Couple challenges bid to ground model planes

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Writer



The fate of a decades-old model airplane flying site in Perry Township is up in the air.

Jeffrey L. and Carol A. Grim, owners of the 50-acre tract at 375 N. Fairview Road, are appealing Zoning Officer Joseph H. Body’s Aug. 22 notice that the facility is not permitted in the RA residential agricultural zoning district.

The Grims took their case before the township’s zoning hearing board last week.

In addition to appealing Body’s violation notice, the Grims are a seeking a special exception or variance to operate a private recreational facility, which would include periodic fundraising events.

Jeffrey Grim testified that the Tri-County Wing Snappers club had begun using the property to fly model airplanes and holding fundraisers in the late 1960s.

“Before that, our dad did stunt flying there with regular planes,” Grim’s sister Lori Moyer said.

Grim said he asked for and was granted a special exception in 1997 to build a nine-hole golf course on the property. When the course closed in 2007, the property again became a popular place to fly model planes. By that time, Wing Snappers had moved to Windsor Township but Fairview R/C Flyers Club took its place.

Grim said he was issued zoning permits the same year to construct a $25,000 pole building to store equipment and model planes.

“If the building was not permitted, I absolutely wouldn’t have spent that kind of money,” he said.

However, township Solicitor Allen R. Shollenberger noted the zoning permits made no reference to a model

Article source: http://readingeagle.com/news/article/couple-challenges-bid-to-ground-model-planes

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5 Potential Future Applications of 3D Printing Within the Aerospace Industry

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Writer

Like many industries, the aerospace industry is increasingly adopting 3D printing and rapid prototyping technologies to develop aircraft parts in the pursuit of trimming down manufacturing costs. As a matter of fact, one of the major players in the aerospace domain, Boeing, already makes use of 3D printing technology extensively and printed over 22,000 parts last year.

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Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner apparently has 30 printed parts, which in itself is an industry record. Moreover, General Electric (GE) recently announced an investment of $50 million to 3D print fuel nozzles for the next-generation LEAP jet engine. The sudden inclination of aerospace industry towards additive manufacturing is mainly due to the possibility to achieve significant weight reduction. According to American Airlines, for every pound of weight removed from the aircraft, the company saves 11,000 gallons of fuel annually.

Vivek Saxena, VP of Aerospace Operations at technology consulting company ICF International, said that additive manufacturing currently accounts for as low as 0.0002% of the worldwide manufacturing market. More specifically in aerospace, this percentage is about 0.002% of the $150 billion aerospace parts market. However, many industry observers, like Saxena, forecast that the market for 3D printed parts in aerospace is expected to reach $2 billion within the next decade. With such an excessive proliferation of additive manufacturing/3D printing in aerospace industry, its potential applications in the future seem to be even more promising. Here are five most possible applications of additive manufacturing for

Article source: http://3dprint.com/26081/3d-printing-aerospace-5-uses/

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Park Service’s Sweeping Ban Of Model Aircraft And Drones Creates Confusion

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Writer

The National Park Service announced today that they are banning the use of drones and model aircraft in all National Parks, subject to a few limited exceptions.  According to a policy memorandum released by Jonathan Jarvis, Director of the Park Service, the directive is an interim measure while the park service attempts to properly evaluate drone and other model aircraft uses.

While the policy memorandum has flaws, it is at least more clear than the National Park Service’s prior method of announcing potential fines and jail time through Twitter, Facebook, and website postings.  This approach may also be a reasonable first step, assuming the National Park Service opens the regulatory process up to public comment, there exists the possibility that some uses of drones may be allowed in the future.

For example, National Parks may want to allow persons to operate drones for limited uses in designated areas during certain times of the year (as many National Parks previously allowed) or for artistic and cinematic documentation that may serve to portray the park system in a positive light.  The Park Service may also want to develop a less onerous permit application process than the one announced in the memorandum, that would allow for scientific studies that do not impact wildlife.

The (Photo credit: Yosemite National Park Facebook page)

The National Park Service has banned drones and model aircraft in most National Parks (Photo credit: Yosemite National Park Facebook page).

In their announcement, the National Park

Article source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcneal/2014/06/20/national-park-service-bans-drones-and-model-aircraft-pending-evaluation-of-their-potential-uses/

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Why the aerospace industry is investing in 3-D printing

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Writer

They have been used to make everything from pizzas to prosthetic hands to guns. But can 3-D printers churn out entire satellites?

That’s the goal for some aerospace contractors, who think this technology is poised to revolutionize the way expensive, high-maintenance products are manufactured.

Lockheed Martin, Boeing and other aerospace companies have already embraced the concept of using 3-D printers to manufacture small parts. For example, Lockheed’s Juno spacecraft, which is on its way to explore Jupiter, relies on a set of 3-D printed brackets. Boeing has used several 3-D printed parts in its airplanes, including the Dreamliner. Northrop Grumman has a titanium component in its X-47B unmanned aircraft built for the Navy and has plans to use 3-D printed parts in the F-35 fighter jet.

Companies are always looking for ways to cut costs, but the emphasis on developing new technology has increased as the government’s defense budget shrinks and contractors compete for business, executives say.

“The real end goal isn’t just to do 3-D printing,” said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president of Lockheed’s space systems division, which is investing heavily in the technology. “It’s about delivering a capability at a much lower cost across the board.”


A 3-D printed waveguide bracket that is onboard the Juno spacecraft. (Lockheed Martin/Lockheed Martin)

The average Defense Department satellite takes eight years to produce, Ambrose said. Lockheed’s goal is to eventually cut that down to under

Article source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/why-the-aerospace-industry-is-investing-in-3-d-printing/2014/06/12/b7cfbf96-e02f-11e3-8dcc-d6b7fede081a_story.html

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US FAA outlines restrictions for model aircraft in wake of reckless use

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Writer

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Monday interpreted existing rules to prohibit hobbyists’ model aircraft from flying within 5 miles (8 kilometers) of an airport without clearance from the airport or ground control.

The guidance follows incidents involving the reckless use of unmanned model aircraft near airports and involving large crowds of people, FAA said. The U.S. National Park Service last week banned the operation of drones amidst concerns about the safety of people and harassment of animals.

Model aircraft hobbyists have to ensure that the aircraft is visible to the operator at all times without viewing aids like binoculars, and is not used for commercial purposes, the FAA said. The aircraft should not weigh more than 55 pounds (25 kilograms), including the weight of the payload and fuel, unless it’s certified by an aeromodeling community-based organization

The FAA also defended its right to set rules in a notice that went into effect on Monday and is open for public comment for 30 days.

The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 established in section 336 a special rule for model aircraft, which prohibited the agency from making any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft, or an aircraft being developed as a model aircraft, if the aircraft meets statutory requirements such as the maximum weight and its use exclusively for hobby or recreational purposes.

The FAA holds the rulemaking prohibition does not apply in the case of general rules that it may issue or modify that apply to all aircraft, such as

Article source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2367120/us-faa-outlines-restrictions-for-model-aircraft-in-wake-of-reckless-use.html

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One-On-One: UofL informatics expert Dr. Robert Esterhay

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Writer

‘Population Health’ shifting healthcare’s focus upstream

By Ed Lane

Dr. Robert J. Esterhay, chair of the Department for Health Management and Systems Sciences in the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, has been involved with healthcare informatics for more than 35 years. His medical school thesis in 1969 – prior to personal computers and the Internet – involved computer-assisted learning using computer-simulated patients for training medical students and faculty.

Dr. Robert Esterhay

Dr. Robert Esterhay

In the mid-1970s, he led an early implementation of an electronic medical record information system at the University of Maryland Cancer Center and in the mid-1990s headed a nationwide implementation of an electronic medical record system in 60 long-term acute care hospitals and 300 nursing homes for Kindred Healthcare (formerly Vencor). Esterhay was also instrumental in creating a comprehensive cancer database that continues to be used today. He is a member of the Kentucky TeleHealth Network Board and served as the first co-chair of the Kentucky e-Health Board.

Esterhay describes why and how U.S. medical providers are aligning into networks

Ed Lane: “Population Health” is a new academic and health industry textbook that took more than 21 months to complete using the efforts of a coordinating editorial team and a group of authors from the healthcare, public health and academic communities. As one of its executive editors, could you briefly explain the meaning of the term “population health” and how this shift in perspective affects the nation’s health

Article source: http://www.lanereport.com/41762/2014/11/one-on-one-uofl-informatics-expert-dr-robert-esterhay/

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FAA Rules On Drones Vs. Model Aircraft Protested

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Writer
Proposed FAA dividing line between model aircraft and drones is too limiting to hobbyists, says the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and Academy of Model Aeronautics.

Smartphones Of The Future: 6 Cool Technologies
(Click image for larger view and slideshow.)

Proposed FAA rules would define model aircraft too narrowly and commercial drones too broadly, The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) protests in comments filed with the agency.

The Federal Aviation Administration is currently accepting comments on its Interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft, which attempts to clarify the distinction between a model aircraft and a drone. Model aircraft are minimally regulated, as opposed to commercial unmanned aircraft, a category for which the rules are still being written.

The ITIF is a prominent technology think tank, in a league with the RAND Corporation, with IT industry backers that include Google and Cisco. Google has bought a couple of drone manufacturers and is exploring how unmanned aircraft might fit into its operations. Hobbyist groups such as the Academy of Model Aeronautics are also protesting the proposed rules, but the ITIF’s motivation is more to avoid choking off avenues for experimentation and innovation. The position paper makes a comparison with early rules limiting the Internet to noncommercial uses, which if not changed would have prevented the emergence of the whole online economy.

“We try to argue for policies surrounding

Article source: http://www.informationweek.com/government/mobile-and-wireless/faa-rules-on-drones-vs-model-aircraft-protested-/d/d-id/1297572

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