Browse Topic: Fire
This study numerically investigates the relationship between airspeed, drop height, and ground water coverage during helicopter-based aerial firefighting. With the effect of global warming and human activities the threat of forest fires has increased and finding optimal water dumping strategies for effective suppression is a crucial part of the firefighting operations. How varying airspeed and water drop height influence water dispersion and ground coverage has been analyzed utilizing numerical simulations with the VOF model in STAR-CCM+. Findings show that to maximize firefighting efficiency, balancing two contradicting phenomena is essential. These are, minimizing ineffective mist formation due to high drop height/high airspeed and fueling of the fire from rotor downwash due to low height/low airspeed passing by over the fire zone.
Hydrogen-electric vertical takeoff and landing (H2eVTOL) (or fuel cell-electric VTOL) aircraft technologies are poised to emerge in the next coming decades and start operating from existing heliports and new vertiports. This paper assesses how key H2eVTOL design features interact with the ground infrastructure and how facility designers can address H2eVTOL specific facility requirements–especially the supply of hydrogen to the aircraft. Vertiport design should maximize compatibility are important to facilitate the accommodation of hydrogen technologies, minimize the need for extensive capital investments, and promote safety and operational efficiency. Considerations should be given to factors such as general aircraft configuration, electric and hybrid propulsion systems, and refueling infrastructure. The definition of notional aircraft concepts representing the evolution of critical VTOL aircraft over the next coming decades can help aviation facility planners and designers understand the type of vehicles they need to account for and also evaluate the future hydrogen demand. The lack of aviation-specific standards, especially when it comes to fire prevention, might adversely impact vertiports. Strategies are proposed for mitigating the effects of hydrogen operations at space-constrained facilities.
The emergence of electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) air vehicles is transforming how people and freight are moved in short distances. This transformation has a profound impact on surrounding infrastructure necessary to provide Aircraft On Ground support for eVTOLs. The hover capabilities of eVTOLs have similar operating characteristics within terminal and uncontrolled airspace. However, the need to conserve battery energy via rapid approaches and departures affects terminal airspace management. To attract eVTOL operators, existing airports, landing zones, and vertiports are modifying their infrastructure to include fixed electric charging stations, additional taxiways, upgraded fire suppression systems, separate hangers, and capable MRO facilities. Augusta Regional Airport (KAGS) is the base airport for the annual Masters Golf Tournament which experiences five times the normal airport traffic and some 40,000 commuting patrons. eVTOLs can offset land traffic issues associated with commuters and supplies. Since KAGS is centroid to 32,000 square miles of territory void of major highways, basing eVTOLs can offer expedited transit services for people and goods which will have a profound impact on the economic viability and quality of life in the area.
Advancing technology has driven continuous improvements across most aspects of human endeavors. In the time since the first modern helicopter flew in 1939, the world has seen inventions like the microwave, personal computers, cell phones, and the internet. If helicopters predate these society-changing innovations, then it stands to reason that the manner in which helicopters operate has drastically shifted as well. Specifically, this paper reviews historical concepts of operations (CONOPS) in rotorcraft aerial firefighting and analyzes where technology advancements have made an impact on firefighting operations and the performance of helicopters in suppressing fires. These shifts were evaluated using analytical assessments and highlighting snapshots in time of how capability impacted the aerial firefighting mission effectiveness. As companies innovate and technology advances, further benefits to rotorcraft CONOPS in aerial firefighting will be realized.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
Harold F. Pitcairn, American aviation and Autogiro pioneer, died from a single gunshot wound to the head in the late evening hours of April 23, 1960 at the age of 62 after a gala evening at which he presided over a celebration attended by more than 450 guests for his brother's Raymond's 75th birthday. Initially labelled a suicide by the press, Pitcairn's widow Clara declared that "she never wanted to hear another word about the tragedy", while friends and friendly local authorities made the argument, duly reported by Frank Kingston Smith in Legacy of Wings, his devotional Pitcairn biography (subsidized by the Pitcairn family), that the death was accidental because "there was no note, no indication of depression or unhappiness" and "the police investigation disclosed that two shots had been fired; one had penetrated the ceiling directly over the desk in the first floor study, another had struck Pitcairn in the eye" and that "the next morning it was discovered the semi-automatic pistol was defective: when cocked, it had a supersensitive "hair trigger," and it had a faulty disconnector so that it would fire more than one shot at a time, a condition known as "doubling."" The Pitcairn families, prominent and powerful, prevailed upon the local authorities to declare the death accidental and Kingston Smith's 1981account became the de facto authoritative story of the death of Harold F. Pitcairn. With the perspective, however, of six decades, it appears far more likely that Pitcairn's death was a suicide for reasons that were not readily evident, minimized, unappreciated or deliberately ignored at the time to craft a result that met the needs of Clara Pitcairn and her surviving family. These included the fact that while the claim was made that Pitcairn was making his nightly rounds to check on the estate’s ground-level windows (and had been doing so since the Lindbergh kidnapping in 1932), he actually died at his desk; that those in the house only reported a single shot; the 1907 Savage pistol had no reputation for a hair-trigger, and had not evidenced such a flaw in almost three decades of Pitcairn's nightly ritual; that even though Pitcairn had been assured that his almost-decade-long lawsuit against the United States government for Patent infringement of his Autogiro patents was going well, he was concerned about the impact this lawsuit was having on his aged associates who had been called to give depositions and he had voiced the sentiment that "if he had known that he would have to sue the government, he would not have gone into the Autogiro business"; that the lawsuit, itself intended as a vindication of Pitcairn's contribution to aviation was dragging on and would reach its first legal conclusion in 1967, and not finally conclude upon appeal until 1977; and most importantly, those who deny suicide and point to Pitcairn’s state-of-mind, have failed to take into account when the death occurred or ready evidence of his 'state of mind' To fail to see the tragic end of Harold F. Pitcairn is to forget that 29 years and one day earlier, he had been recognized for "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year." The memory of that day on the White House back lawn with the President was the high point of his life even as Pitcairn prepared to celebrate his older brother's achievements. The evidence, when marshalled and documented, conclusively points to suicide - a death of an American aviation pioneer before his contributions were vindicated in the largest patent infringement judgement against the United States in history. To fail to see the tragic end of Harold F. Pitcairn is to forget that 29 years earlier, he had been recognized for "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America".
In order to maximize range, a substantial portion of the interior volume of aircraft is allocated for fuel containment. To ensure the safety of aircrew and passengers, these systems must contain fuel and retain critical structural integrity in the event of a crash, self-seal and retain structural capability in the event of penetration, and suppress fire in the event of proximate ignition. Traditionally, light weight aircraft such as rotorcraft have accomplished these functions with heavy self-sealing bladder offset and isolated from primary structure. Boeing and the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center's Aviation Development Directorate (ADD), together with the Joint Aircraft Survivability Program Office, have developed and demonstrated a structurally integrated fuel containment system that efficiently tolerates crash, self-seals, and suppresses fire at a lower weight and volume than traditional systems, thus maximizing space and weight capacity for fuel and payload.
This SAE Standard details procedures for testing lead-acid SLI (starting, lighting, and ignition), heavy-duty, EV (electric vehicle), and RV (recreational vehicle) batteries, to determine the effectiveness of the battery venting system to retard the propagation of an externally ignited flame of battery gas into the interior of the battery under sustained overcharge conditions. NOTE: At this time, 2018, there is no known comparable ISO Standard.
ABSTRACT Predictive analysis is performed on configurations representative of small-volume rotorcraft primary structure. Potential failure points are identified and the design is modified to withstand the incoming ballistic event. Live fire testing is then executed on multiple specimens to validate the analysis method developed in the previous study. Predictive strength analysis is then performed to determine potential residual strength. Finally, cyclic and static residual strength testing is performed on two specimens. The results demonstrate that small-volume aircraft structure can be designed with composite sandwich structures to mitigate ballistic events that are often catastrophic for traditional aircraft structures.
ABSTRACT Columbia Helicopters, Inc, (CHI) has procured several military-surplus CH-47D helicopters for use in heavy-lift operations, including fire-fighting and other external lift operations. For decades, CHI has successfully utilized Direct Visual Operational Control (DVOC) to precisely control the load at the end of a long line. The key to DVOC is the use of a bubble window at both pilot and co-pilot positions on the aircraft, which allows the pilot flying the aircraft to see the load directly. CHI designed, manufactured, tested, and qualified a replacement cockpit door to hold a bubble window in the CH-47D. The new doorframe is made of carbon-fiber epoxy composite, holds an 18-inch-deep bubble window in the upper section, and holds a sliding ventilation window in the lower section. An abbreviated composite building block test was completed to prove the structure, and flight test was used to determine the optimal flight attitude to evacuate the cockpit of smoke.
ABSTRACT Columbia Helicopters, Inc. was founded in 1957 by Wes Lematta. Lematta wanted to find a use for helicopters other than transporting people, and with that vision, built a company that spurred the industry of heavy-lift helicopter operations. In the early years of the company, operations included construction and helilogging. Columbia was one of the first successful helilogging companies in the world. In 1969, Columbia purchased its first tandem rotor helicopter, a Boeing-Vertol 107-II. Today, the company's fleet consists entirely of tandem rotor helicopters. Columbia holds the Type Certificates and Parts Only Production Certificates for the Model 107-II and the Model 234. Columbia also owns a Restricted Type Certificate for the Model CH-47D Chinooks. The company uses these three aircraft models to complete a variety of heavy-lift operations including firefighting, logging, government services, construction, stream work, oil and gas exploration, and humanitarian support. As the demands of the industry evolved, so has Columbia, by shifting focus of company operations from helilogging to firefighting and other government services.
ABSTRACT The Army Aviation Hall of Fame states that "No individual has had a greater impact on the Army and the Aviation Branch" than General Richard Cody. After receiving his commission in 1972 at West Point, Cody served with distinction for 36 years until retiring as the Army's 31st Vice Chief of Staff in 2008. While still a Lieutenant Colonel, in 1991 he led his Apache battalion into Iraq to fire the first shots of Operation DESERT STORM, eliminating critical enemy radar sites before the air war campaign even began. In the years following September 11, 2001, as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (G-3/5/7) and then as Vice Chief of Staff, his efforts led to the most sweeping transformation the Army and the Aviation Branch had ever seen. An ace special operations pilot and brilliant military mastermind, General Cody may best be remembered, however, as the well-loved "Soldiers' General."
Items per page:
50
1 – 50 of 387