Airports are vital national resources. They serve a key role in transportation of people and goods and in regional, national, and international commerce. They are where the nation's aviation system connects with other modes of transportation and where federal responsibility for managing and regulating air traffic operations intersects with the role of state and local governments that own and operate most airports. Research is necessary to solve common operating problems, to adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and to introduce innovations into the airport industry. The Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the airport industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet demands placed on it. The need for ACRP was identified in TRB Special Report 272: Airport Research Needs: Cooperative Solutions in 2003, based on a study sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The ACRP carries out applied research on problems that are shared by airport operating agencies and are not being adequately addressed by existing federal research programs. It is modeled after the successful National Cooperative Highway Research Program and Transit Cooperative Research Program. The ACRP undertakes research and other technical activities in a variety of airport subject areas, including design, construction, maintenance, operations, safety, security, policy, planning, human resources, and administration. The ACRP provides a forum where airport operators can cooperatively address common operational problems. The ACRP was authorized in December 2003 as part of the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. The primary participants in the ACRP are (1) an independent governing board, the ACRP Oversight Committee (AOC), appointed by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation with representation from airport operating agencies, other stakeholders, and relevant industry organizations such as the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO), and the Air Transport Association (ATA) as vital links to the airport community; (2) the TRB as program manager and secretariat for the governing board; and (3) the FAA as program sponsor. In October 2005, the FAA executed a contract with the National Academies formally initiating the program. The ACRP benefits from the cooperation and participation of airport professionals, air carriers, shippers, state and local government officials, equipment and service suppliers, other airport users, and research organizations. Each of these participants has different interests and responsibilities, and each is an integral part of this cooperative research effort. Research problem statements for the ACRP are solicited periodically but may be submitted to the TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility of the AOC to formulate the research program by identifying the highest prior...
Currently, after deicing operations, the presence of residual ice on an aircraft's wing is determined by a human deicer from a deicing ground crew via visual and tactile inspections. One method proposed to overcome some of the safety and physical concerns associated with human inspections is to use Ground Ice Detection Systems (GIDS). However, before regulatory authorities can consider GIDS for operational use, their performance had to be compared to human ice detection capabilities. In August 2005, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) William J. Hughes Technical Center's (WJHTC) Simulation and Analysis Group conducted a study sponsored by the FAA Office of Aviation Research, Flight Safety Branch (WJHTC), and Transport Canada's Transportation Development Centre to compare human ice detection performance using current visual and tactile techniques with the performance of two different GIDS under post deicing inspection scenarios. Nine male deicers from Globe Ground at Toronto Pearson Airport and Aero Mag 2000 Montreal performed post deicing inspections using three methods: the current method (Visual inspections and Tactile inspections), the GIDS1 method, and the GIDS2 method. Three separate post-deicing scenarios were presented each day for three days: a wing with 12 ice patches (High Contamination), three ice patches (Low Contamination), and a clean wing (No Contamination). Accuracy data, false detection data, and time to complete an inspection were collected and analyzed for each condition. The results from the study consistently indicated that overall GIDS1 was superior to human visual and tactile inspections and GIDS2 inspections in terms of accuracy, false detections, and stability in performance. Participants using GIDS1 were able to detect all patch sizes and thicknesses with the greatest accuracy while the other methods' accuracy improved as a function of patch size and thickness. In addition, inspections completed by the GIDS1 manufacturer throughout the study suggest that, with time and experience, performance could further improve.
Human visual and tactile ice detection capabilities while inspecting deiced aircraft surfaces have not been quantified. Six male professional deicers from AeroMag 2000 Montreal participated in the experiment. We used a cold chamber to simulate one of the conditions experienced in the operational deicing environment. Ice samples were created by APS Aviation on white painted aluminum panels. Ice thicknesses ranged from 0.2 mm to 1.0 mm and were covered with aircraft deicing fluid. We used a two-alternative forced-choice procedure in which we showed a deicer a panel, then a second panel, and finally asked him to indicate on which of the two ice was present. Our data showed that, within the range of thicknesses we presented, deicers were unable to visually detect ice of any thickness on the white painted panels, but could easily detect ice using a tactile check.
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