[1]. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance provided by Louis J. Glaab of Langley and Jeffrey L. Fox of Johnson in providing notes, documents, and interviews. Other valuable assistance was provided by Langley’s Lynda J. Kramer, Jarvis J. Arthur, III, and Monica F. Hughes, and by Michael F. Abernathy of Rapid Imaging Software, Inc. This chapter honors the numerous dedicated NASA researchers and technicians whose commitment to the ideals of NASA aeronautics has resulted in profound advancements in the aviation industry.
[2]. See statistics for the Ford Tri-Motor in Kenneth Munson, Airliners Between the Wars, 1919–1939 (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1972), pp. 54 and 140; and statistics for the Boeing 747 in Kenneth Munson, Airliners Since 1946 (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1972), pp. 95 and 167.
[3]. George E. Cooper, “The Pilot-Aircraft Interface,” in NASA LRC, Vehicle Technology for Civil Aviation: The Seventies and Beyond, NASA SP-292 (1971), pp. 271–272.
[4]. Ibid., p. 277.
[5]. E.M. Cortright, “Vehicle Technology for Civil Aviation: The Seventies and Beyond—Keynote Address,” in NASA LRC, Vehicle Technology for Civil Aviation, p. 1, and Figure 4, p. 8. The value of $40 million in 1964 is approximately $279 million in 2009, and $160 million in 1969 is approximately $942 million in 2009.
[6]. G. Barry Graves, Jr., “Advanced Avionic Systems,” in NASA LRC, Vehicle Technology for Civil Aviation, p. 287; see also J.P. Reeder, “The Airport-Airplane Interface: The Seventies and Beyond,” in the same work, pp. 259–269. The idea of dynamic and intelligent flight guidance displays began with early highway-in-the-sky research by the United States Navy’s George W. Hoover in the 1950s; see Joseph R. Chambers, Innovation in Flight: Research of the NASA Langley Research Center on Revolutionary Advanced Concepts for Aeronautics, NASA SP-2005-4539 (2005), p. 99. Chambers presents a thorough summary of the history of SVS research at NASA Langley through the end of 2005.
[7]. Sheldon Baron and Carl Feehrer, “An Analysis of the Application of AI to the Development of Intelligent Aids for Flight Crew Tasks,” NASA CR-3944 (1985). See also Richard M. Hueschen and John W. McManus, “Application of AI Methods to Aircraft Guidance and Control,” in Proceedings of the 7th American Control Conference, June 15–17, 1988, vol. 1 (New York: IEEE, 1988), pp. 195–201.
[8]. Ibid. For early research, see J.J. Adams, et al., “Description and Preliminary Studies of a Computer Drawn Instrument Landing Approach Display,” NASA TM-78771 (1978); D. Warner, “Flight Path Displays,” USAF Flight Dynamics Laboratory, Report AFFDL-TR-79-3075 (1979); A.J. Grunwald, et al., “Evaluation of a Computer-Generated Perspective Tunnel Display for Flight Path Following,” NASA TP-1736 (1980); Richard M. Hueschen, et al., “Guidance and Control System Research for Improved Terminal Area Operations,” in Joseph W. Stickle, ed., 1980 Aircraft Safety and Operating Problems, NASA CP-2170, pt. 1 (1981), pp. 51–61; Adams, “Simulator Study of a Pictorial Display for General Aviation Instrument Flight,” NASA TP-1963 (1982); Adams, “Flight-Test Verification of a Pictorial Display for General Aviation Instrument Approach,” NASA TM-83305 (1982); Adams, “Simulator Study of Pilot-Aircraft-Display System Response Obtained with a Three-Dimensional-Box Pictorial Display,” NASA TP-2122 (1983); J. Atkins, “Prototypical Knowledge for Expert Systems,” Artificial Intelligence, vol. 20, no. 2 (Feb. 1983), pp. 163–210; F. Hayes-Roth, et al., Building Expert Systems (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1983); and P. Winston and K. Prendergast, eds., The AI Business: Commercial Uses of Artificial Intelligence (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1984).
[9]. Chambers, Innovation in Flight, p. 99.
[10]. Eric C. Stewart, “A Simulation Study of Control and Display Requirements for Zero-Experience General Aviation Pilots,” NASA LRC, Workshop on Guidance, Navigation, Controls, and Dynamics for Atmospheric Flight, Report N94-25102 (1993); Eric C. Stewart, “A Piloted Simulation Study of Advanced Controls and Displays for General Aviation Airplanes,” NASA TM-111545 (1994).
[11]. Robert A. Rivers, “GA E-Z Fly,” NASA Langley Flight Test Report (July 10, Oct. 20, andDec. 1, 1992). NASA Langley flight-test reports were informal documents written by Langley research pilots describing their work on flight, simulation, or ground tests. Though these reports were written immediately after the flight test and were not peer-reviewed or corrected, they were for the most part extremely detailed and followed a rigorous format. The reports were provided researchers valuable input for final comprehensive reports, such as those referenced in this document. Unfortunately, these documents were not archived by NASA Langley, and most have been lost over the years. The author has relied extensively in this chapter on his reports retained in his personal files. Only one other report from another pilot was located.
[12]. Rivers, “GA E-Z Fly,” NASA Langley Flight Test Report (Oct. 20, 1992), p. 3.
[13]. M.K. Kaiser, “The Surface Operations Research and Evaluation Vehicle (SOREV)—A testbed for HSCT taxi issues,” AIAA Paper 1998-5558, 1998.
[14]. For example, J.J. “Trey” Arthur, III, Lawrence Prinzel, III, Kevin Shelton, Lynda J. Kramer, Steven P. Williams, Randall E. Bailey, and Robert M. Norman, “Design and Testing of an Unlimited Field of Regard Synthetic Vision Head-Worn Display for Commercial Aircraft Surface Operations,” NASA LRC and Boeing Phantom Works, NTRS Rept. LAR-17290-1 (2007).
[15]. For a sampling of this research, see Randall E. Bailey, et al., “Crew and Display Concepts Evaluation for Synthetic/Enhanced Vision Systems,” SPIE Defense and Security Symposium 2006, Apr. 2006; Z. Rahman, et al., “Automated, On-Board Terrain Analysis for Precision Landings,” Proceedings of SPIE Visual Information Processing XIV, vol. 6246 (Apr. 2006); J.J. Arthur, III, et al., “Design and Testing of an Unlimited-Field-of-Regard Synthetic Vision Head-worn Display for Commercial Aircraft Surface Operations,” Proceedings of SPIE Enhanced and Synthetic Vision, vol. 6559 (2007); Bailey, et al., “Fusion of Synthetic and Enhanced Vision for All-Weather Commercial Aviation Operations,” (NATO RTO-HFM-141), in NATO Human Factors and Medicine Symposium on Human Factors and Medical Aspects of Day/Night All Weather Operations: Current Issues and Future Challenges, pp. 11-1–11-18 (2007); P.V. Hyer, et al., “Cockpit Displays for Enhancing Terminal-Area Situational Awareness and Runway Safety,” NASA CR-2007-214545 (2007).
[16]. Russell V. Parrish, et al., “Aspects of Synthetic Vision Display Systems and the Best Practices of the NASA’s SVS Project,” NASA TP-2008-215130 (May 2008), p. 2. The referenced definition of SVS can be found in the following source: Parrish, et al., “Synthetic Vision,” The Avionics Handbook (Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2000), pp. 16-1–16-8. Parrish, et al.’s TP-2008-215130 is a definitive source of the work of the NASA Langley SVS project from 1999 to 2005. Additionally, “Best Practices” contains a bibliography of over 230 articles, technical reports, journal articles, and books on NASA’s SVS work.
[17]. Parrish, et al., “Aspects of Synthetic Vision,” NASA TP-2008-215130, p. 9.
[18]. Parrish, et al., “Description of ‘Crow’s Foot,’” p. 6.
[19]. Parrish, et al., “Aspects of Synthetic Vision,” NASA TP-2008-215130, p. 9.
[20]. For example, avionics concerns such as Thales, which certified an EFVS system with EASA, the FAA, Transport Canada, and Rockwell Collins, with its EFVS-4860 system; airframe manufacturers include Gulfstream for its G-IV, G-V, G-300, G-400/450, and G-500/550; Bombardier for its Global Express XRS and Global 5000; Dassault for its Falcon 900EX/DX and 2000EX/DX; and Embraer for its ECJ-190; regarding future EVO, see Capt. Bob Moreau, “Fed Ex HUD/EFVS Overview and LED Replacement for Airport and Approach Lighting Structures,” paper presented at the Illuminating Engineering Society of America Aviation Lighting Conference, 2009, at http://www.iesalc.org/docs/FedEx_HUD-EFVS_Overview.pdf, accessed Dec. 7, 2009.
[21]. Parrish, et al., “Aspects of Synthetic Vision,” NASA TP-2008-215130, p. 2.
[22]. See, for example, W.F. White and L.V. Clark, “Flight Performance of the TCV B-737 Airplane at Kenney Airport Using TRSB/MLS guidance,” NASA TM-80148 (1979); White and Clark, “Flight Performance of the TCV B-737 Airplane at Jorge Newbery Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Using TRSB/MLS Guidance,” NASA TM-80233 (1980); White and Clark, “Flight Performance of the TCV B-737 Airplane at Montreal Dorval International Airport, Montreal, Canada, Using TRSB/MLS Guidance,” NASA TM-81885 (1980); Richard M. Hueschen, J.F. Creedon, W.T. Bundick, and J.C. Young, “Guidance and Control System Research for Improved Terminal Area Operations,” in Joseph W. Stickle, ed., 1980 Aircraft Safety and Operating Problems, NASA CP-2170, pt. 1 (1981), pp. 51–61; J.A. Houck, “A Simulation Study of Crew performance in Operating an Advanced Transport Aircraft in an Automated Terminal Area Environment,” NASA TM-84610 (1983); and John J. White, “Advanced Transport Operating Systems Program,” SAE Paper 90-1969, presented at the Society of Automotive Engineers Aerospace Technology Conference and Exposition, Long Beach, CA, Oct. 1–4, 1990. See also Lane E. Wallace, Airborne Trailblazer: Two Decades with NASA Langley’s 737 Flying Laboratory (NASA SP 4216), pp. 27–33, for further details on the ATOPS research aircraft.
[23]. George W. Bradley, III, “Origins of the Global Positioning System,” in Jacob Neufeld, George M. Watson, Jr., and David Chenoweth, Technology and the Air Force: A Retrospective Assessment (Washington, DC: Air Force History and Museums Program, 1997), pp. 245–253; Ivan A. Getting, All in a Lifetime: Science in the Defense of Democracy (New York: Vantage Press, 1989), pp. 574–597; John L. McLucas, with Kenneth J. Alnwick and Lawrence R. Benson, Reflections of a Technocrat: Managing Defense, Air, and Space Programs During the Cold War (Maxwell AFB, AL: Air University Press, 2006), pp. 295–297; and Randy James, “A Brief History of GPS,” Time.com, May 26, 2009, http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1900862,00.html, accessed Dec. 7, 2009.
[24]. Chambers, Innovation in Flight, p. 95.
[25]. Steven D. Young and Denise R. Jones, “Flight Demonstration of Integrated Airport Surface Movement Technologies,” NASA TM-1998-206283 (1998).
[26]. Denise R. Jones and Steven D. Young, “Airport Surface Movement Technologies—Atlanta Demonstration Overview,” NASA LRC (1997), NTRS Document ID 200.401.10268, p. 1.
[27]. Steven D. Young and Denise R. Jones, “Flight Testing of an Airport Surface Guidance, Navigation, and Control System,” paper presented at the Institute of Navigation National Technical Meeting, Jan. 21–23, 1998, p. 1.
[28]. Young and Jones, “Flight Demonstration of Integrated Airport Surface Movement Technologies,” and Jones and Young, “Airport Surface Movement Technologies—Atlanta Demonstration Overview.”
[29]. Chambers, Innovation in Flight, pp. 103–104.
[30]. XVS is used as an abbreviation for External Vision Systems. However, under NASA’s High-Speed Research (HSR) program, XVS was also shorthand for “eXternal [sic] Visibility System,” yet another example of how acronyms and designations evolved over the length of SVS–XVS–EVS studies. See NASA LRC, “NASA’s High-Speed Research Program: The eXternal Visibility System Concept,” NASA Facts on Line, FS-1998-09-34-LaRC (Sept. 1998), http://oea.larc.nasa.gov/PAIS/HSR-Cockpit.html, accessed Dec. 7, 2009.
[31]. See the Flanagan and Benson cases on supersonic cruise and sonic boom research in these volumes; as well, Chambers provides an informative historical treatment of the HSR program in Innovations in Flight, covering the broad areas of research into acoustics, environmental impacts, flight controls, and aerodynamics (to name a few) that are beyond the scope of this chapter.
[32]. Erik Conway, High-Speed Dreams: NASA and the Technopolitics of Supersonic Transportation (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), pp. 213–299.
[33]. NASA, “NASA’s High Speed Research Program: The eXternal Visibility System,” in NASA Facts FS-1998-09-34, LaRC, Hampton VA (1998).
[34]. Parrish, et al., “Aspects of Synthetic Vision Display Systems,” p. 17; see also M. Yang, T. Gandhi, R. Kasturi, L. Coraor, O. Camps, and J. McCandless, “Real-time Obstacle Detection System for High Speed Civil Transport Supersonic Aircraft,” paper presented at the IEEE National Aerospace and Electronics Conference, Oct. 2000; and Mary K. Kaiser, “The Surface Operations Research and Evaluation Vehicle (SOREV): A testbed for HSCT taxi issues,” AIAA Paper 1998-5558 (1998).
[35]. Calspan has for decades been an exemplar of excellence in flight simulation. Originally known as the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, in the 1990s, the company was variously known as Arvin Calspan and Veridian. In this chapter, Calspan is used throughout, as that name has the largest recognition among the aerospace professional research community.
[36]. Russell V. Parrish, ed., “Avionic Pictorial Tunnel-/Pathway-/Highway-In-The-Sky Workshops,” NASA CP-2003-212164, presents the proceedings of these interactive workshops.
[37]. “Minutes of the Third XVS Symbology Workshop,” Third XVS Symbology Workshop, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, Sept. 5, 1996.
[38]. Like NASA’s pioneer 737, the TIFS airplane had its own remarkable history, flying extensively in support of numerous aircraft development programs until its retirement in 2008. For its background and early capabilities, see David A. Brown, “In-Flight Simulator Capabilities Tested,” Aviation Week and Space Technology, Aug. 9, 1971.
[39]. Robert A. Rivers, “HSR XVS TSRV Sim 1 FTR,” NASA Langley Flight Test Report (Aug. 31, 1995), p. 1.
[40]. Ibid., p. 3.
[41]. Interview of Louis J. Glaab by Rivers, NASA Langley Research Center, June 1, 2009.
[42]. Rivers, “HSR XVS FL.3 Flight Test,” NASA Langley Flight Test Report (Apr. 21, 1997), p. 1.
[43]. Ibid., pp. 4–6.
[44]. Dr. R. Michael Norman, “Flight Test Notes, R-806 and R-9807,” NASA Langley Flight Test Report (Apr. 21, 1997), p. 3.
[45]. Rivers, “HSR FL.5 Flight Test Report,” NASA Langley Flight Test Report (Oct. 2, 1999), pp. 1–2.
[46]. Ibid., p. 4.
[47]. This information comes from the author’s notes and recollection from that time period.
[48]. The author was a participant in a series of HL-20 simulations; for details of these, see Robert A. Rivers, E. Bruce Jackson, and W.A. Ragsdale, “Piloted Simulator Studies of the HL-20 Lifting Body,” paper presented at the 35th Symposium of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Beverly Hills, CA, Sept. 1991.
[49]. Scott A. Berry, Thomas J. Horvath, K. James Weilmuenster, Stephan J. Alter, and N. Ronald Merski, “X-38 Experimental Aeroheating at Mach 10,” AIAA Paper 2001-2828 (2000), p. 1; see also Jay Miller, The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45 (Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing, 2001), pp. 378–383.
[50]. Quoted in NASA JSC, “A New Definition of Ground Control,” Spinoff 2002 (Houston: NASA JSC, 2002), pp. 132–133; see also Frank J. Delgado, “Simulation for the X-38/CRV Parafoil and Re-Entry Phases,” AIAA Paper 2000-4085 (2000); Frank Delgado and Mike Abernathy, “A Hybrid Synthetic Vision System for the Tele-operation of Unmanned Vehicles,” NASA JSC (2004), NTIS Document 200.502.17300; and interview of Michael Abernathy by Robert A. Rivers, Albuquerque, NM, June 11, 2009.
[51]. NASA JSC, “A New Definition of Ground Control,” p. 132.
[52]. Interview of Jeffrey L. Fox by Robert A. Rivers, NASA Johnson Space Center, Aug. 15, 2008, and June 2, 2009. The author has also relied upon notes, e-mails, memos, and recollections of Jeffrey Fox.
[53]. Etienne Prandini, “ISS Partnership in Crisis,” Interavia Business & Technology (May 2002); Mark Carreau, “Project’s Cancellation Irks NASA,” Houston Chronicle, June 9 2002.
[54]. Eric C. Boe, Jeffrey L. Fox, Francisco J. Delgado, Michael F. Abernathy, Michael Clark, and Kevin Ehlinger, “Advanced Cockpit Evaluation System Van,” 2005 Biennial Research and Technology Report, University Research and Affairs Office, NASA Johnson Space Center (2005).
[55]. Interview of Fox by Rivers, NASA Johnson Space Center, Aug. 15, 2008, and June 2, 2009.
[56]. Chambers, Innovation in Flight, pp. 98, 104. The SVS project is well documented, with a number of excellent technical reports. Chambers provides a good overview of the flight tests and personnel, and Parrish, et al., Aspects of Synthetic Vision provides detail of the technologies being evaluated. Both sources should be consulted for additional details. For GA SVS research, see Louis J. Glaab, Russell V. Parrish, Monica F. Hughes, and Mohammad A. Takallu, “Effectively Transforming IMC Flight into VMC Flight: An SVS Case Study,” Proceedings of the 25th Digital Avionics System Conference (2006).
[57]. Spain, Secretary of Civil Aviation, Report on Tenerife Crash, KLM B-747 Ph-BUF and Pan Am B-747 N736, Collision at Tenerife Airport, Spain, on 27 March 1977 (Oct. 1978), prep. by Harro Ranter, Aircraft Accident Digest, ICAO Circular 153-AN/56), pp. 22–68, http://www.panamair.org/accidents/victor.htm, accessed Oct. 24, 2009. Complicating the Tenerife accident were unusual traffic pressures on the respective crews after diversion of their flights from Las Palmas to Los Rodeos Airport, Tenerife, caused by a terrorist bombing of the terminal building at Las Palmas. Tenerife was heavily crowded as a result, and the stress was extreme upon both air and ground crews, including ATC personnel.
[58]. Denis