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Pneumatic, manually operated, drilling machines are used to produce a significant proportion of all holes drilled during wing manufacture. Drilling machine design and the manual drilling process has not changed significantly in decades. By employing miniature, low power, electronics and interfacing techniques, a monitoring system has been developed. This system enables improved process control of the manual drilling operation. Machine calibration management, measurement of drill performance, jig drilling error control and asset management are some of the benefits attainable. This project will hopefully encourage others to discover the potential for improving historically established processes, by employing modern technological developments.

This paper presents, chemistry, test data and processing procedures on a non toxic and environmentally friendly chrome-free conversion coating alternative with the same level of adhesion and secondary corrosion resistance as that found in chrome containing conversion coating systems. Test data from military and independent sources will be presented on secondary coating adhesion, electrical conductivity, filiform and neutral salt-spray corrosion resistance as compared to chromate based systems .on magnesium, aluminum and zinc and their respective alloys. The European “RoSH” initiative will not allow for the presence of any hexavalent chromium on imported electrical components as of July first of 2006. Trivalent chromium based systems generate hexavalent chromium due to the oxidation of the trivalent chromium and as such will not be allowed.

This paper describes some of the design solutions adopted in solving two major problems besetting man-powered aircraft in use: that of breakage and storage. It describes work leading up to the building and testing of “Phoenix”, a man-powered aircraft with a polyester-film inflatable wing. The paper deals mainly with aspects relating to the wing design and construction.

The ability to carry cargo efficiently in passenger aircraft has influenced airline economics to the point that optimisation of the freight capacity is mandatory. This document discusses the alternative loading possibilities in defined Lover Deck Compartments and their doors to cater for current and future trends in ULD dimensions. As a result items for study centred on: 1) Optimisation of the available volumes Freight capacity resulting in the selection of “Pallets”-doors for both the Forward and AFT Compartments. Flexibility to meet Freight and Baggage requirements. Possible load arrangements to optimize aircraft C of G 2) Bulk Cargo Compartment Additional LD3 Container position in AFT/Bulk compartment to cater for an uneven number of Baggage container, allowing the carriage of an additional pallet. What is regarded as an optimum is presented.

The Boeing Company in Mesa, Arizona, has been conducting a concept design study of a roadable helicopter called the “Converticar” to assess its feasibility. This is a twin-engine vehicle with twin retractable coaxial counter-rotating rotors. The purpose of the study is to describe a vehicle that carries four passengers in the equivalent of a luxury car that also can fly like a helicopter, and can be priced like a luxury car. To come near this cost goal, the production rate must be on the order of 500,000 units a year. At that rate there is no chance of training a comparable number of pilots each year. So the machine must fly and navigate autonomously, with the pilot just dialing in where he/she wants to go. Technologically, the concept appears to be feasible. Modern design processes, new materials, and improved manufacturing process should allow the Converticar to be built at the prescribed rate when the proper infrastructure for manufacturing it is made available.

As the International Space Station (ISS) takes shape, the prospect of living in space for prolonged periods becomes a reality for a greater number of individuals. Crewmembers aboard the ISS will live alongside each other for months, in confined spaces, under difficult conditions. Living in a hermetic environment, with other individuals from a variety of cultural backgrounds, will inevitably cause stresses. The living environment must meet a variety of needs in order to be conducive to the well being of the individual and the crew community. This Master’s design project addresses the design of a private, individual, crew quarter. The goal is to meet a crewmember’s functional requirements, as well as providing the means to achieve privacy and comfort while considering the qualitative aspects of the personal space.

This Life Support Laboratory consists of a simulator of the spacecraft called Nautilus, which houses Air Revitalization Subsystem, Atmospheric Control and Supply, and Fire Detection and Suppression in the Equipment Area. There are supporting facilities including a Human Metabolic Simulator, simulated Low and Moderate Temperature Coolant Loop, chemical analysis bench, purified water supply, vacuum and gas supplies. These facilities are scheduled to be completed and start to operate for demonstration purposes by March 2005. There are an ARES Ground Model (AGM) and a Trace Contaminant Control Assembly in the ARS. The latter will be integrated with the AGM and a Condensing Heat Exchanger. The unit of AGM is being engineered, built, and will be delivered in early 2005 by EADS Space Division. These assemblies will be operated for sensitivity analysis, integration and optimization studies. The main goal is the achievement for optimal recovery of oxygen.

This paper presents a breakthrough in the domain of micro heat pipes for electronic cooling. The proposed technology consists of a novel, sophisticated but industrial approach in cooling technique with flat and ultra-thin microchannel heat pipes. We present in the introduction the current needs in term of cooling system for electronic applications. The particular case of space based system is discussed and few projections into the future demonstrate the need for a new generation of cooling device. The fabrication process is explained to present our product and its flexibility of design and capacity. The key features and performances of a prototype based on this new generation heat pipe are presented.

SOME POSSIBILITIES for shortening the field length requirements of present-day jet aircraft are: Install leading-edge, high-lift devices which are retrofitable to present-day aircraft. Retrofit — or purchase new — aircraft powered by turbofan engines. These have an inherently higher take-off thrust to cruise thrust ratio than the jets, which vastly improves the take-off acceleration. Use boundary-layer control actuated by turbine discharge gas for immediate consideration in new aircraft engines. Use direct-lift jet engines. These will improve the block speed characteristics of the aircraft and also give vertical take-off and landing capabilities. This paper discusses the advantages of each of these possibilities. The author also describes the problem of airport location within a city, and its effect of total travel time.*

THE FIRST YEAR of jet airline operation has brought many problems — and satisfactions — to the industry. Here the author discusses some of the more serious problems: 1. Scheduling. American Airlines used the “Monte Carlo” method to calculate payloads and flight times. 2. Baggage handling. Almost nothing annoys a passenger more than long waits for baggage at the end of a flight. One approach to the problem is the baggage expediter system. 3. Mechanical shutdowns. 4. Runway length. 5. Noise. Noise suppressors have not been effective enough, from the standpoint of communities surroundings airports. Development of the turbofan engine offers some hope in this area.*

THE AIR FORCE has set up a program to evaluate the machining characteristics of the more commonly used high-strength thermal-resistant materials. This paper describes the test results to date. Four materials are being tested: SAE 4340 quenched and tempered to 50–55 Rockwell C, SAE designation H11 quenched and tempered to 50–55 Rockwell C, AM-350 solution treated and aged, and A-286 solution treated and aged. Machining tests include: turning milling, drilling, and tapping.*

THE optimum mode of control for an aircraft engine is dependent on both the configuration of the engine and its application. Each engine application requires several detail modes of control, one for each definable regime of operation of the engine. Discussions of control requirements can be simplified by classifying these regimes by objectives: physical limiting, thrust, and transient control. The turbojet engine is the basis for the discussion in this paper. Acceptable modes of control can often be selected by inspection of the engine and its application. Selection of an “optimum” control mode requires investigation of the operation of the engine and weapons system at every stage of its use. The selection of a “mode” of control requires a compromise between performance and other design factors. The need for simplicity and accuracy must be balanced against the stability requirements. The availability and flexibility of control components may limit the modes of control considered.

STRUCTURAL MATERIALS for Mach 3 jet transports pose difficult problems for the design engineer. Reasons for this problem are the incomplete information available on the many possible metals and the diversity of critical properties that are added by supersonic requirements. The material properties discussed in this paper include tensile strength, resistance to crack propagation, ease of fabrication, weldability, and thermal expansion. Cost factors are also considered. The structural configuration of the wing and fuselage is an example of the complexity of the material selection problem. The wing may be rigidity-critical, and the fuselage strength-critical; each requires diferent material properties to solve the problem.*