ENFORCEMENT OF LASER PENALTIES BY FAA

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has directed its investigators and staff to pursue stiffer penalties for individuals who purposefully point laser devices at aircraft.This comes against the backdrop of increased laser pointing incidents.

BOEING TO TWEAK 737 MAX DESIGN

On the backdrop of few posts here on winglets and shark lets and effect on fuel saving and performance optimization,interesting bit of information from Seattle times article by Dominic Gates on Boeing considering  to tweak the design of its coming 737 MAX, the update to its workhorse single-aisle jet due in 2017, and has decided to increase the crucial engine-fan diameter from 68 to 69 inches.

DOWNWARD FACING WINGLETS

Aircraft designers have traditionally used winglets as a means to reduce induced drag and save on consequent fuel burn aka operating costs. Over the years several designs have emerged and the classic end plates and winglets are common in Boeing and airbus models. General aviation aircraft on the other hand have more innovative designs of winglets to enhance operational cost benefits.

While an equivalent increase in wingspan would be more effective than a winglet of the same length, the bending force becomes a greater factor.  Typically, a three-foot winglet has the same bending force as a one-foot increase in span, yet gives the same performance gain as a two-foot wing span increase.  For this reason, most designers have concentrated their efforts in winglets designs to reduce drag.

CITATION LONGITUDE

Citation Longitude

Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. company, introduced its newest and longest-range business jet, the Citation Longitude at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE). This launch follows on the heels of Cessna’s announcement, just over six months ago, of the new Citation M2 and Citation Latitude.

KALMAN FILTER WITHOUT TEARS

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ne of the greatest theories postulated in the twentieth century is the Kalman Filter. It is not actually a filter, but a mathematical estimator, which uses a series of measurements observed over a period of time consisting of random variations ( noise) and other inaccuracies and produces estimates that tend to be more precise than what would be based on a single measurement.

The Kalman filter has numerous applications in technology. A common application is for guidance, navigation and control of vehicles, particularly aircraft and spacecraft.

Take for example the readings from a GPS receiver or the outputs of an IRS. The outputs are not always predictable and contain some errors which may be classified as random and systemic. The simplest solution that comes to mind is to take average of a series of consequent samples. This simple approach doesn’t work for most problems. We need a more sophisticated approach.