current study sought to evaluate the cause and effect relationship between two training protocols and weather-related posttest scores. A pretest-posttest experimental design was utilized at two testing locations. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a control group, an interactive online training group, or an interactive workshop group. An analysis of covariance was used to determine whether there was a significant difference between mean posttest scores among the experimental groups while controlling for pretest scores. The treatments did not appear to significantly increase posttest scores after controlling for pretest scores, at either experiment location. Though the results of this study did not yield anticipated findings, much was learned and potentially helpful to general aviation researchers seeking to mitigate VFR-into-IMC encounters. Recommendations for future research and practices are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control-theoretic modeling of the human operator dynamic behavior in manual control tasks has a long and rich history. In the last two decades, there has been a renewed interest in modeling the human operator. There has also been significant work on techniques used to identify the pilot model of a given structure. The purpose of this research is to attempt to go beyond identification of a pilot model based on collected experimental data and to develop a predictor of pilot behavior. Two sets of experimental data were analyzed: 1) the effects of an adaptive controller on pilot compensation during control surface failures in cruise and 2) heads-up-display concepts during takeoff and landing. A general linear in-parameter model structure is used to represent a pilot. Three different estimation methods are explored -- a gradient descent estimator, a least squares estimator with exponential forgetting, and a least squares estimator with bounded gain forgetting. This paper discusses the accuracy of each of the three methods to estimate pilot longitudinal and lateral stick input from the flight director's commanded pitch and bank attitudes and the differences in piloting techniques during takeoff, cruise, and landing phases of flight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents general assumptions and preliminary results of the studies on theoretical and practical aspects of providing selected services with alternative technical means. The study focused on the areas of aircraft application in building and utilising linear objects. The purpose of the study was based on an analysis of process-focused approach towards air services. The specificity of the assumptions in the selected areas was illustrated on the basis of examples of completed undertakings. Additionally, the article contains a list of examined factors influencing the adaptation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems as components of the model of conversion of services that could have an impact on decision-making in terms of applications of alternative air platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]