February 7, 2024- No. 06 In This Issue : Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun Has A Clear Message For Everyone: 'Boeing Owns It' : New quality glitch to delay some Boeing 737 MAX deliveries : Bjorn’ s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 47. MSG-3 Maintenance : Mixed Reaction To 25-Hour CVR Rule : Airbus's ZEROe: First engine fuel cell powers up for hydrogen flight : Spirit AeroSystems issues statement on non-conformity manufacturing issue : Aviation Safety Management and Artificial Intelligence : Canada unveils charging change with 1500V power station for hybrid planes : Flight Friday: How The Leap And GTF Issues Are Affecting Aircraft Utilization : This Lockheed Martin Researcher’s Work on UAVs Saves Lives Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun Has A Clear Message For Everyone: 'Boeing Owns It' Jan 31, 202414:46 CST Boeing Company BA reported quarterly results Wednesday morning. Following the print, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun shared details on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" regarding the company's renewed focus on quality and accountability. What Happened: Boeing has been under scrutiny since a door plug blew out of a 737 Max 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month. Calhoun on Wednesday vowed that Boeing will "instantly respond" to any opportunities for failure that are found through inspections and the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) report. "We own it, there's no other answer I can give you. I want everybody, everybody on every airplane to know that Boeing owns it. We own our supply chain, we own Spirit, we own the results of our work. We understand that, we really do," Calhoun said. Boeing suspended its guidance for 2024 amid the uncertainty of the ongoing FAA investigation and audit of the company. Calhoun said the entire company is focused on quality and safety improvements, and noted that now is not the time to be distracted by financial concerns. "Our full attention, our full focus as a company, is to make certain that we never have a safety escape again. Learn everything we can from the accident, learn everything we can from the FAA's audit, learn everything we can from the stand-down that we had and all of the ideas that were given to us by our own people, and that requires all of our attention and all of our energy," Calhoun explained. Related News: Airline CEOs Express Frustration With Boeing’s Failures: ‘This Isn’t New’ Last week, United Airlines Holdings, Inc. UAL CEO Scott Kirby expressed his frustration with the issues at Boeing. Calhoun responded to Kirby's comments and said that Boeing is working to restore confidence with its customers. "I am going to work my tail off, and our team will, to satisfy Scott Kirby. And I'm sorry to put him in a position where he has to talk about Boeing when he had a phenomenal quarter," Calhoun stated. New quality glitch to delay some Boeing 737 MAX deliveries By Tim Hepher and Valerie Insinna February 5, 202411:16 AM CST Feb 4 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N), opens new tab said on Sunday it will have to do more work on about 50 undelivered 737 MAX airplanes, potentially delaying some near-term deliveries, after its supplier Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N), opens new tab discovered two mis-drilled holes on some fuselages. Boeing confirmed the findings in response to a Reuters query after industry sources said an "edge margin", or spacing problem, had been found in holes drilled on a window frame on some jets. Boeing, which has been under fire from regulators and airlines since the Jan. 5 blowout of a door plug on a 737 MAX 9, said safety was unaffected and existing 737s could keep flying. "This past Thursday, a supplier notified us of a non-conformance in some 737 fuselages. I want to thank an employee at the supplier who flagged to his manager that two holes may not have been drilled exactly to our requirements," Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal said in a letter to staff referring to Spirit, which is the sole 737 fuselage supplier. "While this potential condition is not an immediate flight safety issue and all 737s can continue operating safely, we currently believe we will have to perform rework on about 50 undelivered airplanes," Deal said in the letter, first reported exclusively by Reuters. Spirit spokesperson Joe Buccino told Reuters that as part of its 360-degree quality management program, a member of its team identified an issue that did not conform to engineering standards. "We are in close communication with Boeing on this matter," he said. Deal said Boeing plans to devote several "factory days" this week at the Renton 737 plant outside Seattle to work on the mis-aligned holes and finish off other outstanding work. Such days allow teams to pause normal work and attend to specific tasks without shutting production. The amount of rework time is expected to be finalised in coming days. It is the latest effort by Boeing to tighten its operations after the blowout on an Alaska Airlines (ALK.N), opens new tab jet threw the spotlight on quality controls. Investigators, who have been examining whether the bolts on the Alaska Airlines door plug were missing or badly fitted, are expected to issue an interim report this week. At the same time, Boeing has asked a major supplier, which it did not identify, to halt shipments until jobs have been completed to specification, Deal said. "While this delay in shipment will affect our production schedule, it will improve overall quality and stability." Boeing said parts that already conform to the right specification can continue to be shipped. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had no immediate comment. QUALITY DEFECT The U.S. regulator has ordered Boeing to cap 737 production at the current rate of 38 jets a month for an undefined period while it addresses quality lapses, deferring the increases in production needed to meet rising demand for new jets. So far, Boeing has said it will keep buying parts from suppliers at previously planned higher rates in order to cushion the impact they face from the freeze in production growth. The 737 MAX checks focus on potentially sloppy positioning of two holes on a window frame assembly supplied by Spirit, a condition known as "short edge margin," the industry sources said. Edge margins, or the gap between a fastener and the edge of a metal sheet, have to meet strict specifications designed to minimise the risk of metal fatigue over the long term. In the past, the FAA has occasionally ordered inspections for cracks resulting from fastener holes being mis-drilled. As of Friday, the "non-conformance" or quality defect had been found in 22 fuselages out of 47 inspected up to that point, spread between Boeing and Spirit, and may exist in some 737s in service, the sources said. The findings came to light in a routine notification known as a Notice of Escapement, in which suppliers notify Boeing of any known or suspected quality slip, the sources said. Such quality reports are common in aerospace but the discovery comes as Boeing and its best-selling jet are under the microscope following the Alaska Airlines emergency. The U.S. planemaker last month urged suppliers to intensify checks and told them it is "imperative" that they meet quality requirements, according to a memo seen by Reuters. People familiar with the matter said Boeing and Spirit have yet to come with an agreed position on how many of the mis-drilled holes have to be addressed, and how many of the errors are so slight that the fuselages can be used "as is". Spirit, spun off from Boeing in 2005, is due to unveil earnings on Tuesday. Boeing 737s are assembled in Renton outside Seattle from fuselages shipped by train from Sprit in Wichita, Kansas. Reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris and Valerie Insinna in Washington; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Tom Hogue, Gerry Doyle and Jamie Freed Bjorn’ s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 47. MSG-3 Maintenance leehamnews.com/2024/02/02/bjorn-s-corner-new-aircraft-technologies-part-47-msg-3-maintenance February 2, 2024 By Bjorn Fehrm February 2, 2024, ©. Leeham News: We are discussing the different phases of a new airliner program. After covering the Design and Production, we now look at the Operational phase of a new airliner family. For the operational phase, the airplane must pass scrutiny for Continued Airworthiness. The biggest item in a regulator’s Instructions for Continued Airworthiness is the required Maintenance program to keep an airliner airworthy. We started last week with how maintenance went from ad-hoc to a Hard Timed maintenance program in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Figure 1. The maintenance manual for the Boeing 747. Source: Boeing. MSG Maintenance Programs For an aircraft to keep its operational certification, it must be subject to a maintenance program approved by the local regulator. A local regulator, in turn, relies on a proposed maintenance program from the OEM, which today is developed in a prescribed procedure called MSG-3 (from Maintenance Steering Group 3rd version). Last week, we described how aircraft maintenance programs started with the introduction of the big jets (Boeing 707, Douglas DC-8) in the late 1950s. The result was a Hard Timed maintenance schedule where the aircraft systems had parts disassembled at regular intervals. However, these maintenance procedures were not optimal. Aircraft had incidents after maintenance, as the changed parts either had early failures (the early part of a failure bath-tub curve) or were incorrectly fitted or calibrated. In 1968, the FAA, the Airliners’ Air Transport Association (ATA), OEMs, and Maintenance organizations formed the Maintenance Steering Group, MSG, to formulate a better maintenance concept than the Hard Timed one. The result was a new decision logic on what maintenance different parts should have, where On-Condition maintenance was an important concept. Other ideas were based on “Do not touch a running system unless there are logical reasons to do so or indications are it needs attention.” The result was the first maintenance program using MSG-1 logic for the new Boeing 747-100. The program, together with regulator-mandated maintenance limits coming from the System Safety Assessment (SSA), that is performed to achieve Design Certification (called Certification Maintenance Requirements, CRMs) and the limits for crack growth, etc., that comes out of fatigue analysis and testing (listed in Airworthiness Limitations, ALs), formed the approved maintenance program for the 747-100. The instruction for how the maintenance should be done on the different systems, etc., was described in the aircraft’s maintenance manual, Figure 1. The next refinement was the introduction of Condition-Monitoring, where values from a system were monitored, and only as these went outside the normal range a maintenance task was triggered. The MSG-2 program in 1970 added Condition-Monitoring to the Hard Timed and On-Condition maintenance procedures. MSG-3 changes the analysis approach MSG-1 and MSG-2 used a bottom-up analysis method, which resulted in a very high number of parts that should be tracked for Flight Hours, Flight Cycles, Calendar time, or any combination thereof. As more complex aircraft were in development, the Air Transport Association (ATA) formed a task force in 1979 to change MSG-2 to a better analysis model. The result was MSG-3, which is used today in the industry for all airliners and most business jets. Now, the analysis was made top-down. If it could be proven that a system with a failure had no flight safety consequence, no mandatory maintenance task was defined for the failure. Still, a maintenance recommendation could be defined, but then for economic reasons, to keep the aircraft well maintained and functional. As a result, MSG-3 separated flight safety-related maintenance tasks and economically motivated tasks. The new generation of airliners then in development, like Boeing 757, 767, and Airbus A320/A330, have their maintenance program defined by the MSG-3 top-down approach, as has all airliners since. In next week’s Corner, we will look at how an MSG-3 maintenance program is developed for the Airbus A319/320/321 series. Mixed Reaction To 25-Hour CVR Rule By Amelia Walsh Published: February 2, 2024 Updated: February 3, 2024 Comments for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA’s) proposed rule to increase cockpit voice recorder (CVR) times closed Friday with mixed reaction from industry representatives in the 99 comments received. The Dec. 4 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) would extend the CVR recording time to 25 hours for all newly manufactured aircraft. According to the FAA, the increase would provide investigators, operators and aviation authorities with more comprehensive data to determine the causes of incidents and accidents, while making the FAA’s regulations more consistent with existing international requirements. Under the current two-hour requirement, CVR data covering aviation incidents is often overwritten before investigators can get access to it. Mixed Reaction To 25-Hour CVR Rule The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has been advocating for the change since 2018, but given the spate of close calls involving commercial aircraft in the last year, the issue has once again come to the forefront. The NTSB said the rule doesn’t go far enough as it “does not propose a similar requirement to retrofit existing airplanes required to carry a CVR and a flight data recorder (FDR).” Several organizations including FedEx, the Cargo Airline Association, Regional Airline Association, Alaska Airlines and Helicopter Association International have all expressed their support for the rule. Meanwhile, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents 77,000 pilots from 43 airlines, stressed the need for additional CVR protections to be in place before moving forward. ALPA proposed measures such as indefinite maintenance of CVR recordings by the NTSB, permanent deletion of the recording medium returned to the aircraft operator, and restrictions on the use of recordings or transcripts for administrative or disciplinary proceedings. The Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA), which represents 35,000 airline pilots from American Airlines, UPS, NetJets, Atlas Air and Republic Airlines among others, has strongly opposed the rule. CAPA says its primary concerns are related to the misuse of CVR recordings by entities outside of the FAA and NTSB such as law enforcement investigations. Airbus's ZEROe: First engine fuel cell powers up for hydrogen flight Successful activation at 1.2 MW marks a pivotal step on Airbus’ ZEROe roadmap, aiming for a hydrogen-propelled aircraft by 2035. Jijo Malayil Updated: Feb 02, 2024 05:12 PM EST ZEROe teams powered on the iron pod, the future hydrogen-propulsion system designed for Airbus’ electric concept aircraft. Airbus Airbus has achieved a significant milestone on the journey toward hydrogen-powered flight by successfully activating its first ZEROe engine fuel cell. In late 2023, the iron pod, a pivotal component of Airbus's electric concept aircraft, was powered by the ZEROe teams. This innovative hydrogen-propulsion system integrates the hydrogen fuel cell system, the essential electric motors required for propeller rotation, and the necessary cooling and control units. Achieving a successful power output of 1.2 megawatts marks a significant milestone on Airbus' ZEROe roadmap, aiming to deploy a hydrogen-propulsion aircraft into commercial service by 2035. Significant advancement In 2020, Airbus unveiled four hydrogen-powered aircraft concepts to the public. Among these, three utilized hydrogen combustion and hybrid engines, while the fourth employed a fully electric system, integrating hydrogen fuel cells and a propeller propulsion mechanism. Spirit AeroSystems issues statement on non-conformity manufacturing issue written by Alex Jirgens WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - Spirit AeroSystems has issued a statement after it was discovered that two holes on some 737 Max jets were not drilled exactly to Boeing's requirements. In the statement, Spirit notified Boeing last week of a 'non-conformity manufacturing issue' that a Spirit employee identified. As part of the company's protocol, engineering reviewed the issue to determine any required follow-up actions, and it was determined that there is no safety-of-flight issue. 50 planes that had yet to be delivered to Boeing were required to be reworked after the issue was discovered. The company says an engineering review is ongoing, with a final disposition expected this week. A course of action will be defined at that time, with any required repairs having a recommended solution. "In close coordination with Boeing, Spirit will continue delivering fuselages that incorporate additional inspections and known repairs and meet the agreed-upon assembly condition. Spirit will continue its normal and planned production operations until formally notified of any changes," the statement said. Aviation Safety Management and Artificial Intelligence Tariq Jamil January 12, 2024 Soaring into Safety : How AI could take Aviation to New Heights with a Touch of the Imaginary ✨ The aviation industry boasts an incredible safety record ✈️, constantly tightening the already meticulous procedures that govern its operations . Yet, in a sky woven with complex systems and ever-evolving threats ️, even the most robust flight hardware systems designed with operational fail-safety and application of safety management systems (SMS) in operational and maintenance domains, can leave blind spots . This is where artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to become a transformative force ♀️, revolutionizing traditional SMS frameworks with its power to predict , analyze , and proactively prevent incidents. At the outset of the fact that the aircraft systems and aviation safety regulations are far ahead of the rest of the industries in terms of their fail safety, the AI change is knocking the doors of industry, with regulators like EASA fast adopting the AI framework (as outlined in my newsletter edition 1). Taking Risks Off the Runway: Imagine a very near future where: • AI-powered sensors, integrated seamlessly into existing Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) systems, not only anticipate equipment failures ⚙️ but also generate immersive simulations of potential malfunctions, allowing engineers to test-fix issues before they disrupt operations. The concept of BITE (built-in-test) is long been in place in aircraft computers, and coupled with AI predictive power & decision making would far enhance the in-air safety. • Intelligent software, analyzing data beyond the scope of traditional FDM and safety audits like IOSA and OSHAS , formulates personalized fatigue management plans for each crew member, optimizing alertness and performance in real-time ⏱️. • Advanced vision systems, not just scanning for security breaches as per SMS protocols , but also crafting virtual worlds to train security personnel for every conceivable scenario, from unauthorized access to in-flight emergencies ✈️. These are just glimpses of the potential the AI (& its most intelligent form, the generative AI) holds for aviation safety . It pushes the boundaries of prediction, stepping beyond mere analysis to create realistic simulations and training environments that enhance existing SMS frameworks ️. Fueling the Safety Engine: The key to unlocking AI's potential lies in data, meticulously collected and managed through robust SMS structures ️: • Comprehensive flight data: Every facet of aircraft operation is recorded and analyzed , including real-time performance data , historical maintenance records ️, and even subtle engine sound vibrations . This data, collected through FDM programs and other SMS protocols, feeds AI algorithms with crucial insights . • Operational insights: Weather patterns ☁️, air traffic control logs ✈️, even pilot reports of near misses ⚠️ – understanding the broader aviation ecosystem is crucial ✈️. Integrating this data into AI models alongside FDM and audit findings provides a holistic picture of potential risks . • Human factors: Pilot fatigue levels , decision-making patterns , even eye movement data during critical situations ✈️ – incorporating the human element is essential for a holistic approach . This data, often gathered during safety audits and training, adds a crucial layer to AI's safety analysis ✈️. • Aircraft Inspection and Ramp safety are the areas where computer vision has already started plaing its role. Coupled with Generative AI, I can see the paradigm shift in the way we take safety in these domains. Once this data is harnessed, machine learning takes center stage , with generative AI playing a critical role ✨: • Supervised learning algorithms can be trained on historical incident data and FDM trends to identify patterns and predict future risks ️, while generative AI can create synthetic data ️ to refine these predictions and fill in gaps in real-world data. • Unsupervised learning can uncover hidden trends in operational data, revealing unforeseen hazards and vulnerabilities beyond the scope of traditional safety audits, while generative AI can visualize these trends in immersive simulations for better understanding and mitigation ️. • Reinforcement learning can optimize crew training simulations, helping pilots and ground personnel make the best decisions in critical situations ✈️ based on FDM data and safety audit findings ✈️, while generative AI can create dynamic scenarios ✈️ to challenge and refine their decision-making skills. Balancing the Scales: Implementing AI in safety-critical systems like SMS frameworks demands careful consideration of the cost vs. benefits ⚖️: • Data infrastructure and model development represent significant investments, but the potential cost savings from preventing accidents are immense. • Ethical considerations surrounding data privacy and algorithmic bias must be addressed with transparency and responsibility, aligning with existing safety audit standards. • Human-AI collaboration requires establishing trust and clear roles to ensure seamless integration and optimal safety outcomes, strengthening existing SMS protocols rather than replacing them. • Aligning with existing frameworks: AI-powered systems must be seamlessly integrated with airlines' established SMS and audit protocols, like IOSA and OSHAS, to ensure a cohesive and comprehensive approach to risk mitigation. • Transfer Learning, the concept of training an AI model from an already trained model with often similar domain data is potentially the best way of collaboration and sharing experiences across the industry partners without exposing giving explicit access to internal safety data. The Future of Flight: By addressing these challenges and harnessing the power of AI, both traditional and generative, the aviation industry can soar to even greater heights of safety. Imagine skies where incidents are predicted and prevented before they occur, where equipment is meticulously maintained based on FDM insights, and where personnel are empowered to make informed decisions for optimal safety, all within a training environment enriched by the imagination of AI. This is not just a distant dream, but a future within reach. By embracing AI as a partner in safety, the aviation industry can ensure that every flight takes off and lands with the promise of a journey that is not only efficient and enjoyable, but also, above all, demonstrably safe. Join the Conversation: This is just the beginning of the conversation. Share your thoughts, concerns, and experiences on how AI can revolutionize aviation safety in the comments below! Let's build a future where the skies: #AviationSafety hashtag #AIinAviation hashtag #FutureofFlight Canada unveils charging change with 1500V power station for hybrid planes Pratt & Whitney Canada pioneers a high-voltage Mobile Charging Unit (MCU) for hybrid-electric aviation, enhancing sustainability through bidirectional charging. Can Emir Published: Jan 23, 2024 07:29 AM EST RTX's hybrid-electric flight demonstrator developed by Pratt & Whitney Canada Pratt & Whitney Canada In a significant leap towards sustainable aviation, Pratt & Whitney Canada, in collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Innovative Vehicle Institute (IVI), introduces a cutting-edge Mobile Charging Unit (MCU) as part of the RTX hybrid-electric flight demonstrator project. High-voltage capabilities redefine charging standards The star of this technological marvel is the MCU, which is designed to charge high-power batteries at an impressive 1500 volts, aligning seamlessly with Megawatt Charging System standards prevalent in the aviation industry. Alexandre Gagnon, Vice President of Corporate Canada unveils charging change with 1500V power station for hybrid planes at Pratt & Whitney Canada, emphasizes the critical role of high-voltage, bidirectional charging systems in various electric and hybrid-electric applications, including aircraft and other transportation modes. Flight Friday: How The Leap And GTF Issues Are Affecting Aircraft Utilization Daniel Williams February 01, 2024 This week’s Flight Friday looks at the effects caused by the engine issues with the CFM Leap and the Pratt & Whitney GTF (PW1000G). The well-publicized issues that have been affecting these engines are being managed in different ways. The CFM Leap has a “fuel nozzle” issue that seems to be well under control. The Leap number of ground days started to slowly increase from August 2022 but is hovering in the 17-18% bracket. To put it into context, the CFM56 in northern hemisphere summer 2019 had a 20% ground day rate, so anything under 20% could be deemed “business as usual” for aircraft operations. The Pratt & Whitney GTF (specifically the PW1000G version that powers the Airbus A320neo family), has two dominant issues: the combustion/heat exchanger and the High-Pressure Turbine (HPT) blades. The HPT issue was announced in July 2023. Since then, we have seen the number of ground days grow from the mid-20s to almost one-third. Operators were keen to get ahead of the HPT issue and started amending/decreasing their flight schedules accordingly. The GTF issue is expected to carry on through 2024. However, it does seem that Pratt now has a handle on the issue and hopefully the ground days remain reasonably constant. For context, ground days for the V2500 in northern hemisphere summer 2019 were around 12%, so the GTF, currently, is almost three times worse. This data was put together using Aviation Week’s Tracked Aircraft Utilization tool. This Lockheed Martin Researcher’s Work on UAVs Saves Lives The aircrafts are used for military and disaster-recovery missions WILLIE JONES 01 FEB 2024 Lockheed Martin’s director of technology integration Kingsley Fregene attends the test flight of the unmanned version of the K-Max helicopter. KINGSLEY FREGENE Kingsley Fregene wants to keep people out of harm’s way—so much so that he has ordered his life around that fundamental goal. As director of technology integration at Lockheed Martin, in Grand Prairie, Texas, he leads a team that is actively pursuing breakthroughs designed to, among other things, allow life-saving missions to be performed in hazardous environments without putting humans at risk. He has supervised the development of algorithms for autonomous aircraft used for military missions and disaster-recovery operations. He also contributed to algorithms enabling autonomous undersea vehicles to inspect offshore oil and gas platforms after hurricanes so that divers don’t have to. Kingsley Fregene EMPLOYER Lockheed Martin in Grand Prairie, Texas TITLE Director of technology integration and intellectual property MEMBER GRADE Fellow ALMA MATERS Federal University of Technology in Owerri, Nigeria; University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada One of his recent projects was helping to design the world’s first autonomous unmanned aircraft system in which the entire vehicle—not just its rotors—spins. The micro air vehicle was inspired by the aerodynamics of maple seeds, whose twirling slows and prolongs their descent. The benefits of unmanned aerial vehicles In a major project more than a decade ago, Fregene and colleagues at Lockheed Martin teamed up with Kaman Aerospace of Bloomfield, Conn., on an unmanned version of its K-Max helicopter. The K-Max can ferry as much as 2,700 kilograms of cargo in a single trip. The Lockheed team created and implemented mission systems and control algorithms that augmented the control system already on the helicopter, enabling it to fly completely autonomously. The U.S. Marine Corps used the autonomous K-Max helicopters for resupply missions in Afghanistan. It’s been estimated that those delivery flights made hundreds of ground-based convoy missions unnecessary, thereby sparing thousands of troops from being exposed to improvised explosive devices, land mines, and snipers. The autonomous version of the K-Max also has been demonstrated in disaster-recovery operations. It offers the possibility of keeping humanitarian aid workers away from dangerous situations, as well as rescuing people trapped in disaster zones. “It is often better to fly in lifesaving supplies instead of loading trucks with supplies to bring them along roads that might not be passable anymore,” Fregene says. K-Max and one of Lockheed Martin’s small UAVs, the Indago, have been used to fight fires. Indago flies above structures engulfed in flames and maps out the hot zones, on which K-Max then drops flame retardant or water. “This collaborative mission between two of our platforms means no firefighters are put in harm’s way,” Fregene says. He and his team also helped in the development of the maple seed–inspired Samarai, the first autonomous wholly rotating unmanned aircraft system. The 41-centimeter-long drone weighs a mere 227 grams. It depends on an algorithm that tells an actuator when and how much to adjust the angle of a flap that determines its direction. Compared with other aircraft, the spinning drone is simpler to produce, requires less maintenance, and is less complex to control because its only control surface is the trailing-edge flap. IEEE Fellow Kingsley Fregene holds up the maple seed–inspired Samarai, the first autonomous wholly rotating unmanned aircraft system. KINGSLEY FREGENE Saving lives in Nigeria Fregene’s aim to keep people safe started with his first after-school job, as a bus conductor, when he was in the sixth grade. As part of the job, in Oghara, Nigeria, then a small fishing village along the Niger River, he collected fares and directed passengers on and off the bus. With no traffic cops or traffic lights, there often was chaos at major intersections. People would get injured, and he occasionally would get out and direct traffic. “I, a little guy, stood out there with a bright orange shirt and started directing traffic,” he says. “It’s amazing that people paid attention and listened to me.” Many youngsters are inspired to pursue engineering by fiddling with gadgets. Not Fregene. “The circumstances of my childhood did not provide opportunities to get my hands on devices to tinker with,” he says. “What we had were a lot of opportunities to observe nature.” The presence of oil and gas installations in his village, which is in the oil-producing part of Nigeria, led him to wonder how they worked and how they were remotely controlled. They didn’t remain mysterious for long. While attending the Federal University of Technology in Owerri, Nigeria, he interned at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., which was installing those remote operating systems, calibrating them, and validating their operation. After graduating first in his class in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering, he went on to graduate school at the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada, where he researched autonomy and automatic control systems. While earning master’s and doctoral degrees, both in electrical and computer engineering, he found time to help those more needy than he was. He joined a team of student volunteers who organized drop-in homework clubs and provided mentoring to at-risk grade school students in the community. The activity won him the university’s President’s Circle Award in 2001. Thinking back on that time, Fregene recalls his interaction with one girl whose life he helped turn around. “She was dragged kicking and screaming most of the time to complete these sessions,” Fregene recalls. “But she started believing in herself and what she could do. And everything changed. She ended up getting accepted to the University of Waterloo and became part of the UW tutor team I was leading.” Fregene says his commitment to the tutoring and mentoring program came from having once been in need of academic assistance himself. Although he had excellent grades in history and language arts, he did poorly in mathematics and science. Things turned around for him in the ninth grade when a new teacher had a particular way of teaching math that “turned the light bulb on in my brain,” he says. “My grades took off right after he showed up.” After completing his doctorate in 2002, he began working as an R&D engineer at a Honeywell Aerospace facility in Minneapolis. During six years there, he worked on the development of unmanned aerial vehicles including a drone that was used in remote sensing of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive hazards. The drone became the world’s first aerial robot used for nuclear disaster recovery when it flew inside the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in the aftermath of a 2011 tsunami that struck Japan and knocked out the plant’s power and cooling, causing meltdowns in three reactor cores. At Honeywell he also worked on microelectromechanical systems, which are used in gyroscopes and inertial measurement units. Both MEMS tools, which are used to measure the angular motion of a body, can be found in cellphones. Fregene also worked on a control system to make corrections to the imperfections that diminished the MEMS sensors’ accuracy. He left the company in 2008 to become lead engineer and scientist at the Lockheed Martin research facility in Cherry Hill, N.J. IEEE membership has its benefits Fregene became acquainted with IEEE as an undergrad by reading journals such as the IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control and the IEEE Control Systems magazine, for which he has served as guest editor. He joined IEEE in grad school, and that decision has been paying dividends ever since, he says. The connections he made through the organization helped him land internships at leading laboratories, starting him on his career path. After meeting researchers at conferences or reading their papers in IEEE publications, he would send them notes introducing himself and indicating his interest in visiting the researcher’s lab and working there during the summer. The practice led to internships at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in New Mexico, and at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Tennessee. The IEEE connections helped him get his first job. While working on his master’s degree, he presented a paper at the 1999 IEEE International Symposium on Intelligent Control. “After my presentation,” he says, “somebody from Honeywell came over and said, ‘That was a great presentation. By the way, these are the types of things we do at Honeywell. I think it would be a great place for you when you’re ready to start working.’” Fregene remains active in IEEE. He’s on the editorial board of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, serves as an associate editor for the IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, and recently completed two terms as chair of the IEEE technical committee on aerospace controls. IEEE “is the type of global organization that provides a forum for stellar researchers to communicate the work they are doing to colleagues,” he says, “and for setting standards that define real-life systems that are changing the world every day.” Curt Lewis