“I relax in my seat with my smug smile and thinking my job here is done,” the passenger wrote in a retelling of the in-flight incident on Reddit
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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
Former President Jimmy Carter’s plane departs
Former President Jimmy Carter’s plane departs Washington D.C. to head to Plains, Georgia, for burial.
News:
- AAAE President Charles Barclay urged the Senate majority leader and his Senate colleagues to quickly pass a multi-year FAA bill reauthorization bill and to permanently eliminate the AMT penalty on airport private activity bonds. Rushing the bill through in its current format would seriously hurt Federal Express. FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009
- Northwest Airlines pilots Capt. Timothy Cheney of Gig Harbor, Washington, and First Officer Richard Cole of Salem, Oregon, who overshot Minneapolis by 150 miles have filed appeals of their license revocations with the National Transportation Safety Board.
- Bill introduced to ban pilots from using laptops.
- PASADENA, Calif. — /PRNewswire/ — The Tournament of Roses revealed that the heroic pilot who masterfully landed US Airways Flight 1549, Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger, III, will serve as the Grand Marshal for the 2010 Tournament of Roses festivities: Themed 2010: A Cut Above the Rest.
- NAPA, Calif. — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Accused whistler-blower Dr. Frederick J. Foreman, former Senior Analyst for Metron Aviation Inc. (an aviation consulting company with numerous government contracts), who was fired for allegedly revealing critical information regarding airline passenger safety to Kate Hanni of the Flyers’ Rights coalition, has joined forces with the volunteer organization.
VERO BEACH, Fla., November 6, 2009 — Piper Aircraft today announced that Piper Chief Executive Kevin J. Gould will assume the company’s presidency effective December 1, 2009. In addition, three other Piper executives have been promoted to vice president positions and one to a senior director position.PIPER AIRCRAFT ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP CONSOLIDATION
EMBRAER HAS A NEW COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER FOR ASIA PACIFIC
Based in Singapore, Shorbani Roy is responsible for media relations in the region São José dos Campos, November 4, 2009 – Embraer has named Shorbani Roy as Corporate Communications Manager for Asia Pacific, reporting directly to Alex Glock, Embraer Asia Pacific (EAP) Managing Director. Embraer also announced they will produce its 120-seat E-190 jet in China to respond faster when the country’s aviation market recovers, O Estado de S. Paulo said on Friday.
LONG BEACH, Calif., Nov. 6, 2009 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) received Aviation Week magazine’s Program Excellence Award in the category of System Level Research & Development/System Development & Demonstration at the Aviation Week Aerospace & Defense Programs conference in Phoenix on Nov. 3. Boeing C-130 Avionics Modernization Program Receives Aviation Week Program Excellence Award
Mesa Air Group, Inc. Announces Update on CRJ-200s Operating at United Airlines
PHOENIX, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The timeframe for United Airlines to exercise its renewal rights with respect to extending Mesa’s operation of 26 CRJ-200 aircraft under its code-share agreement with United Airlines has expired. Mesa plans to work with United Airlines on an orderly transition plan, but, in any event, the date of exit from service is expected to be no later than April 30, 2010. Mesa Air Group, Inc. Announces Update on CRJ-200s Operating at United Airlines
Space Force’s secretive X-37B space plane soars past 1 year in orbit
In case you forgot it was still up there.