http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/matter_energy/aviation/ Aviation news. Read the latest in aviation, from bird-sized airplanes with shape-shifting wings and thinking mini-helicopters to liquid fuel-powered scramjets and more. en-us Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:05:01 EDT Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/matter_energy/aviation/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081008231029.htm NASA scientists developing the next generation of exploration vehicles and heat shields for NASA's Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle experienced "Christmas in July" when they uncrated the heat shields used on the Apollo missions some 35 years ago. These shields now are being analyzed to help with the development and engineering process. Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081008231029.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081001093239.htm A new method of forecasting clear air turbulence will be published this week in the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences. The research, led by a scientist at the University of Georgia, could help pilots chart new courses around these patches of rough but clear air that can turn an otherwise unremarkable flight into a nightmare. Thu, 09 Oct 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081001093239.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081007102843.htm New lightweight and portable robot is designed to perforate holes in large-scale aeronautic components, such as aircraft wing spars, during their assembly stage. The main innovation that the robot brings is its mobility – enabling the aircraft component being worked on to be fixed to its tool holder while the robot moves over the part. Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081007102843.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081005192357.htm NASA is developing technologies that will allow lunar landers to automatically identify and navigate to the location of a safe landing site while detecting landing hazards during the final descent to the surface. This is important because future lunar missions will need this capability to be able to land safely near specific resources that are located in potentially hazardous terrain. Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081005192357.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081006112101.htm Researchers have developed a low-cost, high-resolution imaging system that can be attached to a helicopter to create a complete and detailed picture of an area devastated by a hurricane or other natural disaster. The resulting visual information can be used to estimate the number of storm refugees and assess the need for health and humanitarian services. Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081006112101.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081002103649.htm Scientists have reached back in time 115 million years to one of the most successful flying creatures in Earth's history -- the pterodactyl -- to conjure a robotic spy plane with next-generation capabilities. Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081002103649.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081002172253.htm Researchers are developing a new robotic system to service more than 8,000 satellites now orbiting the Earth, beyond the flight range of ground-based repair operations. Currently, when the high-flying celestial objects malfunction -- or simply run out of fuel -- they become "space junk" cluttering the cosmos. Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081002172253.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080929163717.htm Researchers are developing innovative honeycomb structures that could make possible a new approach to noise reduction in aircraft. Composed of many tiny tubes, the structures can reduce sound more effectively than conventional methods. Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080929163717.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080926120537.htm Two experiments developed at the Naval Research Laboratory are ready for payload integration following a fast-paced program of development and testing. The Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) and the Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS) are scheduled to launch in September 2009 on the demonstration flight of the Japanese H-ll Transfer Vehicle. Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080926120537.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080917175046.htm Iowa State University's Song-Charng Kong and his students are working to reduce emissions in diesel engines, develop a computer model of a gasoline engine and optimize new engine technologies. The results could be cleaner, more efficient engines in our cars and trucks. Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080917175046.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080919073321.htm You might think that shaking and freezing a state-of-the-art, meticulously crafted machine is a bad idea. But when it comes to firing telescopes and their instruments into the frigid cold of space, the more you test your hardware, the better. Tue, 23 Sep 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080919073321.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080915164550.htm In an advance toward introduction of an amazing new kind of internal combustion engine, researchers in China are reporting development and use of a new and more accurate computer model to assess performance of the so-called free-piston linear alternator (FPLA). Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080915164550.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172421.htm Researchers are developing an air traffic control system that can track multiple flight locations and changing weather conditions and help controllers optimize traffic flow and air safety. Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172421.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080908105402.htm An aircraft is held together by hundreds of thousands of rivets. Fully automatic machines install rivet holes and rivets with precision in numerous materials. A new hybrid technology combines this mechanical joining technique with adhesive bonding. Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080908105402.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902171117.htm Stanford computer scientists have developed an artificial intelligence system that enables robotic helicopters to teach themselves to fly difficult stunts by watching other helicopters. The result is an autonomous helicopter than can perform a complete airshow of complex tricks on its own. The airshow is an important demonstration of "apprenticeship learning," in which robots learn by observing an expert, rather than by having software engineers write instructions from scratch. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902171117.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080808104927.htm Flying downwind from Chinese mainland, unmanned aerial vehicles will measure emissions of soot and other forms of black carbon during China's "great shutdown." Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080808104927.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717210023.htm Materials that can stop a crack and then self-heal have been brought a step closer to reality. New research will focus on carbon fiber polymer composites - materials made by combining extremely stiff and strong fibers with polymers to create strong, durable and lightweight materials. These are particularly important in the aerospace and transport industries, which use carbon fiber composites to make aircraft wings, helicopter rotor blades and ship hulls. Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717210023.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080722085558.htm Engineers have made a new tiny DelFly Micro air vehicle. This successor to the DelFly I and II weighs barely 3 grams, and with its flapping wings is very similar to a dragonfly. Ultra-small, remote-controlled micro aircraft with cameras, such as this DelFly, may well be used in the future for observation flights in difficult-to-reach or dangerous areas. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080722085558.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717134523.htm Scientists have created an instrument designed to help determine the shapes and sizes of tiny ice crystals typical of those found in high-altitude clouds, down to the micron level (comparable to the tiniest cells in the human body), according to a new study. The data produced using this instrument likely will help improve computer models used to predict climate change. Sun, 20 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717134523.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080709233023.htm Sixty-one students from 14 colleges and universities around the globe have imagined what the next generation of airliners and cargo planes may look like. Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080709233023.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080703113646.htm Space physicists report that the Voyager 2 spacecraft, which has been traveling outward from the sun for 31 years, has made the first direct observations of the solar wind termination shock, according to an article in the journal Nature. Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080703113646.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080617120433.htm Early-career engineers at Lockheed Martin who are also earning engineering degrees at Cornell broke the world amateur high-altitude balloon record in a recent near-space flight that exceeded 125,000 feet. The students' flight beat the previous amateur altitude record by nearly 5,000 feet. Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080617120433.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080614104320.htm NASA has awarded a contract to Oceaneering International Inc. of Houston, for the design, development and production of a new spacesuit system. The spacesuit will protect astronauts during Constellation Program voyages to the International Space Station and, by 2020, the surface of the moon. Sun, 15 Jun 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080614104320.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611135049.htm Flying saucers may soon be more fact than mere science fiction. A mechanical and aerospace engineering professor has submitted a patent application for a circular, spinning aircraft design reminiscent of the spaceships seen in countless Hollywood films. The proposed prototype is small -- the aircraft will measure less than six inches across -- and will be efficient enough to be powered by on-board batteries. Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611135049.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080606091445.htm It's Sunday afternoon. Thousands of fans cheer wildly as race cars fly by at speeds nearing 200 mph for 200 laps. They whiz down the pit road making pit stops, changing tires and refueling. Only, the tanks are not being filled with gas; they're being filled with air. That scenario may sound futuristic, but it may not be long before we see air-powered engines take to the track. A group of mechanical engineering students have already started the journey down that road. Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080606091445.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080528095919.htm Scientists have demonstrated for the first time a high-performance infrared imager, based on a Type II superlattice, which looks at wavelengths 20 times longer than visible light. The technology has the potential for broad applications in the detection of terrorist activities, such as use in night vision, target identification, and missile tracking. Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080528095919.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080519105052.htm A new technique that mimics healing processes found in nature could enable damaged aircraft to mend themselves automatically, even during a flight. As well as the obvious safety benefits, this breakthrough could make it possible to design lighter airplanes in future. This would lead to fuel savings, cutting costs for airlines and passengers and reducing carbon emissions too. Mon, 19 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080519105052.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509102949.htm NASA engineers Thursday successfully completed the first series of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets, key components of NASA's Constellation Program. Ares I will launch the Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the International Space Station and then to the moon by 2020. The Ares V will carry cargo and components into orbit for trips to the moon and later to Mars. Sat, 10 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509102949.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430202832.htm Popular wisdom says that aircraft provide the perfect environment for spreading disease, but few studies exist to confirm or deny this suspicion. Now, a team of researchers has measured concentrations of bacteria in the cabin air of 12 commercial passenger aircraft, and found that flying may be safer than we think. Fri, 02 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430202832.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411103051.htm Technical structures may soon have their own nervous system. Developers and users expect this to bring greater safety, maintenance activities only when required, and a more efficient use of material and energy. Sophisticated systems of sensors, actuators and signal processing devices detect cracks, rust and other defects at an early stage in order to prevent damage -- especially in critical places that are difficult to reach. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411103051.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411092341.htm World War II-era physiologists helped solve physiological problems related to flight, research that helped pave the way for an Allied victory in the air. Physiologists trained a 145-pound St. Bernard dog, Major, to parachute -- simulating the jump of a man. Major wore protective clothing and an oxygen mask and dog paddled during his descent. Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411092341.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410115330.htm Knowing how powerful a hurricane is, before it hits land, can help to save lives or to avoid the enormous costs of an unnecessary evacuation. So far, there's only one surefire way of measuring the strength of a hurricane: Sending airplanes to fly right through the most intense winds and into the eye of the storm, carrying out wind-speed measurements as they go. Researchers think there may be a better, cheaper way of determining how powerful a hurricane is. The technique involves listening for the storms with acoustic sensors. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410115330.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080409150058.htm Researchers have discovered why rocket engines are occasionally destroyed by mysterious waves of sound. The new imaging techniques allow scientists to observe and understand the destructive waves. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080409150058.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401110213.htm Researchers have fabricated an aircraft wing that immediately detects any material damage. A second new development in construction materials made by the same organization is a novel fiber-composite material with a fiber content that can extend to 50 or 60 percent by volume. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401110213.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080330144843.htm A six-inch robotic spy plane modeled after a bat is being developed to gather data from sights, sounds and smells in urban combat zones and transmit information back to a soldier in real time. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080330144843.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080326225055.htm Everyone on board an Scandinavian Airline System (SAS) plane died when it collided with a light aircraft and exploded in a luggage hanger in Milan in 2001. The smaller plane had taxied wrongly and ended up on the runway where the SAS aircraft was taking off. The following year, two planes collided in mid-air over Überlingen in the south of Germany on the edge of Lake Constance. One was a Russian passenger flight from Moscow to Barcelona, while the other was a cargo plane heading for Belgium from the Persian Gulf. Seventy-one people died. Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080326225055.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318100925.htm Scientists have completed the first ever series of flights by autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles in Antarctica. This is the first time that unpiloted UAVs have been used in the Antarctic and the successful flights open up a major new technique for gathering scientific data in the harshest and remotest environment on Earth. Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318100925.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317123255.htm Engineers are developing a technology to coat jet engine turbine blades with zirconium dioxide -- commonly called zirconia, the stuff of synthetic diamonds -- to combat high-temperature corrosion. The zirconia chemically converts sand and other corrosive particles that build up on the blade into a new, protective outer coating. In effect, the surface of the engine blade constantly renews itself. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317123255.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080311195746.htm Researchers have developed a wide-angle camera that will be able to provide security forces with the ability to monitor large areas through high-resolution images taken from a satellite or an airborne craft. If you point a large number of lenses toward a common point, and then make a small correction on each of the lenses, you provide a camera with capabilities that far surpass existing technologies. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080311195746.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080307104712.htm Dangerous vortexes form when an aircraft takes off or lands. A combination of optimised numerical methods, a supercomputer and highly developed visualisation methods revealed how this process generates primary and secondary vortexes, and how the secondary vortexes cause the primary ones to decay. Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080307104712.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304192104.htm The RoboSwift, the micro-aircraft inspired by the swift, has made its first flight. The small, quiet aircraft is equipped with observation cameras that can be used in the future to study birds or to conduct surveillance of groups of people or vehicles. Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304192104.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229135215.htm Honey bees and hummingbirds can hover like helicopters for minutes at a time, sucking the juice from their favorite blossoms while staying aloft in a swirl of vortices. But the unsteady air flows they create for mid-air suspension -- which hold the secrets to tiny robotic flying machines -- have also been observed for the first time in the flight of larger and heavier animals, according to USC aerospace engineer Geoff Spedding. Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229135215.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220121313.htm Many technologies have become so advanced that they've been miniaturized to take up less space and weigh less. That's what happened to detector controls and data conversion electronics on the James Webb Space Telescope being built by Northrop Grumman. The electronics will convert analog signals to digital signals and provide better images to Earth. Sat, 23 Feb 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220121313.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080213090530.htm Night-time noise from aircraft or traffic can increase a person's blood pressure even if it does not wake them. Scientists monitored 140 sleeping volunteers in their homes near London Heathrow and three other major European airports. The researchers measured the volunteers' blood pressure remotely at 15-minute intervals and then analyzed how this related to the noise recorded in the volunteers' bedrooms. Sun, 17 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080213090530.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080204172203.htm Natural flyers like birds, bats and insects outperform man-made aircraft in aerobatics and efficiency. Engineers are studying these animals as a step toward designing flapping-wing planes with wingspans smaller than a deck of playing cards. Sat, 09 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080204172203.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125214750.htm A plant pathologist known for his investigation of microbial life in the lower atmosphere is using unmanned aerial vehicles in a new, three-year study to detect, monitor, and forecast the spread of a fungus-like organism responsible for the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s and 1850s. This famine resulted in the deaths of more than 1 million people in Ireland and caused at least 1.5 million more to flee the country. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125214750.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125232911.htm By monitoring tiny fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field caused by a passing plane, a team of European researchers has developed an innovative system to increase airport safety even in the worst weather conditions. Using magnetic field detectors they have developed a unique system to pinpoint the location of aircraft at airports even in places where other traffic monitoring systems face difficulties. Sun, 27 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125232911.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071221175327.htm You think the switch from typewriter to computer was a revolution? The next stage could see many of us interacting with computers inserted into our very clothes. A new project is exploring a range of applications where wearable technology could significantly improve productivity and even help save lives. "Assimilate, assimilate!" Trekkies out there will recognize the Borg mantra for the bloodcurdling 'assimilation' of humans by machines. On the other side of the sci-fi divide, many may recall Star Wars' recently revived Darth Vader, the half-man, half-machine dark lord of intergalactic evil. Sat, 05 Jan 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071221175327.htm