Aerospace Blog

I just read an article in R&D (Research and Development) Magazine's newsletter, announcing new coatings which could make an enormous difference in aviation. The study looked into nano-particle sizes vs. icing when supercooled water hit a surface. Testing included an aluminum plate with the coating on one face (and hanging on a string to permit it to turn freely), and a TV satellite dish with half of its face coated, both left outdoors during a freezing rainstorm. The coated portions are ice-free, while the untreated ones are covered – a spectacular difference.

Click here for the short version. The article itself was published yesterday (Tuesday November 3), and is already available on line. It appears that leading edges could be painted with this coating, and a huge safety improvement would result. This is far from a commercial product, but the results are so spectacular that I expect to see intensive development.

Editor's Note: CR4 would like to thank Ron Darner for sharing this story. A longtime CR4er, Ron is also the newsletter editor for Chapter 320 (Watertown, Wisconsin) of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). If you'd like to subscribe to Ron's newsletter, click here to send him a private message on CR4.

This morning, NASA engineers celebrated the launch of the Ares I-X test rocket from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The first flight test for NASA's Constellation program lasted only six minutes, but marked "a huge step forward for NASA's exploration goals," exclaimed Doug Cooke, association administrator for the space agency's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.

Wednesday's 11:30 AM (EDT) launch came a day after bad weather forced NASA to scrub a Tuesday morning liftoff. As the 327-ft. tall Ares I-X rocket blasted off into the Florida sky, observers such as CR4's own Anonymous Hero captured images of the event. According to the NASA website, the Ares I-X test vehicle produced 2.6 million pounds of thrust to propel the rocket to nearly 3 g's and Mach 4.76 – just shy of hypersonic speed.

After the separation of its first-stage, the Ares I-X rocket capped its easterly flight at a suborbital altitude of 150,000 feet. Parachutes were deployed so that NASA can recover both the booster and a shuttle-reusable solid rocket motor. The first stage of Ares-IX also included a simulated component with active avionics. Also aboard Ares were an upper stage simulator and a Orion crew module / launch abort system simulator.

According to NASA, the purposes of the Ares test flight were to demonstrate and collect data regarding roll and vehicle control; staging and separation; vehicle integration, assembly, and launch operations; aerodynamic, thermal, and vehicle loads, and first-stage reentry dynamics for recovery.

More Images

Thanks to Joby Minor, a photographer who currently works for NASA in Huntsville, Alabama, CR4 has permission to bring you the above images from the Ares I-X rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (All photos courtesy of Joby Minor – copyright 2009).

Would you like to see more images of the Ares I-X? Then click here to visit the complete album on CR4_News, our Facebook page.

Note: You don't have to belong to Facebook to view these extraordinary photographs. But if you are a member, we invite you to become a fan of CR4_News there. Just click the "Become a Fan" link. It's that simple.

Additional Reading:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/flighttests/aresIx/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/271630main_aresIx_flyer_090408.pdf

http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/396682main_Ares_I-X-pk.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constellation_program

Ready to fly away from your cubicle yet? Ron Darner, a longtime CR4er who serves as the newsletter editor for Chapter 320 (Watertown, Wisconsin) of the Experimental Aircraft Organization (EAA), is ready to take us another virtual aerospace tour. So fasten your seatbelts, folks. This time, we're flying with warplanes.

Code One

Here's a link that will occupy hours of your time, if you let it. Lockheed-Martin has a (usually) quarterly publication called Code One: An Airpower Magazine. The link I was sent (click here) connects to a Special Cockpit Edition from January of 2007. The page displays thumbnail images of 28 aircraft, ranging from the MB-2 to the F-35 Lightning II.

To view an aircraft's cockpit, just click the thumbnail image of the plane. The new page that displays includes a pilot's-eye view of the cockpit, either in color or black-and-white. There's also a brief description of the aircraft, as well as details such as the manufacturer, type, number build, first flight, and in-service dates.

For example, if you're unfamiliar with the MB-2, you can learn that this open-cockpit airplane was "the first US-designed bomber to be produced in quantity". Built originally by Martin but also license-build by three other companies, the MB-2 featured a "large control wheel (that) was the result of the completely manual, unboosted cable and pushrod control systems of the era".

The Special Cockpit Edition of Code One is the magazine's first-quarter publication from 2007. The website also has archived editions going back to Volume 1, Number 1 (January 1986). Only a few articles are available on-line, however, although the table of contents is shown. In later editions, more or all of the magazine's content is accessible. Not every article involves Lockheed-Martin aircraft, either. For example, the April 1993 edition details the MIG-29 Fulcrum and even has an article about the MIG's designer!

Editor's Note: CR4 would like to thank Ron Darner for sharing this story. If you'd like to subscribe to Ron's newsletter, click here to send him a private message on CR4.

The big day has arrived. It's time to get your pilot's license. If you feel like I did, you're scared beyond belief and are studying furiously. Don't worry. Let me explain. If you've been flying consistently - and consistently well - during your training, then you'll be fine.

By now, your instructor should have gone over everything you'll need to know. Plus, you've probably completed a review lesson in the air to cover possible situations on the exam. The only thing you can do now is make some quick preparations before the exam, perhaps some short field or soft field take-offs and landings, just to ease your nerves and reassure yourself that you can do this. Otherwise, if you don't know it by now, you probably won't.

Stay positive. If your instructor signed-off on your readiness for the checkride, then you probably know what you'll need. Remember, too, that if you fail, your instructor looks bad. There's no incentive for a flight instructor to sign you off if you're not ready.

The Oral Exam

The oral exam was probably what I was most nervous about. I was confident in my ability to fly, but there were so many situations in my oral exam review book that I needed to review. But don't worry. An examiner isn't cruel and heartless. You probably won't be asked some obscure question that even your flight instructor couldn't answer.

Simply put, your examiner just wants to know that you can fly the plane and be safe about it. You'll probably be asked about the most common rules and regulations and a lot of navigation questions. There will also be questions about weather you'll encounter, and other common practical procedures while flying. This doesn't mean that you don't need to study all that you should, but it's merely to illustrate that your examiner isn't out to get you.

If you don't know the answer to a question, don't try to bluff your way through it or make something up. Just admit to that you don't know the answer and would like to learn what you need to know. If your examiner is anything like mine, he'll appreciate this response and gladly cover that material. Don't do this for too many questions, of course, but for a couple it's acceptable.

The Hardest Questions

As I was taking my exam, I was surprised at how well it was going. I was expecting the worst - the hardest maneuvers, the hardest questions. So I was pleasantly surprised when most of the questions on my exam were common, and taken out of practical knowledge. Plus, I had practiced most of the maneuvers a million times. That's not to say that my instructor didn't throw me a curveball now and then, but it was really just to make sure I was still on my toes.

So don't worry too much about your exam. If you're nervous and you show it, this may cause your examiner to think it's because you're not fully prepared. Relax and breathe. Before you know it, you'll be holding your pilot's license in your hand.

Previous blog entries:

Learning to Fly: Getting Lost (Part 2)

Learning to Fly: Getting Lost (Part 1)

Learning to Fly: Take Your Seat

Learning to Fly: Going Solo

Learning to Fly: Choosing a Plane

Learning to Fly: Ground School

Learning to Fly: Meet Tinypilot18

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P.S. Thanks all for reading and taking interest my Learning to Fly blogs, I very much enjoyed writing them, and hope you enjoyed reading them. =)

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Riding atop a modified Boeing 747, the space shuttle Discovery recently returned to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Ten days earlier, America's oldest orbiter had landed at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California after inclement weather prevented Discovery's direct return to Florida's Space Coast.

Discovery's cross-country trip aboard one of NASA's two shuttle carrier aircraft (SCA) was less dramatic than its descent from space, but was still filled with complexity. The orbiter's two-day trek included stops in Amarillo and Fort Worth, Texas, where the SCA was refueled; as well as an overnight stop at Barksdale AFB in Shreveport, Louisiana.

The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA)

NASA's critics sometimes note the number of stops that the shuttle carrier aircraft (SCA) makes, but the additional drag and weight from an orbiter limits the SCA's range to just 1,000 nautical miles (1,850 km). Although NASA once tried equipping an SCA with aerial refueling equipment, tests were halted after minor cracks were discovered on the plane's tailfin.

To account for the orbiter's considerable weight, the shuttle carrier aircraft (SCA) has been modified extensively. On the plane's main deck, only the first class section (in the nose) isn't stripped to the bare metal. Mounting struts and vertical stabilizers have been added, the fuselage strengthened, and the avionics and engines upgraded.

The Mate-Demate Device (MDD)

NASA's mate-demate device (MDD) is a massive, gantry-like structure that is used to mate and demate the space shuttle and the SCA. Located at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, the MDD consists of two 100-foot towers, each with multiple vertical work-platforms. The MDD also features a horizontal platform that cantilevers outward, guiding a lift beam that attaches to the space shuttle.

Equipped with three hoists, the lift beam is designed to raise and lower the orbiter. Two hoists connect to the aft portion of the beam. The third hoist attaches to the beam's forward section. Although each hoist has a 100,000-lb. lift capability, the total lifting capability of all three systems when used simultaneously is 240,000 lbs.

Images from Joby Minor

Thanks to Joby Minor, a photographer who currently works for NASA in Huntsville, Alabama, CR4 has permission to bring you the above images of the space shuttle Discovery, the SCA, and the MDD. (All photos courtesy of Joby Minor – copyright 2009).

Would you like to see more images of the Discovery's return to Florida? Then click here to visit the complete album on CR4_News, our Facebook page.

Note: You don't have to belong to Facebook to view these extraordinary photographs. But if you are a member, we invite you to become a fan of CR4_News there. Just click the "Become a Fan" link. It's that simple.

Resources:

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/090921-sts128-ferryflight-home.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle_Carrier_Aircraft

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-014-DFRC.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Discovery