RFID Systems and Applications Beyond the Supply Chain
Steve Miles, MIT (Moderator)
Zhiwen Zhang, Ministry of Science and Technology, China
Peter Friess, European Commission
Daeyoung Kim, ICU
Jin Hee Yoon, SK Telecom
View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/ESD-290S05
License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
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More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu
Duration : 1:6:42
At Coventry University, our aerospace students have access to some great kit. Including a real harrier jump jet, a helicopter and a flight simulator. Check out http://www.coventry.ac.uk/engineeringandcomputing for more information.
Duration : 0:4:23
Watch Carl Meade, Director of Space Systems, Northrop Grumman’s full speech honoring Armadillo Aerospace’s $350,000 Level 1 win of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge 2008 at NASA HQ on Dec 5, 2008. The competition is supervised by the X PRIZE Foundation, with the prize purse coming from NASA’s Centennial Challenges and sponsorship from Northrop Grumman and the State of New Mexico.
Duration : 0:1:44
2008 Farnborough International Airshow – Klimov Pavilion
This “demonstration” was quite the surprise… (Best resolution obtained by selecting “Watch in High Quality” link to the lower right of the video)
Duration : 0:2:26
from 2004, this flight went to an altitude of 131 feet and then landed within one foot of the launch location. http://www.armadilloaerospace.com
Duration : 0:0:51
The Abrams Explorer is a unique aircraft specifically designed for aerial survey and mapping functions. Built in 1937, the aircraft was designed by Kenneth Ronan, former chief designer for Stinson, and Edward Kunzl, also of Stinson. Dr. Talbert Abrams, founder and CEO of the then newly-formed Abrams Air Craft Corporation and the established Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation of Lansing, Michigan, envisioned the aircraft as an obstruction-free camera platform for survey and mapping businesses, a design in which the U.S. Army showed interest. The initial requirement was to provide the capability for aerial photography, aerial survey, and mapping from near sea level up to an operating altitude of 20,000 feet. It was to provide an unobstructed field of view for the several cameras which meant displacing the usual struts, wing panels, engine cowls, and propeller arc away from the cameraman’s normal line of sight. The aircraft was to have an endurance of at least eight hours, climb quickly to altitude, and cruise at a speed of 180 to 200 knots.
The resulting configuration was a specially designed two-place non-conventional mid-wing pusher monoplane which had twin booms extending back from the wing trailing edge to support the tail embly. The-two place crew nacelle was located entirely forward of the wing leading edge and included clear safety glass windows over most of area above the pit floor. This is similar to the bombardier’s nose section of a World War II medium bomber. The placement of the crew nacelle permitted an almost unobstructed view for photography except for a direct rear view past the engine, propeller and tail structure. The nacelle was pressurized and carried oxygen for crew comfort and operating efficiency at the 20,000 foot operating altitude. The nacelle was faired back over the wing center section to the engine compartment where the Wright R975-E.1 330 hp radial engine, equipped with a NACA cowl and Hamilton Standard controllable pitch propeller, were mounted just aft of the wing’s trailing edge. The engine embly was located between the two fuselage booms that extended back to support the horizontal tail with two vertical tail emblies.
Hermetically-sealed camera ports were provided to permit unobstructed camera operation at those higher operating altitudes while still maintaining proper cabin pressure. The airplane has a fixed tricycle landing gear with low drag streamlined wheel fairings. The structure is of welded steel tubing and the combined crew nacelle and wing center section are covered with sheet aluminum panels. The twin tail booms are of semi-monocoque sheet aluminum construction and the tail embly and outer wing panels are covered with fabric. The structure is stressed to handle engines of up to 1,000 hp for possible future production models.
The first flight was made in November 1937 and the Abrams company flew the airplane, with a full array of cameras, for government contract survey work until the beginning of World War II. The first Wright engine was replaced by a Wright Whirlwind 450 hp engine that raised the maximum speed to more than 200 mph and the performance ceiling to 25,000 feet. It had a rate of climb of 1,500 feet per minute. Unfortunately, Dr. Abrams’ plans to produce and sell the airplane to the armed forces and to civilian aerial mapping companies were not successful. His timing was bad for the civilian applications because of the war and the military opted for the more survivable, converted high-speed fighter aircraft for photo reconnaissance. The good performance figures of 1938 were not enough for wartime reconnaissance and a single-purpose aircraft was no longer desirable. As a result, the airplane currently in the possession of the Smithsonian was the only example built.
Dr. Abrams lent the Explorer to the National Air Museum in 1948 and, although it was accessioned at that time, the “official” donation was not until 1973. It was acquired as one of the few aircraft designed and used specifically for aerial photography, and it was one of the first U.S. aircraft to employ a tricycle landing gear and the twin boom pusher concept. The aircraft was received with the Wright R-975-E3 450 hp engine and a plastic-covered cabin nacelle. It was transported by military air to Washington and was stored for several years at the Paul E. Garber Restoration and Preservation Facility in Suitland, Maryland. In 1975, the Museum lent the Explorer to the Michigan Aerospace Education ociation in Lansing, Michigan, for restoration by students at the Lansing Community College, but, unfortunately, the restoration was not fully completed. In 1981 the airplane was returned to the Garber Facility where it awaits further restoration.
Duration : 0:1:18
Machinists union members ratified a new contract with The Boeing Co. on Saturday, ending an eight-week strike that cut the airplane maker’s profits and stalled jetliner deliveries.
Duration : 0:0:51
I’m a high school senior right now. I’m going to University of California- Irvine next year and I plan to major in either aerospace or mechanical engineer. I have a real fascination for aircrafts especially military aircrafts, and I want to pursue a career in it. I originally wanted to join the ROTC so I can get some management experience but I don’t think the army is offering anything that I want to do. I’ve also looked at the AFROTC and I’ve seen similar careers but I don’t know if they are what I’m looking for. Do I have to join a military branch to work on military planes?
Thanks
No, at least not in the Army. The majority of folks working Army Aviation R&D are civilians.
But…. I don’t know how you can satisfy your fascination with aircraft without being a pilot. For that, you almost have to be in the military.
I aspire working for NASA when I grow up (14 years old going into high school) and work as either en electrical or aerospace engineer. More on the electrical engineering side though, but I don’t know what universities teach those subjects.
I don’t know the absolute best school but I know of a good one for Aero. Try looking into the University of Texas at Arlington. I also know of a few engineering majors at MIT. You have a while to look into though so you should be okay.
Track from Aerospace´s album, Reformed.