Contributor - Accidents and Regulations

Contributor - Accidents and Regulations

Gordon Gilbert

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, recently completed a six-week wind study aimed at enhancing future air taxi aircraft safety during takeoffs and landings. Included in the research were the Alta-X quadrotor VTOL and Droid 2 light airplane.
The research aims to fill knowledge gaps to resolve wind and weather unknowns at altitudes below 2,000 feet agl that could hinder advanced air mobility flights. Both remotely piloted aircraft flew repeated passes at predetermined altitudes up to 2,000 feet. The Alta-X hovered while mounted sensors obtained data on temperature, pressure, and relative humidity in addition to three-dimensional wind data.
“This multipurpose experiment tests new sensor technologies and makes a detailed study of wind flow around buildings,” said Grady Koch, the project’s principal investigator. “Ground-based support sensors include the ‘virtual tower concept,’ where we have two lidar units that use lasers to measure airflow from the ground level to 2,000 feet.”
Researchers plan to use the wind data to validate and improve modeling techniques. “Computational fluid dynamics is used for determining airflow on small features like wings on airplanes, but for this work, we are using it for a meteorological problem where you have large complex structures,” Koch said.
Findings also will be used to develop onboard processes that allow aircraft to serve as “high-precision wind sensors” and then share that data with other nearby aircraft.

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

NASA Conducts Rotorcraft Landing Wind Study

Project aims to find out how wind and weather at landing sites are affected by buildings

NASA recently completed a six-week wind study aimed at enhancing future air taxi aircraft safety during takeoffs and landings.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charlotte Bailey

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

Pentagon permission facilitates sale of Bell 412EXP and 407M

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News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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Matt Thurber

New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

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