http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34281 2013-05-25T11:43:53Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78908 The Importance of Air Transportation to the U.S. Economy: Analysis of Industry Use and Proximity to Airports Stilwell, Justin; Hansman, R. John This thesis investigates broader impacts of air transportation on U.S. economic productivity, as well as market access and business location, in order to help identify how aviation supports the national economy. More traditional economic impacts are reviewed before turning to enabling impacts. Mechanisms by which air transportation might enhance economic productivity are proposed and a production model is constructed as a framework for exploring the validity of these mechanisms. Two analyses are conducted which should provide new insights to the FAA on the importance of air transportation to the U.S. economy. Focusing on the demand side of the economy, a detailed analysis of input-output (I-O) data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) identifies where air transportation appears to be especially critical to economic production. On the supply side, U.S. Census Bureau data is used to map distributions of population, business establishments, and Fortune 500 headquarters from hub airports. Additional distribution analyses are performed for cargo airports and for select metropolitan areas. Analyses of intermediate use of air transportation provide weaker evidence than initially hypothesized as to aviation’s role in supporting productivity growth. Both sets of analyses confirm that the importance of air transportation to industry is not uniform and that the government and services sectors appear to benefit from and take advantage of access to aviation more than other industry sectors. In particular, the analyses of business location relative to airports provide evidence that many service and high-value economic sectors are more concentrated near hub airports than are other industry sectors for which air transportation adds less value. 2013-05-16T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77136 Airport Characterization for the Adaptation of Surface Congestion Management Approaches Sandberg, Melanie; Reynolds, Tom; Khadikar, Harshad; Balakrishnan, Hamsa Surface congestion management has received increased attention worldwide, largely due to its potential to mitigate operational inefficiencies and environmental impact. Most prior efforts have focused on demonstrations of a proposed congestion management approach at a particular airport, and not on the adaptation of a particular approach to a range of airport operating environments. This paper illustrates the challenges involved with adapting any class of surface congestion management approaches to different airports. Data and case studies from Boston Logan International Airport, New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Philadelphia International Airport are used to illustrate the diversity in operating environments. The paper then proposes techniques for characterizing airport surface operations using site surveys and operational data. Finally, it shows how these characterizations can be used for the adaptation of a given congestion management approach to different airports. 2013-02-15T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/72392 Current and Historical Trends in General Aviation in the United States Shetty, Kamala General aviation (GA) is an important component of aviation in the United States. In 2011, general aviation and air taxi operations represented 63% of all towered opera- tions in the United States, while commercial aviation was responsible for 34% of those operations. It is clear that GA is a considerable component of the national airspace and airport system, even when only accounting for towered operations. Because of this signi cant presence, insight into GA is relevant to issues in air tra c manage- ment, air transportation infrastructure, and aviation safety, among others. Beyond the operational aspect, GA is of signi cance to society as a whole and to other stake- holders, including pilots groups, aircraft manufacturers, and the work force. In 2009, general aviation generated 496,000 jobs and its total economic contribution to the U.S. economy was valued at $76.5 billion. However, a comparison of general aviation's impact on jobs and on the economy between 2008 and 2009, shows a 20% decrease in jobs and a 21% decrease in total economic impact in the course of a year. There is also a signi cant decreasing trend in the active pilot population, along with steady decreases in GA ight hours and towered operations. The objective of this thesis is to explore the details of these changing trends and to determine what drives and what hinders general aviation activity in the country. A combination of data analysis and the development of a survey administered to general aviation pilots shed light on what has driven activity in the past on a national scale, what factors a ect an individual pilot's level of activity, and what challenges the general aviation community faces in the future. 2012-08-28T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/71131 Design and Development of a High-Altitude, In-Flight-Deployable Micro-UAV Tao, Tony S.; Hansman, R. John A micro-UAV system was developed to provide maximum endurance for a small atmospheric sensing payload. The system, composed of a micro-UAV and protective case, folds and fits into a MJU-10/B flare cartridge (7.1” x 2.4” x1.9”) and is designed to be ejected in-flight from altitudes up to 30,000 ft. at 300 G, to open and unfold in freefall, and to autonomously fly, sense, and transmit data for up to 45 minutes at maximum altitude. The µ UAV has a wingspan of 11.8”, a length of 6.6”, and a mass of 220grams... 2012-06-11T00:00:00Z