Social media users could relate to the passenger in the Reddit post, with one saying traveling as person over six feet tall can be “torture.”

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Purdue University Opening New Aviation Engine Testing Facility
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University will operate a new federally funded facility to test aircraft engines and develop alternative fuels in work that also aims to reduce the nation’s reliance on imported oil.
The National Test Facility for Fuels and Propulsion is funded with a $1.35 million grant from the U.S. Air Force and will be housed in the Niswonger Aviation Technology Building at the Purdue Airport.
“The aerospace industry now has an unprecedented interest in developing green aircraft using biofuels,” said David L. Stanley, an associate professor of aeronautical engineering technology at Purdue and principal investigator of the facility. “Testing will be conducted while fuels are being researched for development. This means input will be provided during the development phase, not after the fuel has been developed, which helps to ensure the best results possible.”
The facility, expected to open in late 2010 or early 2011, will test aerospace hardware in engines and aircraft and provide data related to fuel-sustainability and emissions goals and for economic assessments.
“This is a multidisciplinary research approach that begins with growing crops, developing fuels from those crops in the laboratory and then testing those fuels in engines,” said Denver Lopp, a professor of aviation technology and one of two co-principal investigators.
The other co-principal investigator is J. Mark Thom, a professor of aviation technology.
Work will focus on jet engines but will include some testing related to piston engines.
“The project involves faculty members in the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, Science and Technology to develop a well-rounded and capable research team for fuels research, with particular focus on aviation and aerospace,” Lopp said. “Purdue is strong in each of these areas, and having an airport also enhances these strengths.”
The researchers will work with the Air Force, industry and government agencies to develop the fuels.
“Roughly 17 billion gallons of turbine fuel are burned annually in the United States, and clearly a portion of this could be saved by blending alternative fuels,” Stanley said. “The U.S. Air Force intends to be able to operate its fleet on blends of these fuels.”
The work will tackle four major bottlenecks to aerospace progress: access to hardware testing; development of control logic and systems permitting flex-fuel operation and realization of improved efficiencies; sustainability of biofuels related to crop productivity, as well as bio and synthetic fuels’ ability to meet both near- and long-term aerospace requirements; and regulatory compliance.
“The overall goal is to update and maintain a multifaceted national testing facility with dedicated administration to support development and testing of alternative energy sources for aerospace equipment,” Lopp said. “This facility will address all energy sources and will not be an advocate of any particular fuel.”
Writer: Emil Venere, 765-494-4709, venere@purdue.edu
Sources: David Stanley, 765-494-6266, stanledl@purdue.edu
Denver Lopp, 765-494-6387, denver@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: ( 765 ) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
$4 million light jet to be built in N.C.
Scheduled for delivery late next year, Honda Aircraft is constructing 250,000-square-foot facility at Piedmont Triad International Airport near Greensboro. The complex includes a 187,000-square-foot research and development center. There will be 600 employees when the planes are in production.
Honda Aircraft was formed in August, and has “well over 100” orders for the $3.65 million light jet—more than a year’s production. The jet’s plan includes a composite fuselage, over wing engines and Garmin G1000 displays. The jet’s plan is being developed in-house.

South Korea struggles to determine cause of plane crash that killed 179 people
South Korean officials are struggling to determine what caused a deadly plane crash that killed nearly 180 people on board, with the nation saddened, shocked and ashamed over the country’s worst aviation disaster in decades.

FAA looking into close call between Gonzaga men’s basketball charter and another plane at LAX
The team was flying into LAX for their Saturday game against UCLA, which the Bulldogs lost 62-65.

Mourners honor the 29 UE plane crash victims 47 years later
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) — Friday marked 47 years since the University of Evansville plane crash that took 29 lives — including the basketball team and coach. Family, UE students and oth…
Diligent Kudos to AeroMexico for Averting a Disaster
What: Aeromexico Boeing 737-700 scheduled from Costa Rica to Mexico City
Where: Costa Rica
When: Mar 12, 2011
Who: 2 (drunk) Mexican pilots, 101 passengers
Why: Saturday on arrival at the airport in Costa Rica for their shift, these two AeroMexico pilots complained of nausea. They probably had big heads too, since they had attended some kind of drunken revelry 7 hours before in San Jose, which is not long enough for the alcohol to be metabolized out of their systems. They were apparently intending to fly their shifts, but some eagle-eyed AeroMexico personnel correctly evaluated their condition. One of them refused the alcohol test, but not the other. Neither was allowed to fly, and both were suspended. The flight was delayed until replacement pilots (sober ones) were found to take the cockpit. Passengers were compensated for the delay.
In George’s Point of View
Is March the month for drinking? A case was just brought to our attention yesterday, and though it is not aviation, it is frighteningly similar, though I could argue they were completely different. But then, I could argue anything even if I’m not a lawyer.
The case I’m talking about is that of the BOLT Driver Arrested for DUI. Bolt is not an airline, but a bus division. So what is the similarity? There it was bussing (trucking) down the road when it was pulled over and the driver cited for tailgating, and driving in the wrong lane before he got his driving under the influence AND his license taken away. He was caught, sadly, not before his shift, and not by crew, but by passengers who clearly feared for their lives and called 911 from inside the bus, as the driver was either weaving, or napping or drinking, or all of the above. Someone had seen his pocket flask.
Okay, the obvious similarities are drunks at the wheel of communal transit. Both were caught before serious damage occurred. The difference—and this is crucial—are that the BOLT bus driver was allowed to take his shift, regardless of his condition. He put everyone aboard that bus at serious risk.
So kudos to AeroMexico. Even though all you’re going to hear about it is grousing from individuals complaining of the delay, your diligence probably saved the lives of 110 passengers.