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For release October 31, 2006
AIRCRAFT PROFESSIONALS TACKLE ICING PROBLEMS
DURING WEEK-LONG TRAINING AT UT SPACE INSTITUTE
Fourteen professionals ranging from test
pilots to systems engineers grappled with life or death aircraft
icing conditions during a week-long course at The University of
Tennessee Space Institute in mid-October.
“All attendees felt that coupling practical exercises in the
ground and in-flight simulations with the lecture material
greatly reinforced the learning experience,” said Richard
Ranaudo, who first introduced this course at UTSI in 2004.
Individuals from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S.
Army, Raytheon Aircraft and Transport Canada participated.
Following two days of formal lectures, each student received an
hour training session in NASA’s Ice Contamination Effects Flight
Training Device. This provided a “highly realistic simulation of
aircraft handling anomalies and upset conditions,” Ranaudo, UTSI
assistant research professor, said.
Twelve of the participants also received a one-hour training
flight in UTSI’s variable stability aircraft, which was
programmed with characteristics of NASA’s icing research
aircraft when flown in actual icing conditions.
“All who attended were highly complimentary of the course and
felt that it was highly beneficial to their occupations, which
require an understanding of aircraft icing related problems,”
added Ranaudo.
Becky Stines, director of Continuing Education at UTSI,
identified those attending the course as Jason Nickel and Mark
Graveson, Raytheon; Doug Ingold, Transport Canada; Marty
Anderson, Jim Correia, Bill McCandless, Rick McMann, and Kim
Hanks, U.S. Army; Steve Barbini, Robert Joslin, Eric Haight,
John Hagan, Grant Eaton, and Andy Shaw, FAA.
Operational pilots and flight test engineers as well as test
pilots and systems engineers attending are all actively involved
in various aspects of aircraft testing, evaluation and
certification programs, Ranaudo said.
Guest instructors from NASA Glenn Research Center, National
Center for Atmospheric Research, University of Illinois, Arnold
Engineering and Development Center (AEDC), U.S. Army, FAA, and
UTSI provided comprehensive lectures on a wide variety of icing
related topics. Their subjects included meteorology,
aerodynamics, ice accretion characteristics, in-flight icing
simulation, rotorcraft icing, aircraft stability and control,
icing effects on aircraft handling problems, and aircraft
certification requirements for icing conditions.
UTSI faculty assisting Ranaudo with the training were Dr.
Stephen Corda, head of the Institute’s Aviation Systems program,
and Dr. Peter Solies, associate professor.
Participants in UTSI’s latest icing course include,
kneeling, Kim Hanks, U.S. Army, Kurt Blankenship and Tom
Ratvasky, NASA instructors, UTSI’s Dr. Peter Solies and
Course Director Rich Ranaudo; standing, Dr.
Stephen Corda, UTSI, Marty Anderson, U.S. Army, Steve
Barbini, FAA, Jim Correia, U.S. Army, Robert Joslin and
Eric Haight, FAA, Jason Nickel, Raytheon, John Hagan,
FAA, Doug Ingold, Transport Canada, Grant Eaton, FAA,
Mark Graveson, Raytheon, Andy Shaw, FAA, and Bill
McCandless, U.S. Army. Rick McMann, also was a U.S. Army
attendee.
- UTSI Photo
Writer: Weldon Payne (931) 393-7222
wpayne@utsi.edu
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