Articles for "Aeronautics"

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Aeronautics | 29. May 2015

WindVal: Petta reddast

Betanken der Falcon vor dem Start
Credit: DLR (CC-BY 3.0)
Falcon ready for the jet stream flight, in the background is the NASA DC-8

In Iceland you hear one phrase very often: 'petta reddast', which can be translated as "it will all work out okay". With that in mind, we started planning the flight to have a closer look at strong changes in the horizontal and vertical gradients of the wind speeds in the atmosphere, which is one of the key objectives of the ADM-Aeolus WindVal campaign.

When operating from Iceland, the ideal target region for such an endeavour is in or near a jet stream (fast flowing current in the atmosphere with a meandering shape) over the North Atlantic that is within range of the aircraft. The situation on Friday 15 May 2015 offered a great opportunity to address this aim and coordinate with the NASA DC-8 to observe strong jet stream winds. We have total of four wind lidar systems on the two aircraft, the DC-8 and DLR’s Falcon. read more

Aeronautics | 21. May 2015

ARCTIC15 Field Campaign

Forschungskampagne in Grönland
Credit: Silvan Leinss
The other, more beautiful side of field work. -22 degrees Celsius without wind on a sunny day can feel quite warm and comfortable. Perfect working conditions!

ARCTIC15 is a campaign promoted by the Microwaves and Radar Institute of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), carried out in cooperation with ETH Zurich and with the support of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI). It takes place in Greenland from mid-April to the end of May 2015 with the objective of collecting polarimetric-interferometric SAR data at different frequencies (X-, C-, S-, L- and P-band) over different facies of the ice sheet. The measurements are performed using DLR's airborne F-SAR sensor. In total, the activities involve five test sites and include the collection of ground measurements, like ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles and snow and firn stratigraphy, as well as the installation of GPS stations and corner reflectors for the calibration of the SAR acquisitions. read more

Aeronautics | 26. March 2015 | posted by Jan Wörner

The tragedy of flight 4U9525

The crash of Germanwings flight 4U9525 has affected all of us over the last few days, leaving everyone shocked and saddened. The fact that, after a normal initial phase of its flight, the aircraft transitioned into a long descent before impacting on the French Alps initially led to wild speculation. The press repeatedly sought DLR's opinion, looking for statements. We declined any comments for reasons that are hopefully understandable, because we did not want to (and will not) contribute to the speculation.

The current assessment of what happened on board the Airbus A320 now points to deliberate action by the copilot. In this context, during a press conference, Lufthansa noted that DLR plays a role in pilot selection: "We have a lot of scope for examining the psychological suitability of pilots; the DLR tests are perhaps the leading process worldwide for this purpose." Media enquiries have turned from the technology to the people, and at the same time have multiplied.

It is true that the Department of Aviation and Space Psychology at the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine carries out suitability selection of operational personnel such as pilots, air traffic controllers and astronauts for various clients.

This means that every applicant for the Lufthansa Flight Training School, for example, must undergo psychological testing prior to being hired. During this procedure, knowledge characteristics (for example, English and engineering), cognitive performance (for example, spatial awareness), psychomotor skills, multitasking and general personality traits (for example, leadership skills, cooperation with colleagues and the ability to work under pressure) are examined. These tests are compliant with both scientific standards and legal requirements.

To prepare pilots and controllers to face the situations they will encounter in their everyday working lives requires special efforts to be made in psychometric testing and training. In addition to processing information at a high level of abstraction, personality factors are becoming increasingly important during the probationary period of operational staff, as well as what are referred to as 'Non-Technical Skills'. These include decision-making and problem solving under high pressure, clear communication, and cooperative team management. In the design of new psychological procedures for aviation, there is an increasing use of computer-based technologies, with which the suitability assessment and training can be made even more precise and cost-effective.

In the target field 'Selection and Training', research findings are directly translated into practical applications. Continuous scientific research and development ensures the high quality of the work conducted at DLR and also ensures the adaptation to technological trends in aviation and the changing requirements for operational staff.

Certainly, such a procedure does not exclude all risks pertaining to an individual's negative development, especially as the diagnosis of psychiatric conditions is not a part of the psychological examinations conducted here at DLR.

Our and my personal concern over what has happened has surely increased due to recent public questions. Our thoughts are with the families, friends and colleagues of all passengers and crew members.

Aeronautics | 11. July 2012 | posted by Jan Wörner

Visit to the Farnborough Airshow

Alongside the ILA Berlin Airshow and the Paris Airshow at Le Bourget, the Farnborough Airshow, being held at the moment, is the third large aerospace exhibition in Europe. My first visit to this event involved aviation and space to an equal extent. The journey there, access and my schedule presented major challenges, and surmounting these made for an interesting trip, albeit one with a few rough edges. read more

Aeronautics | 26. April 2010 | posted by Jan Wörner

A volcanic eruption affects the whole of Europe – is the air clear?

Two days after the successful flight of DLR's Falcon research aircraft, the airspace over Germany has been re-opened. Admittedly, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano is still ejecting lava and ash, but the German weather service (DWD), the German air traffic control organisation (DFS) and the German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMVBS) have authorised flights again on the basis of current weather data. DLR has carried out two more flights after requests from the authorities, and the dust has settled, or – to be more precise – has moved on. read more