Dr. Agam Sinha Named Chairman of the Board of RTCA
August 12, 2010
MCLEAN, Va., August 12, 2010 — Dr. Agam Sinha has been named Chairman of the Board of RTCA Inc. Dr. Sinha is director, senior vice president, and general manager of the Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD), the federally funded research and development center that MITRE operates for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). RTCA is a private, not-for-profit corporation that develops consensus-based recommendations regarding communications, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management system issues. RTCA functions as a federal advisory committee. The FAA uses its recommendations as the basis for policy, program, and regulatory decisions.
Flight Validation Toolset Helps Get New Flight Paths Off the Ground Quickly and Safely
August 3, 2010
Flight paths in and out of busy airports are dictated by precise sets of guidelines. These flight paths, also called "procedures," ensure that aircraft avoid obstacles and other aircraft. Thousands of such flight procedures are currently in use worldwide. Now, advanced navigation capabilities and other technologies allow new procedures to be developed that will reduce flight times, save fuel, and reduce noise—making air travel more efficient and environmentally friendly.
MITRE's UAT Beacon Radio Receives 2010 R&D 100 Award
July 23, 2010
BEDFORD, Mass., July 23, 2010 — The MITRE Corporation's Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) Beacon Radio has been honored with a 2010 R&D 100 Award from R&D Magazine. The technologies on R&D Magazine's list are considered the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the past year. They are selected by the magazine's editors and an independent judging panel. MITRE staff listed on the award are: Matt DeGarmo, Perry Hamlyn, Chuck Mazzola, Chris Moody, Brian McHugh, Marc Pepi, Rob Strain, and Warren Wilson.
MITRE Launches Nationwide Effort to Better Manage Human Fatigue in Aviation
July 23, 2010
For more than a decade, human fatigue in aviation has been the subject of extensive research across military and civilian services. Experts are seeking to better understand human fatigue risks and take countermeasures. Their efforts were underscored last year in part when Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed in Buffalo, N.Y., killing 50. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated crew fatigue, and the subsequent public hearings highlighted issues relating to pilot commuting, training, rest and duty time, and fatigue management.
A Fast-Track Task Force Moves NextGen Forward
May 17, 2010
Just as the safe flight of an aircraft requires the combined effort of the flight crew and air traffic controllers, the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) plan to modernize the National Airspace System requires the combined efforts of the government, airspace users, and the aviation industry. Now, thanks to recommendations from a highly effective volunteer task force, the Federal Aviation Administration is continuing to move ahead with NextGen's development. The long-term benefits of the task force's work will include improved safety in the air and at airports, better use of existing capacity, greater design flexibility, and reduced environmental impacts.
Debby Kirkman's Contributions to NextGen
February 4, 2010
When Debby Kirkman first came to MITRE in 1984, she was looking for a challenging work environment in a family-friendly company. More than two decades later she's still here and feeling satisfied with her role supporting the Federal Aviation Administration's efforts to implement the Next Generation Air Transportation System, a large-scale multi-year program also called NextGen.
Equivalent Visual Operations: More Than Meets the Eye
January 27, 2010
SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration is sponsoring research that will help reduce airline congestion and delays, especially during bad weather. Equivalent Visual Operations (EVO) is a collection of new air traffic management technologies and procedures that will allow pilots and controllers to operate as efficiently in poor weather conditions as they can in favorable ones.
MITRE Engineers Honored for Achievements in Airborne Traffic Avoidance
December 7, 2009
MITRE Corporation engineers Chris Moody, Doyle Peed, Robert Strain, and Dr. Warren Wilson have received the 2009 Dr. John C. Ruth Digital Avionics Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the world's largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. The award, formerly known as the Digital Avionics Award, recognizes outstanding achievement in technical management and/or implementation of digital avionics in space or aeronautical systems to include system analysis, design, development or application.
Modeling a "Green" Effort
December 4, 2009
Over the past year Gene Lin has focused on developing models to find methods for reducing the environmental impact of air travel. Lin, a modeling and simulation engineer at MITRE's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) in McLean, Va., is the primary researcher and project leader of an exploratory research project called Green Airspace Design.
Green Air Space Design: Reducing Fuel Burn
October 26, 2009
Could making small adjustments at the beginning and end of aircrafts' flight paths add up to big benefits to the environment? That's what MITRE's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) is trying to find out through a new internally funded research effort called Green Airspace Design. The project studies how flight paths can—and cannot—be adjusted in terminal areas to minimize fuel consumption.
Putting Signal Processing to Work in the National Airspace
September 4, 2009
Rob Strain was studying computer and electrical engineering at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., when he first heard about MITRE in 1989. As a leader of the Young Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), he arranged for student AFCEA members to meet with MITRE's signal processing group to visit its labs and learn about its work. "It was inspirational," he says. "I was impressed by the technology research, people, and the work MITRE was doing for the public good."
A Successful Landing: Modeling Chicago's Airspace in Real Time
August 6, 2009
If you've ever passed through Chicago's O'Hare Airport, you probably know firsthand that it's one of the world's busiest. Airplanes awaiting their turn for takeoff line up on the runway like taxicabs during rush hour. Numerous industry projections estimate that O'Hare will only get busier in the future. The strain on the airport has created the need for more capacity. Fortunately, a major effort designed to ease congestion—the $6.6 billion, multiphase O'Hare Modernization Program (OMP)—is already underway. The OMP will increase the number of air traffic control towers and runways to meet the region's current and future aviation needs.
TCAS: A Second Set of Eyes for Pilots
June 9, 2009
The safety of commercial aircraft in the United States is something most travelers take for granted. It's been 23 years since the last aircraft collision over the U.S., thanks to a network of complementary systems that augment pilots' situational awareness of the airspace surrounding them.
Clear Skies for NextGen
June 4, 2009
Looking up at a sleek new aircraft crossing a blue sky may lead you to daydreaming about flying to Las Vegas to try your luck or hoping that the birthday present you overnighted to your Aunt June arrives in time. But when MITRE's Gregg Leone looks skyward, he anticipates a future where advances in aviation technology and air traffic management enable an unprecedented increase in air transportation options for the public, cargo shippers such as FedEx and UPS, and the military.
Fusing Aviation Data: A New Approach to Keeping Skies Safer
April 24, 2009
The ability to capture and analyze previously untapped aviation safety data is key to improving the already high levels of U.S. air travel safety. Recognizing this, the Federal Aviation Administration asked MITRE to create a new repository of airline safety data that can be mined to spot potential safety issues before incidents occur.
Reducing Flight Delays by Managing Air Traffic Uncertainties
April 13, 2009
Even with the aid of the latest in forecasting tools, weather can be hard to predict. This causes no end of headaches for air traffic managers, who must weigh this uncertainty as they make decisions—often many hours ahead of takeoff—about flight routing and schedules. Just a single sudden storm in a major transportation hub such as Chicago or New York can trigger gridlock across the entire country, potentially throwing thousands of flights off schedule.
Wired Magazine Features MITRE's CAASD
March 11, 2009
The MITRE Corporation was recently featured in Wired magazine regarding the company’s research and development in aviation. Read the “Key to Eliminating U.S. Flight Delays? Redesign the Sky Over New York City,” which appeared February 23, 2009.
Virtual Contrails: Modeling Air Traffic Control Over the Internet
February 26, 2009
"Cal Air 101 is cleared to San Francisco via the FMG6 departure, FMG transition, then as filed. Climb and maintain 12,000, expect FL310 in 10 minutes, departure frequency 118.60, squawk 5510." "Cal Air 101 cleared to San Fran via FMG6 departure, FMG transition, then as filed, 12k then FL310 in 10, departure 118.60, squawking 5510." "Cal Air 101, readback is correct. Contact ground on 121.40 for taxi." "We'll call ground. Good day, Cal Air 101." You might expect to overhear a conversation like this one between a pilot and an air traffic controller if you were to tap into a transmission from the local airport. But this exchange actually took place between two participants in a computer game played over the Internet. Both players are members of VATSIM (Virtual Air Traffic Simulation), a community of aviation enthusiasts who use the Internet to simulate real-life air travel. Though they sound like aviation professionals, neither player may have ever flown a plane or peered down from an air traffic control tower. Rather, they are hobbyists acting out their dreams of flying through the use of specially modified flight simulation programs and VATSIM's online servers.
RCAT Reduces Risk
December 18, 2008
The U.S. Air Force’s Electronic Systems Center lab—called the Reconfiguration Cockpit Avionics Testbed (RCAT) and located at MITRE in Bedford—connects with Raytheon’s Net Centric Operations/Integration Lab to test cross-agency communications. RCAT is most important for the success of NextGen air traffic management concepts. Read more in Avionics Magazine’s recent feature, “RCAT: Testbed for NextGen.” (After you reach the Avionics website, close the advertising box, and then click on RCAT Testbed.)
Patent Awarded for Tactical Check Algorithm
December 1, 2008
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently awarded CAASD information systems engineers Bill Arthur and Dan Kirk in F042 a patent for developing the “Tactical Aircraft Check Algorithm, System, and Method.” This invention was developed as a future performance enhancement to the User Request Evaluation Tool (URET).
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