Open up your mind and say, ahh...

Photo: Icon Aircraft

Icon aircraft has made aviation history before even finishing the final design of its first airplane. The company achieved the significant milestone in the development of its A5 amphibious light sport aircraft with a new wing design aimed at significantly improving the safety of the airplane. The company recently completed a rigorous flight testing schedule focused on the stall and spin characteristics of the two seater. The result is that when the first one rolls off the assembly line, the A5 will become the first production aircraft sold ever to completely comply with the Federal Aviation Administration’s spin resistance standards. In simpler terms, Icon has designed an airplane that could practically erase one of the major causes of accidents in flying.

“Creating a full-envelope spin-resistant airplane was extraordinarily difficult and took longer than expected” said Icon’s CEO Kirk Hawkins in a press release announcing the FAA certification. “The design dramatically raises the bar for light aircraft safety by decreasing the likelihood of inadvertent stall/spin loss of control by the pilot.”

Many production airplane designs over the years have made significant progress towards minimizing the chance of a stall/spin accident. But until now, no airplane has been produced that fully complies with what is known as the FAA’s Part 23 spin-resistance standards. When the first A5 rolls off the factory floor, it will benefit from decades of research by NASA and the FAA focused on reducing, even eliminating accidents due to the inadvertent stall/spin. The spin resistant design doesn’t eliminate all of the potential hazards of flying, but like anti-lock brakes did for drivers, it does dramatically decrease one of the big hazards facing pilots.

The boom off of the back of the airplane contains a parachute and is commonly used in spin testing. The production A5 will have a parachute, but it will be integrated into the airframe. The small lines on the airplane are tufts of yarn that allow engineers to see how the air is flowing around the airframe.

An inadvertent stall/spin refers to a scenario where a pilot unintentionally flies the airplane in a way that causes the airflow over the wing to be disrupted and no longer be sufficient to produce enough lift. This usually happens at slower speeds, though it is related to the “angle of attack” of the wing, and not necessarily the airspeed.  When the airflow disruption occurs, the wing is said to be in a “stalled” condition and the airplane begins to lose altitude due to the loss of lift. Once an airplane wing is stalled, and if there is sufficient yaw motion – turning in the horizontal plane – the airplane can enter a spin.

If an airplane simply enters a stall and the pilot makes the necessary corrections all pilots learn in training, a minimal amount of altitude may be lost before the wing can generate lift again and the pilot and aircraft can begin flying again. But if the airplane enters a spin, significantly more altitude is lost. Even though a pilot can recover from a spin (usually with specific training), the disorientation often results in a recovery being less likely. Two common scenarios where this may occur is when the pilot is making the final turn before lining up with the runway to land, or turning back to the runway after taking off if an emergency landing must be made.

Inadvertent stall/spin accidents account for a significant percentage of pilot-related accidents in the non-commercial flying world of general aviation according to a report from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

By designing the A5 to be highly resistant to entering a spin, Icon gives pilots an extra margin of safety should they find themselves in a situation where they have accidentally managed to stall the wings of the airplane. Hawkins says the A5 will provide “excellent control throughout the stall.”

Many of the small, general aviation aircraft flown today are approved for practicing spins and can safely recover from a spin assuming the pilot has the proper training. But even in a perfect scenario the recovery may use up well over 500 feet, a problem if you’re below that altitude to begin with such as during landing. Rich Stowell is one of the foremost experts in stall/spin safety and has performed spins in dozens of different aircraft. In his book Stall/Spin Awareness, Stowell points out that the “specter of an inadvertent stall/spin can affect a pilot’s passion for flying.” Stowell is a proponent of pilots learning about the stall/spin and has taught countless pilots how to recognize and recover from all different types of scenarios (he’s completed more than 32,000 spins during his career).

Federal regulators, worried that motorists will use the growing connectivity of cars to surf the web, update their Facebook pages and generally do anything but drive, want automakers to engineer safeguards into infotainment systems to minimize the threat of distracted driving.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today the Department of Transportation’s first-ever guidelines encouraging automakers to voluntarily minimize distractions by regulating how communications, entertainment and navigation systems can be used while driving.

The non-binding recommendations would effectively bar drivers from doing things like surfing the web or accessing social media sites from behind the wheel, disable manual texting and limit the ability to enter addresses into navigation systems while the car is in gear.

“Distracted driving is a dangerous and deadly habit on America’s roadways,” LaHood said in a statement. “These guidelines are a major step forward in identifying real solutions to tackle the issue of distracted driving for drivers of all ages.”

Such guidelines come as automakers rush to increase the connectivity of our cars. Factory-installed vehicle tech including connected systems like Ford Sync and Audi Connect will account for nearly $7 billion in sales this year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. About 15 percent of American households own a vehicle with connected communications, and analysts expect that figure to climb sharply in coming years.

LaHood has made curbing distracted driving a top priority. The 177-page guideline put forth by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (.pdf) provide “real-world guidance” intended to help automakers address the problem. In 2010, 3,092 people, or 9.4 percent of road fatalities, were killed in crashes related to driver distraction, according to NHTSA.

“We recognize that vehicle manufacturers want to build vehicles that include the tools and conveniences expected by today’s American drivers,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “The guidelines we’re proposing would offer real-world guidance to automakers to help them develop electronic devices that provide features consumers want — without disrupting a driver’s attention or sacrificing safety.”

Although the NHTSA has a huge pulpit from which to preach, it cannot compel the auto industry to adopt its recommendations, which are strictly voluntary. Still, the guidelines were based at least in part upon a comprehensive set of “principles” (.pdf) developed by the Auto Alliance, the Society of Automotive Engineers and others.

“Keeping eyes on the road and hands on the wheel is clearly the priority,” the alliance, which represents 12 major automakers, said in a statement. “Digital technology has created a connected culture in America that has forever changed our society. Consumers expect to have access to new technology, so integrating and adapting this technology to enable safe driving is the solution.”

The way the feds see it, the proposals are but the first part of the solution. Phase 1, announced Thursday, contain guidelines for ensuring infotainment systems minimize the distraction posed by any feature or function not directly related to operating the vehicle. The guidelines would not apply to things like lane departure or forward-collision warning systems.

Recommendations specifically outlined in Phase 1 include:

• Reduce the complexity of devices and the time needed to perform various tasks
• Design devices so they require just one hand to operate.
• Design devices to they require “off-road glances” of no more than two seconds.
• Minimize visual information with the driver’s field of view.
• Limit the amount of manual inputs required for device operation.

The NHTSA already has called on states to ban the use of cellphones and other gadgets while driving, and the proposals effectively urge automakers to join the campaign. Automakers should disable texting, internet browsing, social media browsing, and manual telephone dialing whenever the vehicle is in gear, the guidelines state. Automakers also are asked to limit to 30 characters any text displays not specifically related to the safe operation of the vehicle.

The guidelines apply only to built-in hardware. Looking further ahead, the NHTSA is drafting “Phase II” proposed guidelines that could apply to anything you might bring into the car, such as a navi system, smartphone or tablet. A third phase of regulations could apply to voice-activated control of gadgets to further minimize distractions.

The recommendations released Thursday are subject to a 60-day public commenting period, after which the NHTSA would issue its final set of guidelines.

“We see the guidelines as a good first step,” Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, said, according to the Detroit Free Press. “DOT is on the right path. We particularly like the guideline for disabling devices that text and surf the Internet, etc. Technology has created these problems but can also help solve them. Regardless, the safest behavior is to not use any of these electronic devices while driving.”

Photo: Audi showed off its Audi Connect infotainment system earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show. Jim Merithew/Wired.com

The on again, off again competition between the world’s two largest airplane makers continues with each company suffering recent issues with their newest aircraft.

The Airbus A380 wing crack woes continue as the European Aviation Safety Agency expanded the airworthiness directive to cover all 68 of the A380s currently in service. In January only 20 of the super jumbos with the most take offs and landings were affected.

The issue is not one of immediate safety concern, but the EASA wants inspections of brackets on the wing ribs to happen for the A380 fleet sooner rather than later.

“EASA and Airbus are working closely together to ensure the continuing safe operations of the A380 aircraft type” the agency said in a statement. “In accordance with EASA, Airbus has established a repair scheme if cracks are found during the inspection. In parallel, EASA and Airbus are working on a long-term fix to be defined by the summer of 2012.”

Not to be outdone with fixes needed to already finished airplanes, Boeing has announced it has discovered another problem with its new 787 Dreamliner. The issue is with small shims used to fill gaps between the composite fuselage barrel and the internal fuselage support structure.

Shims are commonly used on most airliners during assembly to take up space that develops because of manufacturing processes. The problem in the 787 affects a section of the aft fuselage where the shims did not fit properly and could lead to delamination of the composites if left unchecked for a long period of time. The company says repairing existing airplanes affected by the shim problem will “take days, not months” to fix.

Like Airbus, Boeing says the problem doesn’t pose an immediate safety hazard and inspections and work on fixing the issue has already begun. Currently there are five 787s flying passengers, all with launch customer All Nippon Airways of Japan.

Photo: Jason Paur/Wired.com

Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX fired up the rocket engines it will use to help land the Dragon spacecraft as well serve as the emergency escape engines in case of a launch emergency.

The Southern California space startup successfully tested the SuperDraco engine at its Rocket Development Facility in McGregor, Texas. The tests included subjecting the engine to full duration, full thrust and deep throttling demonstrations, providing the company with another step towards offering commercial manned space flight to low earth orbit.

“SuperDraco engines represent the best of cutting-edge technology,” company founder Elon Musk said in a statement. Musk believes the integrated rockets will improve the safety of its launch system over current and past vehicles as well as reduce the cost of flights. “These engines will power a revolutionary launch escape system that will make Dragon the safest spacecraft in history and enable it to land propulsively on Earth or another planet with pinpoint accuracy.”

The Dragon spacecraft currently uses the Draco engines to maneuver in space and during reentry. The craft has made a single orbital flight with a successful return to earth. (Along with video of the rocket test, SpaceX also released a 360 degree, panoramic view of the inside of the Dragon capsule).

The Dragon will eventually feature eight SuperDraco rocket engines producing up to 120,000 pounds of thrust. Past capsule designs have used a separate “tractor” launch escape system that pulls the capsule away from the launch vehicle in the event of an emergency. The tractor engines are on the tower atop the Saturn V rocket that launched the Apollo astronauts.

The SpaceX system will instead use the integrated rocket engines built into the Dragon capsule. The recent tests reached maximum thrust within 100 milliseconds of ignition and burned for five seconds, the time they would be used during an emergency abort. The integrated pusher rocket engines eliminates the risk of the tractor system not separating after launch, which is required for that type of system to continue to orbit.

The SuperDracos also will be used to maneuver the spacecraft as it returns to earth. The reusable engines can be started and stopped multiple times during a flight, as well as throttled to give astronauts precise control of the craft during landing.

In the video, the characteristic wave pattern seen in the exhaust plume is formed by the complex flow of hot gasses exiting the rocket nozzle. These shock diamonds often are seen in rocket and jet engines powering everything from the space shuttle to fighter jets to small private lunar landers operating at relatively low altitudes.

Shock diamonds seen in the exhaust plume of the Bell X-1, the first aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound. Photo: USAF

The engines are designed to operate at a wide range of ambient air pressures, but optimally at an altitude well above that of the testing facility. At this relatively low altitude, exhaust gasses essentially are squeezed upon leaving the nozzle. A shock wave forms as the supersonic thrust encounters the atmosphere and the flow is turned toward the middle of the plume. As the flow compresses, the pressure increases to the point where it is greater than that of the surrounding atmosphere.

The higher pressure plume can now expand as it continues flowing away from the nozzle. Eventually the pressure of the expanding flow again falls below that of the atmosphere, and it is again compressed. This is repeated until the energy lost to friction between the exhaust plume and the atmosphere equalizes the pressure of the two gasses and shock waves no longer form.

When the gasses in the plume pass through a shock wave near the narrowest part of the the flow during compression, the temperature increases igniting any unused fuel and causing the brighter “shock diamonds” seen in the plume in the video (and pictures above).

SpaceX’s planned launch this month to the International Space Station was postponed after the company decided it need more development time, noting in a statement there are “a few areas that will benefit from additional work and will optimize the safety and success of this mission.”

A new launch date has not been announced. A Russian Soyuz rocket launched last week on a cargo delivery flight to the ISS. The next scheduled trip isn’t until the end of March.

The SpaceX launch is expected to culminate with the first visit to the ISS by a private, commercial spacecraft.

Video: SpaceX

After September 11, 2001 some airline pilots were granted the authority to carry guns while on duty in the cockpit. The pilots are trained on how to use the weapon in the unlikely event a person were to enter the cockpit and threaten the safety of the flight. Now a group representing the armed pilots wants to expand their authority so pilots who have the training can carry their hand guns while riding in the back of the airplane as well as in airport terminals.

The president of the Federal Flight Deck Officers Association told a Senate committee that there are five times as many airline pilots flying as passengers on airliners as there are Federal Air Marshals. The Air Marshals are the specially trained federal officers who travel undercover as security on a random selection of flights. But Marcus Flagg, president of the FFDO, told the Senate committee the Marshals cost about $3,300 per flight and the cost limits the number of Marshals on board aircraft. Flagg said expanding the authority of armed pilots would significantly increase the number of armed officers on board flights.

“A FFDO as a flying pilot at the controls would defend the aircraft from the cockpit only, and not exit the cockpit” Flagg told the committee (.pdf).  “If one or more FFDOs are riding as passengers in the back of that same aircraft, they may be the only trained law enforcement on board (including cockpit crew).”

Flagg said limiting the pilots to having an unlocked gun only available in the cockpit limits the usefulness of having the armed pilots. Currently pilots must have their weapons locked when carrying them to and from the cockpit and they cannot carry their weapons outside the cockpit such as during a visit to the lavatory.

The number of pilots who have been through the training and are authorized to carry a gun in the cockpit has not been released. But Flagg told the Orlando Sun Sentinel that the number is just under the FBI which has 13,800 armed officers according to the paper.

No armed pilot has had to use a gun to defend against a threat since the program started in 2002. There has been one accidental discharge of a gun in the cockpit of a US Airways flight while the airplane was on approach to land. There flight landed safely. In another incident a JetBlue pilot lost his hand gun when it was picked up by a passenger who mistakenly picked up the wrong backpack containing the locked weapon at John F. Kennedy airport in New York. The passenger realized she had the wrong bag after boarding her flight and returned it to a flight attendant.

Pilots undergo six days of training on how to use a gun for defending the cockpit. This compares to the many months of training for the Federal Air Marshals or typical police officers.

Photo: Flickr/Fly For Fun

Haiti bound pilot Dr. Richard McGlaughlin was flying with his daughter in his Cirrus SR22 on a trip to volunteer his services at a medical clinic. After departing Florida, McGlaughlin says he noticed the oil pressure dropped slightly while flying at 9,500 feet. A few minutes later the engine had stopped completely. He and his daughter were now flying a glider over the blue waters of the Bahamas.

An experienced pilot, McGlaughlin immediately established a slower air speed that would allow the airplane to glide the maximum distance given the altitude above the water. After declaring an emergency with Miami air traffic control, he determined that he and his daughter were not going to make it to the nearest island. Based on their altitude and the glide characteristics of the airplane, they were going to come up about two miles short.

All pilots learn the basics of how to make an emergency landing in the water during pilot training and about 90 percent of pilots who ditch their airplanes in water survive. But landing on the water at more than 60 miles per hour can result in an airplane flipping over and can cause injuries. McGlaughlin had another option. His Cirrus airplane is equipped with its own parachute designed to carry the aircraft and its passengers down to the surface when other options may not look as good.

So minutes after his engine stopped and McGlaughlin determined he couldn’t glide to land, he and his daughter tightened their seat belts and he pulled on the handle on the panel above his shoulder that deploys the parachute according to the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association website.

After the initial jolt of the parachute inflating, the airplane was descending through 2,000 feet at a rate of about 1,700 feet per minute. That’s not exactly a speed for a soft landing, and McGlaughlin says they did hit the water harder than he expected, but both were okay with no injuries.

A Cirrus aircraft under parachute during flight testing.

McGlaughlin has made the trip to Haiti several times before to deliver supplies and volunteer his services and was prepared for the over water trip. Within minutes he and his daughter were out of the airplane with their life jackets on. They were able to get into the inflatable raft they had brought with them and less than an hour after declaring an emergency, the two were on a Coast Guard helicopter.

Cirrus was a pioneer in implementing the use of airframe parachutes on small general aviation aircraft. Since the SR22 and the similar SR20 were first delivered to customers in 1999, there have been 32 deployments of the parachute. Not all of the deployments have resulted in injury free touchdowns like the McGlaughlins. There have been six fatalities and several injuries.

Many of the problems have occurred when the parachute is deployed at an altitude too low for it to fully inflate, or too fast a speed. Aviation writer and pilot Paul Bertorelli believes better training for Cirrus pilots could improve the safety of the parachute equipped airplane, writing that pilots may be waiting too long or not long enough before pulling the handle. Both the Cirrus owners group and the airplane maker emphasize the need for training specifically aimed at when to deploy the parachute.

Several other companies also offer airframe parachutes on general aviation aircraft, mostly light sport manufacturers such as Flight Design CT and the Cessna 162 Skycatcher.

Photos: U.S. Coast Guard (top); Cirrus Aircraft (bottom)