Originally recorded 2021.06.01

Kelsey Doerksen is a Space Systems Engineer in satellite operations at Planet. In this talk, she discusses her journey in the space industry thus far as a young professional, highlighting her experiences working at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Mars rover missions, and operating the world’s largest Earth Observation satellite constellation.

Kelsey discusses how she has utilized machine learning to make rovers more intelligent and autonomous as they drive across distance planets, and how a single satellite operator can be responsible for checking-in on hundreds of satellites.

Originally recorded 2021.05.11

Creating a Resilient Sustainability Strategy: The Pratt & Whitney Story with Avrum Goldman

We have always addressed environmental issues in Aerospace, but the challenges facing us today demand a comprehensive “Sustainability Strategy”. Resource depletion, use of water and energy, creation of greenhouse gases, and our social license all threaten the aerospace industry’s ability to stay in business. The good news is that this challenge, like those faced in the past, can spur innovation and creative solutions that ensure we not only survive, but thrive! Join us to hear the Pratt & Whitney journey, and how we developed our goal to become “The best Aerospace company FOR the world”.

Originally recorded 2021.05.20

Are you interested in the emergence of Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) technology in the aerospace and aviation industry?

The Royal Aeronautical Society’s Montreal Branch, in conjunction with the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI), will be holding a one-hour free online lecture on the Insights into VTOL Aircraft Design in May, hosted by Dr. Rafi Yoeli.

With more than 20 years of experience devoted to the VTOL aerodynamics and configuration design, Dr. Yoeli has been deeply involved in the emerging Urban Air Mobility market. One of his designs is the passenger carrying CityHawk, with the aim of creating a 100% sustainable VTOL aircraft with true “fly anywhere, land anywhere” capability.

In this lecture, which is the first of a series of planned lectures on VTOL aircraft design, Dr. Yoeli will present his own perspective on the theoretical foundations of VTOL flight, design options for sustainable power in future VTOL aircraft and an overview of the unique aerodynamics of VTOL flight. The lecture will also include references to safety and certification standards.

Originally recorded 2021.04.22

Synopsis

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines worldwide increased the frequency of aircraft disinfection manyfold. At the core of each type of disinfection, a chemical-based application is used to help reduce pathogenic concentrations on surfaces. While effective, chemical disinfection has many disadvantages.

UVC light-based disinfection has strong scientific backing demonstrating efficacy against numerous pathogens studied in the past few decades, including recent studies that show its efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. With feedback from our operator community worldwide on the need for a less intrusive disinfection methodology, De Havilland Canada supported aero hygenx in the design, development, and testing of RAY – an autonomous UVC light-based disinfection robot for use on aircraft. The goal was to create a sustainable, consistent, and chemical-free disinfection solution, not just for the current coronavirus threat but also for variants and novel pathogens that may arise in the future. De Havilland Canada has also completed an extensive material compatibility study to determine any effects (particularly those that might affect airworthiness) of repeated UVC disinfection on materials found on the Dash 8 aircraft.

De Havilland Canada and aero hygenx developed the solution to be applicable not just on the Dash 8 aircraft but for the aviation industry in general. RAY is currently being introduced in-service and airlines are implementing UVC light-based disinfection on the Dash 8 and other aircraft. This presentation will share a journey of how UVC disinfection went from a small vision to a reality through RAY in a matter of months.

Presenter

Thineshan Kathirchelvan is a Senior Engineering Specialist at De Havilland Canada, specializing in Acoustics & Vibration. He is working on cabin noise, community noise, and vibration environment on the Dash 8 series of aircraft. Prior to joining De Havilland Canada in 2019, he worked at Bombardier Aerospace on several developmental and sustaining aircraft programs. His main interest lies in experimental Acoustics & Vibration, and he has contributed to research & development projects on various programs to develop novel technologies for noise and vibration reduction. With the onset of the pandemic, he developed an interest in pursuing disease transmission dynamics in air travel and has focused on projects that could mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the aviation industry.

Originally Recorded 2021.03.18

Synopsis

Piezoelectric sensor technology in pressure, force and acceleration is regularly used to advance Aerospace Measurements: The purpose of the lecture is to review PE technology and the principal of operations for both quasi-static and dynamic measurements. Practical considerations such as installation, mounting and checkout are integral to getting the most out of the sensor in conjunction with signal conditioning and DAQ. Applications including Space Environmental Test, Exported Force and Moment testing as well Propulsion System Test will be addressed. We will also provide a features and benefits summary of PE technology and testing and why it achieves the application requirements.

Bill Zwolinski

Bill has a M.Sc.EE from the University of Connecticut specializing in Signal Processing and Controls. He worked over 15 years in Research, Development, Test and Evaluation including Underwater Acoustics for the Navy Laboratory as well as Chief Engineer for Navy Carrier Landing Systems at Textron. Bill also has MBA’s from the University of Phoenix specializing in Technology Management and Marketing and has held positions as general manager, product manager and sales manager at Kistler. Currently, Bill is the Business Development and Application Manager at Kistler for the America’s and is heavily involved with helping engineers solve their measurement problems.

Kistler

Kistler is the global leader providing modular solutions in dynamic measurement technology for pressure, force, torque and acceleration applications. The company made several major innovations, some of which would be put to use in the Apollo manned spaceflights, and became a world leader in the development of quartz sensors.

Originally recorded 2021.03.04

This is a recently revised presentation of the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Memorial Lecture on Civil Propulsion; The Last 50 Years given in 2002.

This presentation covers propulsion development in the civil field over the last seven decades. It is notable that aircraft have displaced ships and railways for long distance passenger travel, and this could not have been achieved without the continuous development of the aircraft gas turbine.

The talk traces propulsion developments from the end of the piston era through the early turboprops and turbojets to the high bypass ratio turbofans to the latest advances in geared turbofan technology.

While the aircraft gas turbine has attained extremely high levels of safety, reliability and efficiency, the aviation sector is facing existential challenges today that will require resilience and innovation to solve.

Originally Recorded 2021.02.23

Canada has been a world leader in the development and application of aircraft-derivative gas turbine energy systems.  They can provide a diverse range of cleaner energy solutions using a flexible combination of fuels and high pressure airflow that provide reliable power and thermal energy.  From initial 1960's gas pipeline and peak power applications, they have made strides in naval ships, and since 1990 have been more widely applied across many industrial cogeneration, distributed energy and utility power systems.

Through R&D innovation, manufacturing and testing, their advances have made contributions to cleaner choices around energy efficiency, renewable energy, natural gas and future hydrogen systems that can help to solve many objectives at once.  This presentation will briefly summarize those developments, and the activities since 1973 of the Canadian 'Gas Turbines for Energy Network' (formerly IAGT).

Manfred Klein | MA Klein and Associates

Manfred has been semi-retired since 2013, after spending 33 years in the Canadian federal government, most recently as Coordinator, Energy and Environment at the Gas Turbine Laboratory of the National Research Council. He was with Environment Canada for 16 years, involved with national air emissions guidelines for Gas Turbine systems using energy output-based emission standards. He also helped to develop new taxation incentives to encourage cogeneration and district energy, helped with environmental assessments, and organized various industrial training functions on gas turbine systems. Prior to that Manfred was with the National Energy Board for 11 years, dealing with certification and inspection of natural gas pipeline and compressor station construction. Memberships:

• Industrial Applications of Gas Turbines Committee, now GTEN (former Chair, 2006-09)
• ASME Int'l Gas Turbine Committee (Former Chair of IGTI Environment Committee, 1999-2001)
• Distributed Energy Canada (DEC)
• Canadian Institute of Power Engineers (IPE, Ottawa)
• European Turbine Network (ETN) Emeritus club
• Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI)
• ISO TC192 Gas Turbine Standards Committee, Standards Council of Canada

Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (1980), Carleton University

Recorded 2021.02.18

Synopsis

Almost exactly 110 years ago, 8 years after their famous powered flight, Orville and Wilbur Wright went back to the Outer Banks in North Carolina with the sole intention to do more flying without engine power. On October 24, 1911, Orville Wright was able to sustain motorless flight for 9 minutes and 45 seconds, a record that remained unbeaten for nearly 10 years and can be considered as the beginning of modern soaring. Since then, the sport of soaring has had its separate, independent development in aviation with impressive achievements, such as long-distance flights of over 3000-km, flights above 50,000 feet altitude, and average speeds of in excess of 160 kph over 1000-km distance flights. Besides the sportive challenges, the technical aspects associated with soaring are quite fascinating. Low speed requirements during thermaling often fight the needs for low drag during cruise. As a result, sailplanes have always pushed the technological boundaries in aviation. In some aspects, sailplanes can be considered as the “canaries” of aeronautics. Such advances include high-efficient wing designs, low-drag airfoils that use extended laminar flow, composite materials, and improved understandings of meteorology. This presentation will include an overview of the sport of soaring, which includes a historical reflection, the discussion of the current state of the sport, new developments, as well as an introduction to the general challenges that the sailplane designer face.

Götz Bramesfeld

Götz Bramesfeld is an Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Ryerson University. His research focus is applied aerodynamics and aircraft design, in particular with respect to small UAVs. Besides his professional involvement in aviation, Götz is an active glider pilot with over 1000 hours in gliders and a member of the York Soaring Association. He is also a board member of OSTIV, the International Scientific and Technical Soaring Organization.

Recorded 2021-01-28

Presented by Dr. Azzedine Dadouche with guest Carlos Ruella

Air-to-air collisions with birds or drones represent a real risk for civilian and military aircraft. To ensure passengers’ safety and mitigate risks, regulators (i.e. Transport Canada and Federal Aviation Administration, etc.) require engine and airframe manufacturers to certify their products for bird strike/ingestion at representative conditions (impact speed, bird weight and environment temperature).

Originally recorded 2021-01-21

Electric and hybrid electric powered aircraft have the potential to significantly reduce air transportation costs, carbon emissions and community noise and enable new aviation markets.

Ken Swartz is a Senior Editor of the Vertical Flight Society’s Vertiflite magazine and eVTOL.news website, and is President of Aeromedia Communications, an aerospace marketing communications firm based in Toronto, Canada.