SYARAHAN PERDANA 2011

UTHM AERONAUTICS AND THE SECRET IN HELICOPTER FLYING

SYARAHAN PERDANA 2011

UTHM AERONAUTICS AND THE

SECRET IN HELICOPTER FLYING

Prof. Ir. Dr. Hj. Abas bin Ab. Wahab Aeronautical Engineering Department

Faculty of Mechanical & Production Engineering

2011

© Penerbit UTHM First Edition 2011 All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the Publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing—in—Publication Data Abas Ab Wahab, 1951-

UTHM aeronautics and the secret in helicopter flying / Abas bin Ab. Wahab. Bibliography: p. 73 (Syarahan perdana 2011) ISBN 978-967-5457-80-7 1. Aeronautics. 2. Aerospace engineering. 3. Helicopters—Piloting. 4. Speeches, addresses, etc. I. Title. II. Series.

629.1325 Terbitan : Pejabat Penerbit Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia 86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat Johor Darul Ta’zim Tel : 07-453 7454 / 7051 Faks : 07-453 6145 Laman Web : http://penerbit.uthm.edu.my/ E-mel : pt@uthm.edu.my

CONTENT PAGE

1. INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Aviation World 1

1.1.1 Regulatory Bodies 1 1.1.2 Aviation Activities 2

1.2 Aerospace, Aeronautic and Astronautic 4 1.2.1 Aerospace 4 1.2.2 Astronautic 5 1.2.3 Aeronautic 6

1.3 Aeronautical Engineering And Aeronautical 6 Technology 7

2. AERONAUTICAL EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA 9

2.1 Traditional Aeronautical Education 9 2.2 The Dilemma 10 2.3 The Cause And Its Effect 11

3. UTHM AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY 17

PROGRAMS

3.1 Understanding The Need Of Aviation Industries 17 3.2 The Formation Of The Programs 17

3.2.1 Aeronautical Engineering and Technology 17 Match-Making

3.2.2 Proposal of Implementation 19 3.2.3 Admission Requirements 22

3.3 The Uniqueness Of The Programs 24 3.3.1 The award of Degree and Professional Licenses 24 3.3.2 Job Opportunity 25 3.3.3 First Salary 27

3.4 Programs Approval And Launching 28 3.4.1 The Approval 28 3.4.2 The Launching 28

3.5 Sequencing the Offering of the Programs 29

4. THE IMPLIMENTATION OF THE BACHELOR DEGREE IN 31 AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

PROGRAMS

4.1 The Bachelor Degree In Aeronautical Engineering 31 Technology (Professional Piloting) With Honours

4.1.1 1st Intake Students 31 4.1.2 Facilities 33

4.1.2.1 Dedicated Lecture Rooms 33 4.1.2.2 Aeronautic Resource Room 34 4.1.2.3 Aeronautic Laboratories 35

4.2 The Bachelor Degree In Aeronautical Engineering 38 Technology (Aircraft Maintenance) With Honours And The Bachelor Degree In Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Air Traffic Control) With Honours

4.3 Aeronautic Students’ Campus Life 38 4.3.1 Rules and Regulations 38 4.3.2 Other Activities / Duties 39

4.4 Department Staff 40

5. OVERVIEW OF FLYING 41

5.1 Airborne And Moving Through The Air 41

5.2 Aircraft Performance 44 5.2.1 Axes of motions and the control surfaces 44 5.2.2 Takeoff and climbing 46 5.2.3 Cruising 47 5.2.4 Approaching and Landing 47

5.3 Pilots And Their Duties 47

6. HELICOPTERS 51 6.1 Introduction 51 6.2 Helicopters Versus Aeroplanes 51 6.3 How A Helicopter Flies 54 6.4 The Secret Of Rotating Wings 68 6.5 Problem Of Side Wind 61 6.6 Current Research In UTHM 64

References 73

Suggested Further Reading 74 Curriculum Vitae 75

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION 1.1 Aviation World

1.1.1 Regulatory Bodies The world of aviation is broad. It encompasses the engineering and technology, the law, the management, the business and others related. All aviation activities come under the jurisdiction of single world body named the “INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANISATION” – ICAO, based in Canada. ICAO main activity is to formulate and enforce laws and regulations to ensure safe and sustainable aviation activities throughout the world. The aviation activities range from international and domestic flights down to any aviation sports such as hot air balloons. Strictly speaking, any airborne activity is under the control of this world body either directly or through its authorized body in each country of the world. For examples; in United States of America, Britain, Europe and Malaysia the laws and regulations are under the “FEDERAL AVIATION AUTHORITY – FAA”, EUROPEAN AEROSPACE SAFETY AGENCY – EASA”, BRITISH CIVIL AVIATION REGULATION – BCAR” and MALAYSIA CIVIL AVIATION REGULATION respectively. DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AVIATION MALAYSIA – DCAM, under the Ministry of Transport Malaysia is the regulatory body responsible for the implementation of these regulations in Malaysia. Figure 1.1 below is the schematic illustration of the ICAO authority in relations to the aviation regulations.

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.

1.1.2 Aviation Activities

The main activity in aviation is flying the aircraft either for civilian or military purposes. The civilian aircraft serves mostly the international and domestic flights although there are some for training and general aviation purposes. Most of this category of aircraft is made for passengers comfort flight and the flight speed is well below the Mach 1. Mach 1 is the sound speed and is equivalent to 1200 km/hr. Boeing 747 and Airbus 330-233 are examples of civilian aircraft as shown in Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.2: Examples of Civilian Aircraft – MAS Fleet [Source: http://www.airliners.net]

Boeing 747-4H6 : 960 km/hr

Airbus 330-223 : 860 km/hr

Figure 1.1: Schematic illustration of the ICAO authority in aviation regulations

For Safe Aviation

BCAR (Britain)

MCAR (Malaysia)

ICAO

FAA (USA)

EASA (European Union)

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Military aircraft are rather robust used for combating enemy aircraft in war and controlling the airspace of the country. Their flight speed sometimes reaches Mach 3. Sukhoi and F-18 are examples of Malaysia military aircraft. These are shown in Figure 1.3.

In order to make the above flying activities happen, first of all the aircraft has to be designed and manufactured. Once the aircraft is ready, it then needs somebody to fly it i.e. the Pilot. For every flight, it has to make sure that the aircraft is in good condition and save to fly. Thus it needs somebody to do the maintenance i.e. the License Aircraft Engineers (LAME) and also the technicians. After all, the pilots cannot fly the aircrafts anyhow they like. This may create havoc and accidents. Thus it needs somebody to regulate and control the flying activities i.e. the Air Traffic Controller. Pilots work in the cockpit of aircrafts, License Aircraft Engineers work in Aircraft Hangars and the Air Traffic Controllers work at the control tower of the airport. The pilot, the maintenance engineers and the air traffic controllers are all licensed by the Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia, DCAM. Figure 1.4 shows the parties that involve in making aviation activities i.e. flying possible.

Figure 1.3: Examples of Military Aircraft – TUDM Fleet [Source: http://thenewoldtanakwagu.blog.com & http://www.airliner.net]

F18 – Hornet

Sukhoi SU – 30MKM

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1.2 Aerospace, Aeronautic And Astronautic The words AEROSPACE, AERONAUTIC AND ASTRONAUTIC are the common words people used when talking about aviation. Let us explore the real meaning of these words so that these words could be used correctly in the proper sense. 1.2.1 Aerospace Aerospace is the terminology used to describe the aviation activities that encompasses the total flying activities starting from the ground into the atmosphere and to the outer space (SPACE) where there is no air and no effect of earth gravity. It also includes the return flight from outer space to the earth. Hence the exploration to the moon is an example of aerospace activity i.e. without flying through the earth atmosphere the journey to the moon is impossible.

AVIATION

AIRCRAFT DESIGN &

MANUFACTURING MENGHASILKAN

PILOTING MENERBANGKAN

MAINTENANCE SELENGGARAAN

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL KAWALAN

TRAFIK UDARA

Figure 1.4: The main parties involve in Aviation

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The word AEROSPACE itself comes from two words, the AERO and SPACE. AERO means air i.e. the earth atmosphere or sometime called AIRSPACE. Any aircraft flying in the airspace always utilizes the airflow around its wing to create lift force that make it possible to airborne and moves in air. The airflow around aircraft wings and the forward motion of the aircraft are made possible by the propulsive force created by the engines. The engines do need to take in air to support it function. Without air the combustion process in the engines could not happened and hence no propulsive force could be produced. The aircraft engines that could only work in airspace are known as air-breathing engines. Examples of this type of engines are the TURBOFAN, TURBOJET and TURBOPROP engines. Turbofan is the common type of engines used in airliners. As we go higher and higher, the air becomes lesser and lesser and hence limits the height of any aircraft with air-breathing engine could go. Figure 1.5 shows an example of a typical turbofan engine.

On the other hand, the word SPACE means area or space with no air. It is also known as OUTER SPACE. In space there is no air and no earth gravitational effect. Thus the spacecraft does not need any wing to make it float and no air-breathing engine could be used there to propel the spacecraft. Rocket engine is used in place of the air-breathing engine. Rocket engine is being fed by self carried fuel and oxygen in order to facilitate combustion for producing propulsive force. 1.2.2 Astronautic ASTRONAUTIC is the terminology used to describe any aviation activities taking place in SPACE. Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Bin Sheikh Mustapha is the first Malaysian astronaut to be in space.

Figure 1.5: A Typical Turbofan Engine [Source: http://www.aviationearth.com/]

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1.2.3 Aeronautic AERONAUTIC is the terminology used to describe any aviation activities taking place in earth ATMOSPHERE. These activities include international, domestic and commercial flights, general aviation, para-gliders, hot air balloons, etc. Thus Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) offers AERONAUTIC programs and not AEROSPACE programs. 1.3 Aeronautical Engineering And Aeronautical Technology

Aeronautic itself encompasses of two main disciplines i.e. the AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING and AERONAUTICAL TECHNOLOGY. Let us discuss and understand what the two disciplines means.

ENGINEERING is the activities associated in “creating the data” that implies to the design and manufacturing of the said object. Thus AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING is the discipline emphasizing on the activities of designing and manufacturing of the aircraft. These activities are mainly done by the graduate engineers i.e. the engineers that passed out from universities and having SOUND KNOWLEDGE in the said field.

On the other hand, the word TECHNOLOGY carries the meaning of “using the data” that implies to the activities of utilizing (operating), maintaining and ensuring the smooth and safe running of the activities. Thus AERONAUTICAL TECHNOLOGY is the discipline emphasizing on operating, maintaining and controlling the activities of the aircraft i.e. the flying activities. PILOTS are responsible to fly the aircraft, LICENSE AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE ENGINEERS are those responsible to service, repair and overhaul the aircraft while AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS are responsible for sequencing the flight operations both on ground (at airport) and in air. All these personnel are being licensed by the aviation authority of the country and in Malaysia the aviation authority is the DCAM. By having the license the said personnel had proven that they have SOUND SKILL in doing the particular jobs. Figure 1.6 is the illustration of the two main disciplines in Aeronautic.

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AERONAUTIC

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

AERONAUTICAL TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY (USING THE DATA)

TO USE THE AIRCRAFT

TO FLY

TO MAINTAIN

TO CONTROL

LICENSE AIRCRAFT

MAINTENANCE ENGINEERS

PILOTS AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS

ENGINEERING (CREATING THE

DATA)

TO DESIGN & MANUFACTURE

AIRCRAFT

ENGINEERS

Figure 1.6: The two main disciplines in Aeronautic

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CHAPTER 2

AERONAUTICAL EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA Aeronautical education is not new in Malaysia. It started with the training of pilots, license aircraft maintenance engineers and the air traffic controllers to serve the Royal Malaysia Air Force (RMAF) and the national airline i.e. the Malaysia Airline System (MAS). This was followed by the offering of aeronautical engineering degree courses in the Malaysian Universities since early 1980s. 2.1 Traditional Aeronautical Education Traditionally i.e. since the beginning until now, aeronautical educations in Malaysia are being conducted under two different umbrellas as shown in Figure 2.1.

Aeronautical Engineering is being taught in the universities under the control of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) with due respect of the advice of Malaysia Board of Engineers (BEM) and the Engineering Accrediting Council (EAC). The universities (Universiti Sains Malaysia – USM, Universiti Putra Malaysia – UPM, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia – UIAM and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia – UTM) produce graduate engineers or sometimes called the design engineers.

UNIVERSITIES MOHE, BEM,

EAC

AERONAUTICAL EDUCATION IN

MALAYSIA

AIRCRAFT DESIGN PILOTING MAINTENANCE

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

TRAINING INSTITUTIONS DCA

Figure 2.1: Aeronautical Engineering and Aeronautical Technology Educations Administrated by Two Different Bodies

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On the other hand Aeronautical Technology is being taught in authorized training schools under the jurisdiction of Department of Aviation Malaysia (DCAM) answerable to the Ministry of Transport (MOT). The pilots, the license aircraft maintenance engineers and the air traffic controllers are being trained in flying schools (e.g. Asia Pacific Flying School – APFT in Kota Bahru, HM Aerospace in Langkawi and Malaysia Flying Academy – MFA in Melaka, etc.), in aircraft maintenance training institutions (e.g. D’LOG in Subang, Malaysia Aviation Training Academy – MATA in Kuantan, etc), and in Malaysia Aviation Academy – MAvA in Sepang) respectively. They are not allowed to work without getting the appropriate licenses from DCAM. The licenses have to be renewed at certain interval of time. 2.2 The Dilemma The Aeronautical Engineering Education (Universities) produces graduate engineers / aircraft design engineers with sound knowledge. The question is where are they going to work? To work in aircraft design and manufacturing industries, there is none the “so called industries” in Malaysia at the moment. Years ago, Tun Mahathir Mohamad the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia had established two national aircraft manufacturing companies, one in Sungai Buloh, Selangor and the other in Batu Berendam, Melaka. The one in Sungai Buluh was to produce MD3 trainer aircraft while the one in Batu Berendam was to produce Eagle trainer aircraft. MD3 aircraft is made of metal and the Eagle aircraft is made of composites. The two companies are still operating but under limited scope. Thus the need of graduate engineers is also limited. To work in the aeronautical technology sectors i.e. as pilots or aircraft maintenance engineers or air traffic controller, they do not posses the required skill. Then, where do they want to go? Most of them find jobs in other engineering industries especially in mechanical related ones. The Aeronautical Technology Education (Authorized Aeronautical Training Institutions) on the other hand, produces high skilled personnel of specific skills i.e. the pilots, license aircraft maintenance engineers and air traffic controllers. These personnel have to maintain high standard of health in order to stay in jobs. Failing this, they will have to find alternative jobs for living. Where do they want to go? They will have hard time to find jobs since the specific skills they have may not be relevant to other fields and at the same time most of them only posses Malaysian Certificate of Education – SPM. It will really a hard time for them. This dilemma is well described by the following Figure 2.2.

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2.3 The Cause And Its Effect Based on the prior discussion in section 2.2, it is clearly seen that the dilemma resulting from the current aeronautical educational system is due to the separation between the aeronautical engineering and the aeronautical technology educations. The aeronautical engineering education emphasizes on knowledge whereas the aeronautical technology education emphasizes on skill. Thus the KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL IN AERONAUTIC ARE IN TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS which really becomes the main cause to the dilemma. When knowledge and skill are in two different worlds, the following scenarios take place:

i). Aviation Industries such as Malaysia Airline System (MAS), AIRASIA,

MASWING, FIREFLY, Singapore Airline (SIA), GARUDA, QANTAS, BRITISH AIRWAYS (just to name some) and other airline companies throughout the world have restricted their manpower recruitment from university graduates. If any is just for some management posts and not for the companies main job scopes i.e. the operations (flying, maintenance and air traffic controlling). This is due to universities graduates do have sound knowledge in aeronautic but very little or insufficient skill for the said operation jobs. Also from their experience university graduates could be a better manager if they also have the relevant operation skills.

ii). Since the last decade aviation industries have also realized that having skill only

is not enough for ensuring the sustainable growth of the industries. Lots of new advancement in aeronautical engineering and technology had taken place. New aircraft with sophisticated systems have been built, new materials have been

TRADITIONAL AERONAUTICAL EDUCATION SYSTEM

GRADUATE ENGINEERS (DESIGN ENGINEERS)

ENGINEERING EDUCATION

UNIVERSITIES – CONTROL BY KPT + MQA +EAC + BEM

TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

TRAINING SCHOOLS – CONTROL BY DCA

PERSONNEL OF SPECIFIC SKILL (LICENSE AIRCRAFT

MAINTENANCE ENGINEERS, PILOTS, AIR TRAFFIC

CONTROLLERS

LIMITED FIELD OF JOB - NO DEGREE, MOST ONLY WITH SPM

TO JOIN AVIATION INDUSTRIES:– NO RELATED SKILL (NO LICENSE – PILOT ,

MAINTENANCE, ATC) MANAGEMENT – QUITE LIMITED

Figure 2.2: The Dilemma Of The Current Aeronautical Education System

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used and complicated aircraft designs with thousands of drawings have been produced. These really need to have the knowledge behind the technology i.e. the aeronautical engineering.

Just take for example, the case of operating the new big sophisticated AIRBUS 380 shown in Figure 2.5. Currently Airbus 380 is the latest, biggest and most sophisticated aircraft in the aviation world. Its wing span and body (fuselage) are of 80 and 74 meters in length respectively with its height of 24 meters. Its height alone is equivalent to the height of at least 6 stories building i.e. about the same height of UTHM new library building. Figure 2.6 shows the size of Airbus 380 in relations to other aircrafts while Figure 2.7 illustrates some of the unique features of AIRBUS 380.

Figure 2.5: A Photo of AIRBUS 380 [Source: http://www.cybermodeler.net]

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Airbus 380 flight controls are fully automated. It is real difficult for the pilots to understand the working of the flying control systems if they do not have any aeronautical engineering background. Same thing applied to the license aircraft engineers, it is really awkward to maintain the aircraft and even difficult to understand its thousands of drawings, parts and wirings if they do not have sound aeronautical engineering knowledge. Figure 2.8 shows the Airbus 380 cockpit where the pilot has to operate the fully automated control systems while Figure 2.9 illustrates the detail aircraft structural systems layout.

Figure 2.6: The relative size of Airbus 380 [Source: http://www.flightsim.com]

Figure 2.7: Airbus 380 First Class Cabin [Source: http://airlinesflightnews.com]

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Another thing is that in the pass all aircraft are totally made of metals. But nowadays are not. For good business, the number of passengers carried on board each aircraft should be increased since the revenue depends on how many passengers it carries. Thus bigger and bigger aircraft are being built. The bigger the aircraft the heavier it will be. The growing in weight of the aircraft will also limit the number of passengers increased. A way to overcome this problem is to reduce the aircraft weight by replacing some of its metal parts with lighter materials such as composite materials which are lighter but stronger than metals as shown in Figure 2.10. Composite material is another new dimension for the license aircraft maintenance engineers have to master. Thus extra engineering knowledge is really essential to the license aircraft engineers. Without this

Figure 2.9: The Airbus 380 Detail Structures. [Source: http://a380wallpaper.blogspot.com]

Figure 2.8: Fully Automated Flying Control Systems in the Cockpit

[Source: http://www.flightglobal.com]

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knowledge, license aircraft maintenance engineers will loose their importance in aviation world of the future.

Based on the above facts, the future generations of aviation personnel (pilot, aircraft maintenance engineers and others) have to have both the required specific skill and engineering knowledge i.e. to have license and degree together.

Figure 2.10: The Usage of Composite & Hybrid Material in Airbus 380 [Source: http://www.carbonfiber.gr.jp]

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CHAPTER 3

UTHM AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS 3.1 Understanding The Need Of Aviation Industries The current aeronautical education in Malaysia and throughout the world as a whole has produced two different categories of aeronautical personnel, one with sound aeronautical engineering knowledge (graduate aeronautical personnel) and the other with sound specific aeronautical skill (the license aeronautical personnel). This world’s common practice in aeronautical education is getting less relevant in preparing the manpower for the near future aviation industries. The industries will be in great need of knowledgeable and skillful aeronautical personnel. This is really in line with the saying of our beloved prophet Muhammad s.a.w. (may Allah blessing be upon him) i.e. “Ilmu tanpa amal seperti pokok rendang yang tidak berbuah, amal tanpa ilmu adalah perbuatan orang yang jahil”. Hence “ilmu & amal” or “knowledge & skill” must come together.

The advancement in aeronautical engineering and technology, as being proved by the existence of big and sophisticated aircraft such as Airbus 380, has made the aviation industries throughout the world in real need of pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, air traffic controllers and managers having aeronautical knowledge at least up to the Bachelor Degree level. These graduate personnel could also play an important role in making aviation policies. All are aiming for the safe and sustainable aviation in the future.

Knowing the current aviation scenarios and the future needs of the country and the world of aviation as a whole, UTHM in 2007, put up an effort in match making the aeronautical engineering and aeronautical technology to come up with the UTHM unique Aeronautical Engineering Technology Programs. “TODAY education is for the need of TOMORROW” 3.2 The Formation Of The Programs 3.2.1 Aeronautical Engineering and Technology Match-Making The match-making between the aeronautical engineering and aeronautical technology curriculums had to be done very carefully in order to suit the future needs of the aviation industries. Survey had been done throughout the country to find out:

i). the current and future needs of every parties involving in aviation activities and

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ii). to see weather the proposed aeronautical engineering technology programs are

relevant in meeting the needs of the industries.

The participating parties in the survey, just to name some, were the airline companies or operators (MAS, AIRASIA, MASWING, FIREFLY, BERJAYA AIR and MALAYSIA HELICOPTER SERVICES), flying schools (Asia Pacific Flight Training “APFT”, HM Aerospace, Malaysia Flying Academy “MFA” and International Flying Academy Sabah “IFAS), flying club (Oxysky), aircraft maintenance schools (MAS ENGINEERING, Malaysia Institute of Aviation Technology “MIAT”, Dilog Training & Services “DTS”, Malaysia Aviation Training Academy “MATA” and D’NEST), aircraft maintenance companies (AIROD, Eurocopter and GE Aviation), aircraft manufacturing companies (CTRM and SME Aerospace) and related government and semi government bodies (Department of Civil Aviation “DCA”, MIGHT, Police Airwing, Bomba, etc) on the need of graduate personnel in aviation activities. Beside the survey, several special meetings between UTHM and DCA and MAS officials, and the Industrial Advisors Committee were made. All these efforts resulted in the match-making of aeronautical engineering and aeronautical technology forming four UTHM aeronautical engineering technology program proposals. The said program proposals are as follows:

i). Bachelor Degree of Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Professional Piloting)

with Honours ii). Bachelor Degree of Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Aircraft Maintenance)

with Honours iii). Bachelor Degree of Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Air Traffic Control)

with Honours iv). Bachelor Degree of Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Aircraft

Manufacturing) with Honours

The layout of the match-making processes is clearly shown in Figure 3.1. The figure is self explanatory.

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3.2.2 Proposal of Implementation Each of the proposed aeronautical engineering technology programs will be conducted in four years duration and each year consists of 3 semesters (2 long semesters and 1 short semester). The first two years together with the first semester of the third year is dedicated for the aeronautical engineering courses. This form the first phase of each of the proposed programs. This phase is also called the academic or knowledge phase. The duration from the second semester of the third year until the end of the fourth year is called the skill phase. During this phase the students will have to gain the appropriate skill that is required for their chosen aeronautical technology disciplines. The two phases are well illustrated in Figure 3.2. The curriculum for academic phase is common for all the proposed programs but the curriculum for the skill phase (piloting / maintenance / air traffic control) is tailored to the requirement of each discipline pertaining to the requirement of the Department of Civil Aviation, DCA. The skill for the aircraft manufacturing program will not be assessed by DCA but it is rather be under the jurisdiction of the university.

AERONAUTICAL EDUCATION IN UTHM

MAINTENANCE

MANUFACTURING

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

AIRCRAFT ENG / DESIGN

PILOTING

Figure 3.1: Aeronautical Engineering and Technology Match – Making Layout

BACHELOR DEGREE OF AERO. ENG. TECH.

(PROFESSIONAL PILOTING) WITH

HONOURS

BACHELOR DEGREE OF AERO. ENG.

TECH. (AIRCRAFT

MAINTENANCE) WITH HONOURS

BACHELOR DEGREE OF AERO. ENG. TECH. (AIR TRAFFIC

CONTROL) WITH HONOURS

BACHELOR DEGREE OF AERO.

ENG. TECH. (AIRCRAFT

MANUFACTURING) WITH HONOURS

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The programs curriculums consist of several categories of courses aiming at producing well rounded holistic university graduates. The different categories of courses are being illustrated in Figure 3.3.

Figure 3.2: Programs Implementation Layout

SEM III

SEM II

SEM I

SKILL FLYING /

MAINTENANCE / AIR TRAFFIC

CONTROL

SKILL FLYING /

MAINTENANCE / AIR TRAFFIC

CONTROL

SKILL FLYING /

MAINTENANCE / AIR TRAFFIC

CONTROL

4

SKILL FLYING /

MAINTENANCE / AIR TRAFFIC

CONTROL

SKILL FLYING /

MAINTENANCE / AIR TRAFFIC

CONTROL

ACADEMIC (KNOWLEDGE)

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

3

ACADEMIC (KNOWLEDGE)

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

ACADEMIC (KNOWLEDGE)

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

ACADEMIC (KNOWLEDGE)

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

2

ACADEMIC (KNOWLEDGE)

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

ACADEMIC (KNOWLEDGE)

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

ACADEMIC (KNOWLEDGE)

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

1

YR/ SEM

ACADEMIC COURSES

UNIVERSITY COMPULSORY

MATHS & SCIENCE

FACULTY CORE

PROGRAM CORE

PROGRAM SPECILISATION

ENGINEERING BASIC

AERONAUTICS

INTRODUCTION TO AIRCRAFT, AERODYNAMICS, AIRCRAFT STRUCTURE, AIRCRAFT PROPULSION,

AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS, FLIGHT MECHANICS, AIRCRAFT DESIGN, AIRPORT MANAGEMENT,

FLIGHT ECONOMY AND MANAGEMENT

Figure 3.3: Schematic Layout of the Programs Curriculums

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For the Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Professional Piloting) With Honors, the students have to complete the academic (knowledge) requirement first before they will be allowed to go for their skill trainings at DCA approved flying academy. At the moment only Asia Pacific Flight Training “APFT” had signed Memorandum of Agreement with UTHM in giving flight trainings to the students. Upon successfully completed the flight training the students will posses Private Pilot Licenses (PPL), Commercial Pilot Licenses (CPL) and Airline Transport Pilot Licenses (ATPL Frozen). These licenses will be conferred by DCA and are recognized throughout the world. At the point of time when the students are being certified by the trainers that they are ready to sit for their ATPL Frozen Examination, the students have already fulfilled the requirement for graduation. UTHM will confer them with the said Bachelor Degrees as being illustrated in Figure 3.4. Upon graduations, these graduates are ready to serve any airline as copilots or any related industries as engineers.

The students for the Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Aircraft Maintenance) With Honors and the Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Air Traffic Control) With Honors will follow the same procedures as the Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Professional Piloting) Honors students. The only different is that the Bachelor

COMPLETED ALL ACADEMIC COURSES DI UTHM

COMPLETED FLIGHT TRAINING AT APFT

PROGRAM:- BACHELOR DEGREE IN AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY (PROFESSIONAL

PILOTING) WITH HONORS

UTHM AWARDS DEGREE

DCA AWARDS PILOT LICENSES (PPL, CPL and ATPL Frozen)

READY TO SERVE THE AIRLINES AS COPILOTS OR WORK IN RELATED

INDUSTRIES AS ENGINEERS

Figure 3.4: Program Implementation Layout

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Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Aircraft Maintenance) With Honors students will do the skill (maintenance) training at DTS Aircraft Maintenance School while and the Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Air Traffic Control) With Honors students will do their skill training at the Malaysian Aviation Academy MAvA. Upon completion of the skill trainings the students will have the opportunity to get their respective licenses from DCA. The aircraft maintenance students will get LWTR (License Without Type Rating) licenses and the air traffic control students will get the Air Traffic Controller Licenses. Upon graduations, these graduates are ready to serve the aviation industries either as aircraft maintenance personnel or air traffic controllers depending on the types of licenses they obtained. They are also able to work in any related industries as engineers. The students for the Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Aircraft Manufacturing) With Honors will have a slightly different setups. Their skill training will be at any aircraft design offices available in the country such as at CTRM, Eurocopter Malaysia and MAS Engineering. They will not be conferred by any license but upon graduation they are capable to serve aviation industries and any related engineering industries as engineers in the respective areas.

3.2.3 Admission Requirements The admission requirements are in two folds, one is the university general requirement and the other is the specific aeronautic programs requirement. Potential students (applicants) have to satisfy both the requirements. The specific program requirement is being determined through the process of interviews. Failing the specific program requirement the application will not be considered. No applicant will be considered without prior attending the interview. For every aeronautic program the maximum number of students per intake will be 25. This is inline with the regulations set forth by DCA. Figure 3.5 outlines the admission requirements while Figure 3.6 illustrates the admission procedures.

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ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR UTHM AERONAUTIC PROGRAMS

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

PASS MATRICULATION EXAMINATION IN: • MATHS, CHEMISTRY AND

PHYSICS OR

• MATHS, CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY (SPM: PHYSICS CREDIT)

FULLFIL UNIVERSITY GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

UPU

SPECIAL / PROGRAMS REQUIREMENTS

DURING ADMISSION: • PASS MEDICAL EXAM

(CLASS 3) • PASS ATTITUDE AND

APTITUDE TESTS • NOT HANDICAP AND

COLOUR BLIND • HEIGHT ≥ 163CM, BMI ≤ 25 • NOT AFRAID OF HEIGHT

(VERTIGO), ALLERGIC, DISTORTED VOICE, AFRAID OF DARK ENCLOSURE (CLAUSTROPHOBIA), RETRICTED BODY MOVEMENTS

INTERVIEW (MUST PASS)

BEFORE GOING FOR SKILL TRAINING: • PROFESSIONAL PILOTING

STUDENTS MUST PASS MEDICAL EXAM. CLASS 1

• AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE AND AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL STUDENTS MUST PASS MEDICAL EXAM. CLASS 2

DCA AUTHOURIZED MEDICAL CLINICS

Figure 3.5: Admission requirements outline

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3.3 The Uniqueness Of The Programs UTHM Bachelor Degree Aeronautic Programs are unique and different from other Aeronautic Degree Programs offered in the country. It is the first not only in Malaysia but also throughout the Asia Pacific Region. It is similar to the one offered in the world known university i.e. the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the United State of America. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is the bench mark for UTHM Bachelor Degree Aeronautic Programs. The uniqueness of UTHM Bachelor Degree Aeronautic Programs will be described in the following sub-sections. 3.3.1 The award of Degree and Professional Licenses Upon graduation the graduates will be receiving not only the degree but also the appropriate Professional Licenses related to their specific program specialization. The graduates are ready to work in their specific specialization in the aviation industry. They also have the opportunity to work as engineers in any related engineering industries as alternative. Table 3.1 shows the types of degree and professional licenses the graduates will obtain upon their graduation.

ADMISSION PROCEDURES

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY BACHALOR DEGREES

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

(CPA)

ATTITUDE & APPTITUDE

TESTS

MEDICAL

INTERVIEWS (CANDIDATES

BEAR THEIR OWN COSTS)

NOTE: APLICATION WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED WITHOUT ATTENTING THE INTERVIEWS

Figure 3.6: Admission procedures.

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3.3.2 Job Opportunity Currently the job opportunity for aeronautic technology specializations is only open in the specific specialization area. For example, the pilots after being licensed by DCA, they could only work as pilots, the license aircraft engineers could only work in the aircraft maintenance hangers and the license air traffic controllers could only work at the airport control tower or at the main air traffic control center. But by having the aeronautical engineering technology degrees together with the appropriate professional licenses in aviation, the pilots, license aircraft maintenance engineers and the air traffic controllers will have the opportunity to work as engineers in the related or any engineering

No. Degree Program

Degree Award by UTHM

Professional License Award by

DCA

1

Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Professional

Piloting)

Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Professional Piloting) With

Honours

i. Private Pilot License, PPL

ii. Commercial Pilot License, CPL

iii. Airline Transport Pilot License

Frozen, ATPL Frozen

2

Aeronautical Engineering Technology

(Aircraft Maintenance)

Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology

(Aircraft Maintenance) With

Honours

Aircraft Maintenance

License Without Type Rating, LWTR

3

Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Air Traffic

Control)

Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering

Technology (Air Traffic Control) With Honours

Air Traffic Controller License

(Aerodrome)

4

Aeronautical Engineering Technology

(Aircraft Manufacturing)

Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology

(Aircraft Manufacturing) With Honours

Nil

Table 3.1: Types of Award Obtained upon Graduation

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companies as alternatives. These opportunities will be a great help for the pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers and air traffic controllers upon retirements or in cases where they could not be licensed to continue their normal aviation duties due to the declination of their health. The opportunity will also provide the aeronautical engineering technology graduates to work temporarily in any engineering industries while waiting for them to be absorbed into the aviation industries. Thus by having the aeronautical engineering technology degrees as being offered by UTHM the job opportunities for the graduates are broadened. The graduates could find jobs not only in Malaysia but also throughout the world if they wish in their respective specializations. Figure 3.7 and 3.8 illustrate the Malaysia and world demand for pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians / license aircraft maintenance engineers respectively.

Figure 3.7: Job opportunity survey for the aeronautical

engineering technology degree holders - Malaysia [1, 2, 3]

JOB OPPORTUNITY SURVEY - DEGREE IN AERO. ENG. TECH. (PROFESSIONAL PILOTING)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Others

Management Executive

Marketing / Sales Executive

Field Services

Eng. Technologies/Engineers

Trainers

Pilots

Opportunity (%)

JOB OPPORTUNITY SURVEY - DEGREE IN AERO. ENG. TECH. (AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Others

Management Executive

Marketing / Sales Executive

Field Services

Eng. Technologies/Engineers

Trainers

Aircraft Maintenance

Opportunity (%)

JOB OPPORTUNITY SURVEY - DEGREE IN AERO. ENG. TECH. (AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Others

Management Executive

Marketing / Sales Executive

Field Services

Eng. Technologies/Engineers

Trainers

Air Traffic Controller

Opportunity (%)

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3.3.3 First Salary From the market survey that being conducted by UTHM in 2008, the first salary for the aeronautical engineering technology graduates will depend on their specific specializations. For graduates with professional piloting specialization, if they work in aviation industries, their first salary will be in the range of RM 6,000 – 8,000 depending on which airlines they serve. Those graduated with aircraft maintenance or air traffic control specializations, their first salary will be slightly lower i.e. in the range of RM 3,000 – 5,000 depending on which aviation industries they are serving. All the above figures will be higher if they join foreign aviation companies.

Figure 3.8: World demand for pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians / license aircraft maintenance engineers [Source: http://theasiacareertimes.com]

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On the other hand, if for one reason or the other, the graduates have to join any related engineering companies or even any government sectors, then their first salary will be similar to any engineering graduates as stipulated by Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam Malaysia (JPAM) or as being dictated by the said companies.

3.4 Programs Approval And Launching 3.4.1 The Approval To get the approval for offering the proposed UTHM Aeronautical Engineering Technology Programs from the Ministry of Higher Learning (MOHE) was not an easy matter. It took a lot of energy and efforts since the proposed programs were the first one of its kind. Thanks to all that concerned i.e. the Chancellery, Center for Academic Developments (CAD) and Faculty of Mechanical and Production Engineering (FKMP) and all others that had rendered their helps in one way or the other. After the second attempt, only two of the four proposed programs were granted approval by MOHE. The two said programs are the “Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Professional Piloting) With Honors” and the “Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Aircraft Maintenance) With Honors”. The said approval was granted at the end of 2008. The third program, the “Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Air Traffic Control) was resubmitted and approved by MOHE in 2011. The only proposed program left unapproved is the “Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Aircraft Design and Manufacturing) With Honors” and has yet to be resubmitted in the near future. 3.4.2 The Launching The UTHM unique aeronautic programs were launched on August 8, 2009 by the Honorable Tan Sri Ir. Jamilus bin Husin, the Chairman of the Management Board of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia. Figure 3.9 shows the prestige launching moment. The launching ceremony served three main purposes. Firstly was to announce the approval to run the programs given by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, MOHE or in Bahasa Malaysia called the Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia, KPTM. Secondly was to announce to all citizens of university and the publics as a whole that UTHM will be offering her two unique and prestige aeronautic programs i.e. the “Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Professional Piloting) With Honors” and the “Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Aircraft Maintenance) With Honors” programs in the very near future. Thirdly is to tell all those who involve and responsible for the running of the two programs that the time for implementing the said programs had begun and necessary drastic actions had to be taken.

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3.5 Sequencing the Offering of the Programs

In order to ensure the smooth and effective running of the new borne programs, the offering of the programs has to be carefully sequenced. This is due to the limited manpower, budget, facility and experience. Table 3.2 shows the programs offering sequence as agreed by the faculty and university.

Figure 3.9: Some memories of the aeronautics programs launching.

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NO. PROGRAMS YEAR OF

APPROVAL BY KPTM

YEAR OF PROGRAM OFFERED

NO. OF STUDENTS/

INTAKE

1 B.Aero.Eng.Tech

(Professional Piloting) Honors

2008 2010/2011 25

2 B.Aero.Eng.Tech

(Aircraft Maintenance) Honors

2008 2011/2012 25

3 B.Aero.Eng.Tech

(Air Traffic Control) Honors

2011 2013/2014 25

4

B.Aero.Eng.Tech (Aircraft Design &

Manufacturing) Honors

To resubmit to KPTM for

approval Not Known > 25

Table 3.2: Implementation Sequence of the Aeronautic Programs

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CHAPTER 4

THE IMPLIMENTATION OF THE BACHELOR DEGREE IN AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS

4.1 The Bachelor Degree In Aeronautical Engineering Technology

(Professional Piloting) With Honours 4.1.1 1st

The first batch or the first student intake for the first UTHM aeronautical engineering technology with honors program i.e. the professional piloting program was on July 2010. For this batch only 25 students were taken in after fulfilling the university and medical requirements, and also successfully going through the special interview as required for the said program. Figure 4.1 and 4.2 are the photos of these students taken during their exposure to flying session at the Asia Pacific Flight Training (APFT), Kota Bharu, Kelantan. This flying exposure training is a requirement for the Introduction to Aircraft course and is compulsory to be taken by each and every student enrolling into any one of the UTHM aeronautic programs. This Introduction to Aircraft course must be taken during the first semester of each program as to give the students some understanding of the aircraft anatomy, the related systems, the required student discipline and also the experience to maneuver and control the aircraft in flying. These are very essential in supporting all of their future courses listed in their curriculum and also to ensure excellent perform of each student through out their studies.

Intake Students

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Figure 4.1: 1st Batch UTHM Aeronautic (Professional Piloting) Students posing at APFT, Kota Bahru, Kelantan during their

Flight Exposure Training.

Figure 4.2: 1st Batch UTHM Aeronautic (Professional Piloting) Students under going Flight Exposure Training at APFT, Kota

Bahru, Kelantan.

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4.1.2 Facilities

To accomplish the aeronautical engineering technology programs special attention has to be given by the university in providing and preparing the necessary facilities. Not all the existing facilities available for the engineering students in the university are suitable to the aeronautical engineering programs as certain rules and regulations set forth by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) have to be complied. As to be remembered, the degree will be awarded by UTHM but the professional licenses will be conferred by DCA. As required by the programs, the professional licenses are part and parcel of the aeronautical engineering technology programs. Thus failing in fulfill DCA requirements the respective students could not get graduated. The facilities that have to be given special attentions are being described in the following subsections.

4.1.2.1 Dedicated Lecture Rooms To obtain the professional licenses in piloting, aircraft maintenance and air traffic control, DCA setouts certain requirements regarding the lecture and tutorial rooms. These requirements are:

i. Each lecture class must not be more than 25 students while the tutorial classes each must not be more than 15 students.

ii. The room must be at least well lighted, equipped with video and audio systems, air-

conditioned and being curtained. iii. Each student has to have his own table and chair. The table should be of the

minimum size of 1 x 0.75 meter. All these requirements are set to make sure maximum interaction between the lecturers and students, proper knowledge transfer, and to develop high standard of academic and skill performances in the students. At the same time to culture and develop high standard of discipline as required to have by each of the said professional. These regulations are setout by ICAO to be the common practice throughout the aviation educational world. Figure 4.3 shows the existing two required lecture rooms located at each corner of the side entrance of the university new beautiful library building.

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2

4.1.2.2 Aeronautic Resource Room This room is located at the ground floor of the new library building and just to the side of the Aero Lecture Room 1. It consists of a reference corner, a meeting/discussion/consultation corner and lecturers’ compartments. Six PCs are placed in the reference corner for the students to get relevant information such as aircraft specifications and designs, maintenance procedures, current issues on aviations, ICAO and DCA publications and even some lecture notes from well-known universities (Ambry-Riddle Aeronautical University and MIT, USA) etc., from the internet. A few more PCs will be installed in the future to house specific aeronautical engineering software such as aircraft design and control software. Some reference material such as manuals, journals and aeronautical publications are also available in the reference corner. Reference books pertaining to the aeronautical curriculums are available in the library itself.

The meeting/discussion/consultation corner serves the following purposes:

i. a place where aero students could meet and discuss among themselves on matters regarding academics, aero club and other activities

ii. a place where students-lecturers interactions could take place. Students could consult

their lecturers on academics, personal and other related matters

Figure 4.3: Lecture rooms for aeronautic students

1

3 2

Aero Lecture Room 2

3. Aero Lecture Room 1

2. UTHM New Library

1.

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iii. a place where academic advisors could interact with there students and conducting mentors-mantes activities

iv. a place where regular management-students and even departmental meetings could take place.

Figure 4.4 shows the photos of the reference and meeting/discussion/consultation corners. Behind the blue partitions of the meeting/discussion/ consultation corner are the lecturers’ compartments. There are four of them and each only consisting of a table and a chair. These compartments serve as stopping places for lecturers on duties. For the lecturers that always come early for their classes, they could make use of these compartments for resting, marking tutorials and other assignments or even go through their lectures power points. They could also stay back after their classes for similar purposes or even for students’ consultations.

4.1.2.3 Aeronautic Laboratories UTHM has established two aeronautic laboratories for enhancing teaching and learning of the aeronautical engineering technology courses stipulated in the program curriculums. The two aeronautic laboratories are the “Aerodynamic and Propulsion Laboratory” and the “Structure and Avionic Laboratory”. For all basic engineering courses, the related engineering laboratories and workshops in the Mechanical and Production Engineering Faculty will be used. At the moment, the aerodynamic and propulsion laboratory houses

Reference Corner

Meeting/ Discussion/

Consultation Corner

Figure 4.4: Part of Aeronautic Resource Room

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three main equipments i.e. the runnable turboprop engine test stand, cutaway turboprop engine and turbine fuel system test stand. Another three main equipments i.e. the navigation system test stand, landing gear system test stand and PC flying simulator are being housed in the structure and avionic laboratory. Figures 4.5 and 4.6 show photos of the said equipments in the aerodynamic and propulsion laboratory and structure and avionic laboratory respectively while Figure 4.7 shows the photo of the inside environment of the common working area shared by both the laboratories.

1 2

3

1. Runnable Turboprop Engine Test Stand

2. Cutaway Turboprop Engine

3. Turbine Fuel System Trainer

Figure 4.5: Current Major Equipments in Aerodynamic & Propulsion Lab.

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Figure 4.7: Common working area for “Aerodynamic & Propulsion” and “Structure & Avionic” Labs.

Figure 4.6: Current Major Equipments in Structure & Avionic Lab.

1

2

3

1. PC Flight Simulator 2. Navigation System Trainer 3. Landing Gear System

Trainer

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4.2 The Bachelor Degree In Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Aircraft Maintenance) With Honours And The Bachelor Degree In Aeronautical Engineering Technology (Air Traffic Control) With Honours

The 1st

4.3 Aeronautic Students’ Campus Life

batches of the bachelor degree in aeronautical technology (aircraft maintenance) and the bachelor degree in aeronautical technology (air traffic control) students will commence their studies in September 2011 and September 2013 respectively. They will be sharing the same facilities and adhere to the same rules and regulations as the bachelor degree in aeronautical technology (professional piloting) students as long as they are in UTHM.

4.3.1 Rules and Regulations All UTHM aeronautic students have to adhere to the same rules and regulations as being imposed to all other students in campus. On top of these rules and regulations, all aeronautic students have to observed and obey the following specific rules as set by the Aeronautic Department, Faculty of Mechanical and Production Engineering, UTHM:

i. All aeronautic students must be in campus from 8am to 5pm every week day throughout each semester. If not attending lectures, tutorials, workshop, laboratory works or other university activities they must be in the aeronautic lecture rooms or aeronautic resource room. They are not allowed to be in their hostel rooms and permissions from the head of the aeronautic department or the academic advisors must be obtained prior to any student leaving the campus during the said period of time.

ii. All aeronautic students must wear their uniforms every day from 8am to 5pm

throughout each semester. iii. All aeronautic students must be at the front of aero lecture room 1 by 7.45am every

week day morning for performing morning parade.

iv. All aeronautic students must stay in the same hostel, four in each room. The male students in the hostel block for male and the female students in the hostel block for female.

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v. All aeronautic students must obtain at least 75 marks for each course taken every semester. Failing to observe this particular regulation, student may have to leave the aeronautic programs. 75 marks is the passing mark for every aeronautic course which is inline with the requirement of DCA although in the eyes of the university 40 marks is the passing mark for all the courses offered by the university.

vi. For every batch of aeronautic students, they must take the same co-curriculum

courses. 4.3.2 Other Activities / Duties For other activities in campus, all aeronautic students have to observe the following rules and duties:

i. Every aeronautic student is automatically an active member of the Aero Club. It is the duty of each and every student to make the club a success.

ii. At the end of each calendar year, the aeronautic department will organize a street

soccer (futsal) tournament between the aeronautic students and the department staff. This tournament is to fight for the PIDA (Prof Ir Dr Abas Ab Wahab) Cup which was launched for the first time in November 2010. Figure 4.8 shows the lineup photo of the participants taken prior to the commencement of the tournament. Each and every aeronautic student is compulsory to take part in the tournament.

iii. Each and every aeronautic student has the duty to uphold his/her own health up to

standard required by DCA through his/her degree study. Failing this, he/she will not be allowed to undergo the license training required to fulfill his/her particular degree requirement.

iv. Aeronautical students are allowed to participate in any university activities as long as

they do not go against any one of the rules stated in 4.3.1 and 4.3.2.

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4.4

Department Staff At the moment the aeronautical engineering department has 17 staff of different categories as shown in Table 4.1 below.

Table 4.1: Aeronautical Engineering Department Staff

No. Category of Staff Number of Staff

Status

1 Professor 2 Active 2 Associate Professor 1 Active 3 Senior Lecturer 2 Active 4 Lecturer 2 On PhD Study Leave 5 Tutor 2 On PhD Study Leave

1 On Master Degree Study Leave 4 Active

6 Instructor 2 Active 7 Junior Instructor 1 Active

Total 17

Figure 4.8: Participants of PIDA Cup 2010 Tournament

FLYING

41

CHAPTER 5

OVERVIEW OF FLYING The main function of a pilot is to fly the aircraft safely and economically. In normal condition the flying of an aircraft from one place to another involves a set of activities. The activities are preflight check, takeoff, climbing, turning, cruising, descending and landing. These activities have to be carried out in great discipline in order to ensure the safety of the flight. If anything happen while airborne, the whole aircraft and passengers will be the victims. Thus the duty of a pilot is really great. The high salary that a pilot earns is due to his responsibility and duty under high risk conditions. The higher the risk, the better is the salary. 5.1 Airborne And Moving Through The Air What makes an aircraft afloat in air (airborne) and moving through it smoothly? The answer is the aircraft engine and its wing. The engine propulsive force pushes the aircraft forward at the desired speed. As the aircraft moving forward it causes the air to flow around its wings and body. The wings are made of special shape usually in the shape of cambered aerofoil while its body is in the shape a cucumber. Air flow around a cambered aerofoil creates a good upward force called lift force or simply “lift”. If the speed of an aircraft is increased, the speed of air flowing around the wings is also increased resulting in the increase of lift. To make the aircraft airborne the lift must be greater than the weight of the aircraft. Lift could be increased either by moving the aircraft faster i.e. by injecting more fuel into the engines or by changing the camber of the aerofoil shape of the wings. The wing with more cambered will produce greater lift. The air flow around a cucumber shape body produces negligible lift as compared to the one produced by the wings but it facilitates the aircraft to move through the air smoothly. A car has engine that can make it to more very fast and causes air to flow around its body at high speed. But without wing the car cannot airborne like an aircraft. The above explanation could also be done aerodynamically. Figure 5.1 shows two different shapes of aerofoil i.e. symmetrical and cambered aerofoil. Let first consider the symmetrical aerofoil. The air flow that strikes the aerofoil is divided into two, one flows above and the other flows under the aerofoil. The top and bottom airflows will join together again after leaving the aerofoil. Since the top and bottom airflows move through the same distant for the same duration of time, then both top and bottom airflows are having the same speed. According to Bernoulli Theorem, if the top and bottom speeds are the same then the top and bottom pressures are also the same. Pressures always act

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42

perpendicularly to the surface, then as shown in Figure 5.2 the top and bottom pressures are having the same values but in opposite directions. Thus the pressures (pressure forces) cancel each other resulting in zero lift force being created. But different thing happens in the case of cambered aerofoil. As seen in Figure 5.3, the distant between the leading and trailing edges of the aerofoil is longer on the top surface than the bottom surface. Thus according to the same Bernoulli Theorem, the airflow on

Leading Edge

Trailing Edge

Upper Camber

Lower Camber

Chord Length

Camber: Upper > Lower Surface Distance, Leading To Trailing Edges: Upper > Lower

(a). Cambered / Unsymmetrical

Upper Camber

Lower Camber

Surface Distance, Leading To Trailing Edges: Upper =Lower Chamber: Upper = Lower

Chord Length

Leading Edge

(b). Un-cambered / Symmetrical

Trailing Edge

Figure 5.1: Cambered and Symmetrical Aerofoil

Figure 5.2: Symmetrical Aerofoil – Total Top Surface Pressure Equalizes Total Bottom Surface Pressure Resulting in Zero Lift Force

Top Airflow

Bottom Airflow

Bottom Pressure

Top Pressure

Total Top Pressure Total Bottom Pressure

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43

the upper surface of the aerofoil is faster than the one at the bottom surface. Thus the pressure on the top surface is lesser than the pressure on the bottom surface resulting in an upward pressure force of lift force which makes the wing or aircraft to float in air. The greater the speed of the aircraft, the bigger will be the lift produced.

The angle at which the air strikes the wing also plays an important role in the creation of lift force. The bigger the angle of attack, the bigger the lift force will be. But everything on this earth has a limit and the angle of attack has no exception. Too big an angle of attack will make the airflow above the aerofoil to be separated from the top surface of the wing, crated sudden loss of lift called stall. Stalling will cause the sudden drop of the aircraft which is tremendously dangerous. Figure 5.4 gives good illustration of the limitation of the angle of attack.

Total Top Pressure Total Bottom Pressure

LIFT

Figure 5.3: Cambered Aerofoil – Total Bottom Surface Pressure is larger than Total Top Surface Pressure, Generating Lift Force

Fast Speed

Slow Speed

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5.2 Aircraft Performance

As being stated earlier, the aircraft (airliner) performance includes the takeoff, climbing, turning, cruising, descending and landing. In this section these performances of the aircraft will be briefly discussed. 5.2.1 Axes of motions and the control surfaces Principally an aircraft maneuvers about its three body axes namely the longitudinal axis, vertical axis and horizontal axis. Figure 5.5 illustrates the body axes of an aircraft.

Lift

Coe

ffici

ent,

Cl

-0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 20.0

Angle of Attack, deg

Figure 5.4: Graph of Lift Coefficients versus Angle of Attacks of a Typical Aerofoil (Wing)

Stalling Point

Max. Wing’s Angle of Attack

Max. Cl (Lift)

Attached Flow

Detached Flow (Flow Separation)

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45

The aircraft motions about its longitudinal, vertical and horizontal axes are called rolling, yawing and pitching motions. The parts of the aircraft responsible for and control these motions are the ailerons, rudder and elevators respectively. These parts are commonly called the control surfaces and are clearly shown in Figure 5.6.

The pilot makes use of the control stick / control column to operate the aileron and the elevators, and the rudder paddles to operate the rudder. Pushing the stick to the right or left makes the aircraft to roll to the right or left respectively. Pulling the stick backwards causes the aircraft to pitch up (nose up) while pushing the stick forwards causes the aircraft to pitch down (nose down). Pushing down the right rudder pedal makes the aircraft to yaw / turn to the right while pushing down the left rudder paddle will make the aircraft to yaw to the left. To give the aircraft a good or sharp turn, the pilot will make

Figure 5.5: Aircraft Body Axes [Source: http://www.esparacing.com]

Longitudinal Axis

Vertical Axis Lateral Axis

Figure 5.6: Aircraft Control Surfaces [Source: http://www.rc-airplane-world.com]

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46

use the aileron and the rudder simultaneously. If using the rudder alone, the turning circle will be too large and will take a lot of times.

There is another type of control surface called the flaps. The use of flaps does not make the aircraft to move about any of its body axes but rather to increase the lift forces created by the wing during takeoff, climbing, descending and landing. Moving the flaps down will increase the wing camber and thus increasing the lift force created as shown in Figure 5.7.

In cruising flight the flap will be set to its normal / horizontal position in order to reduce drag. This action will make the aircraft moves faster or at the same speed with reducing fuel consumption. Detail aerodynamic explanation for the above said motions could be obtained from any the aeronautic staff and students or from any aerodynamic reference books.

5.2.2 Takeoff and climbing To make the aircraft to takeoff, the pilot puts the flap down to the takeoff position and starts ramming the engines to increase the speed of the aircraft as it moves along the runway. At reaching the recommended takeoff speed, the pilot will pull the control stick / column backwards making the elevators to deflect upwards. The force due to the air striking the upward deflected elevators causes the aircraft to pitch up (nose up). With the right amount of lift force created by the flap down wing and in the nose up position, the

Inflight (Cruising)

Figure 5.7: Examples of the Usage of Flaps in Flight Operations [Source: http://www.airliners.net & http://www.theairlinehub.com]

Climbing / Descending

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47

aircraft will takeoff and climb nicely. After reaching a permissible height (depending on the types of aircraft), the landing gears have to be retracted in order to reduce drag and thus inducing a better climbing motion. 5.2.3 Cruising After reaching the required height, the pilot will push the control stick to its neutral position, thus putting back the elevators into their neutral / horizontal positions and making the aircraft into the level flight. This action is not enough; the pilot has also to bring back the wing flaps position into the cruising / horizontal positions. This will reduce the drag force on to the aircraft and hence reducing fuel consumption. At last and not to forget, that the pilot has to trim down the formerly engines power in order to maintain steady, economical level flight. If this is not done the aircraft will keep increasing its speed unnecessarily. 5.2.4 Approaching and Landing During approaching and in the preparation for landing, the pilot has to reduce the height and at the same time to reduce the aircraft speed to the recommended speed to touch down. It is very vital not to give the aircraft a high impact high speed landing. This will cause damage to the aircraft, uncomfortable and dangerous feeling to the passengers, and also create difficulties in make the aircraft to come to a stop since each runway has its own limited length. To have a safe landing, the pilot first of all has to reduce the aircraft speed by releasing the landing gears down and also reducing engines speed. Once the aircraft speed is reduced, the lift force created by the wing will also reduce. This makes the aircraft to drop. In order to have the right suitable rate of descend; the lift force has to be regulated due to the continuously reducing aircraft speed. This done by putting the wing flaps to the landing position and regulated from time to time until the aircraft reaching the touch down position. Once touching down, the aircraft engine will be put to the minimum power position, and the air spoilers into the up position to increase the drag force on to the motion of the aircraft. Once a permissible speed is achieved the tyre brakes are employed until the safe taxing speed is reached. The tyre breaks are not advisable to be employed at high aircraft landing speed since it will cause a sudden stop to the aircraft which may resulting into the somersaulting motion of the aircraft. 5.3 Pilots And Their Duties The main duty of pilots is to fly the aircraft safely and economically. Their main place of work is in the aircraft cockpits. The captain (pilot) seat is on the left and the co-pilot seat is on the right. Figure 5.8 illustrates these respective pilot and co-pilot seat.

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In the past, the job of the pilot was quite tough. He has to perform all the required duties (to pull backward and to push forward the control stick for nose up and down, to push the stick left and right to make the aircraft roll to the left and right, and to push the left and right peddles in order to yaw / turn the aircraft to the left and right respectively, etc) for the aircraft maneuver especially during takeoff, climbing, approaching and landing. But nowadays, with the introduction of big aircraft such as Boeing 747 and Airbus 380, the tasks of the pilot are much more relaxing since the aircrafts are equipped with automated control systems. Boeing 747 operates using semi-automated control systems while the Airbus 380 operates using fully automated control systems. Figure 5.9 shows the cockpit of both types of aircraft. At the beginning of the flight (i.e. before takeoff) the pilot has to setup the control systems by putting in all the necessary data such as port of takeoff, destination, weather conditions, etc ) into the master computer. Then by pushing the ok button every movement of the aircraft, from takeoff up to landing will be performed and controlled by the master computer automatically. The pilot just has to monitor the aircraft performance by looking at all the gages in the cockpit. If any malfunction of the systems occurs (as indicated by flashing red light and sharp sounding), then the pilot has to investigate and overcome them. The pilot will have to have good engineering background of the automated control systems and also the working of the each individual aircraft control component system. The degree level of engineering technology knowledge is now a compulsory for the new, current and future pilots since aircraft systems are becoming more advance and sophisticated.

Pilot Co-Pilot Figure 5.8: The Positions of Pilot and Co-pilot in an Aircraft Cockpit [Source: http://us.fotolia.com]

PILOT CO-PILOT

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(a). Boeing 747

(b). Airbus 380

Figure 5.9: Cockpit of Layouts of the Big New Generation Aircrafts [Source:

http://www.flickr.com & http://www.flightglobal.com]

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HELICOPTER FLIGHT

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CHAPTER 6

HELICOPTERS 6.1 Introduction Helicopter is one of the members of the aircraft family. This member of the aircraft family serves vital roles as public air transport to the remote and isolated areas (i.e. the far interior of the country, small islands, thick jungles, high mountains, etc) where other modes of transportation are not available or not feasible to be implemented. Land transports (like cars, buses, etc) need good roads, water transports (like water express in Sarawak, Penang ferries, speed boat and ferries to Tioman Island) need good continuous amount of water while air transports (all type of planes) need good runway for their smooth operations. But helicopters do not need all the above mentioned facilities for their operations. Thus helicopters become the main mode of transportation to these remote and isolated areas. Helicopters are also used in military activities, search and rescue, national security monitoring (police, fire bridge/ ”bomba”) and also at a more important role as air ambulance. Helicopters do not need runway for takeoff and landing but have the special capability of taking off and landing vertically. Helicopters are also used in making movies and taking aerial photos for the purpose of aerial mappings and monitoring the inflow of illegal immigrants, illegal lumbering, etc. All these functions are made possible by helicopters due to their capability to hover at any height and takeoff and landing vertically. 6.2 Helicopters Versus Aeroplanes Helicopters and aeroplanes are not much different; both are modes of air transportation. They can be used not only as public transports but and also in military supports. Although these aircrafts carry out similar functions but they still posses some differences between them. Table 6.1 outlines the main differences only. In an aeroplane the wing is fixed and is only responsible to produce lift to airborne and float the aeroplane in air. The thrust produces by the engines provides the propulsive force. Aeroplane makes use of control surfaces (the ailerons, rudder and elevators) to maneuver and control its motions in the air. But in the case of a helicopter, its rotating blades of the main rotor produce not only the required lift but also at the same time provide the necessary propulsive force in any required directions. Figure 6.1 illustrates the said differences. The rotating blades are also called rotating wings due to their lift producing function. The helicopter employs it

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main rotor to maneuver in the air. To fly forwards, backwards and to left and right, the pilot just has to tilt the main rotor forward, backwards, to the left and right respectively. Detail explanations will be given in subsection 6.3. The helicopter needs tail rotor in order to make it stay in any required position, without or malfunction tail rotor will set the helicopter into the dangerous spinning motion. This is one of the reasons that causes some of helicopter accidents. A very outstanding different in flying both types of aircraft is that in an aeroplane the pilot (captain) takes the left seat whereas in helicopter the pilots will take the right seat. The reason for this will be discussed later.

No.

Helicopter

Aeroplane 1. Rotating Wing (Main Rotor) Fixed Wing

2.

Need Tail Rotor to encounter helicopter body rotation resulting from the rotation of the main rotor

No such effect

3. Helicopter directional

motions are being controlled by tilting the main rotor.

Aeroplane direction motions are being controlled by control surfaces (rudder, ailerons and

elevators

4. Main rotor provides lift and

also propulsive forces for the operations of helicopter

Lift force is provided by the wing and the propulsive force by the thrust produces by the engine or by the propeller.

5. Operates up to high subsonic

speed (Mach < 1)

Operates at high subsonic speed (Mach < 1) – airline

transport aircraft Operates up to supersonic speed (5 < Mach < 1) –

military aircraft

Table 6.1: Main differences between Helicopter and Aeroplane

[Source: http://helicopterphotos.net]

[Source: http://www.airliners.net]

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6. Pilot (Captain) occupies

right seat Pilot occupies left seat

7. Small number of passengers

(up to 16 peoples)

Large number of passenger (Airbus 380 can carry up to

800 passengers) 8. Does not need runway Needs runway

9. Special capabilities

(hovering and vertical takeoff and landing)

Only in military aeroplane (Harrier)

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6.3 How A Helicopter Flies

The main different between a helicopter and an aeroplane is that a helicopter could takeoff and landing vertically without the need of runway, hovering (fly at one place) in air, fly backwards and sideways on top of other common aircraft maneuvers (operations) such as flying forward and turning. When the helicopter rotor turns with its rotor plane of

Lift force Propulsive Force

Keys:

Figure 6.1: Lift and Propulsive Forces (Thrust) acting on an Aeroplane and a Helicopter in Forward Flight.

[Source: Internet]

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rotation horizontally, it produces some vertical upwards force called “Lift”. At a high rotation, the lift created will be much bigger that the helicopter’s weight. In this situation, the helicopter will climb vertically into the air. If then, the pilot reduces the rotor speed of rotation in such a way that the lift produce is just equal to the weight of the helicopter, the helicopter will stay at a particular height. Such situation is called hovering. To descend / landing, the rotor speed has to be further reduced resulting in the lift produced will be less than the helicopter’s weight. The reduction in rotor speed / lift has to done bit by bit since too big reduction in lift will cause the helicopter to descend very fast and may hit the ground with too high an impact. This will damage the aircraft and hurt the pilot and passengers if any. These vertical operations / capabilities of a helicopter are clearly illustrated in Figure 6.2 below.

Helicopter does not have any ailerons, rudder and elevators to do pitching, rolling, yawing and turning motions like an aeroplane but it solely utilizes the main rotor to perform the said maneuvering operations. In maneuvering operations, the main rotor will supply the lift force (lift) and the propulsive force (thrust) at the same time. For forward flying, the main rotor is tilting to the front in such a way that the plane of main rotor rotation is slanting slightly to the front. To increase forward speed, the main rotor is tilted more to the front and vice versa. No other aircraft could move backwards except helicopter. This is done just by tilting the main rotor to the back. By doing this, the thrust component produced by the rotor is in the backward direction resulting in the backward motion.

Hovering (Floating)

Lift

Weight

On Ground

Vertical Climb (Ascending)

Lift

Weight

Descending

Lift

Weight

Figure 6.2: Vertical and hovering operations of a helicopter

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Another special maneuvering operation that a helicopter could do is the pure sideways motions. It could fly in the pure left and right directions. These pure left and right motions are accomplished just by tilting the main rotor to the left and right respectively. An integrated motion could also be done, i.e. by tilting the main rotor in such a way that the plane of its rotation is in between the front and side planes. This action will produce the thrust neither in the forward direction nor in the sideward direction but it is in between. In this situation the helicopter will neither fly straight direction nor in the sideway direction but making a turn instead. Figure 6.3 illustrates the helicopter in the forward, backward, sideways flights with the relevant forces produced by the main rotor. The planes of the main rotor rotation in the respective flight motion are shown in Figure 6.4.

Weight

Lift

Thrust

Fly sideway (To the Left)

Weight

Lift

Thrust

In Backward Flight

Weight

Lift

Thrust

Fly sideway (To the right)

Weight

Lift

Thrust

In Forward Flight

Figure 6.3: Schematic illustrations of helicopter in forward, backward, to the right and left flying motions.

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The main purpose of the tail rotor is to counter the helicopter body moment of inertia induced by the main rotor rotation. But it is also used to help in making sharp turns and making helicopter to turn around its vertical body axis during hovering. Figure 6.5 illustrates the functions of the tail rotor. For hovering in a particular position or to be in straight forward flight, the force F produced by the tail rotor should be equal the counter rotating force (counter force). Reducing F, the helicopter in hovering will start to rotate anticlockwise about its vertical body axis or will help to make a sharp turn to the left if the helicopter is in turning motion. To perform a clockwise rotation in hovering or to make a sharp turn to the right in flight the F must be bigger than the counter force.

Long.

Vert.

Lat. Plane of

Rotor Rotation

Long.

Vert. Lat.

Plane of Rotor

Rotation

Forward Motion Sideward Motion

Long. Vert

. Lat

Plane of Rotor

Rotation

Turning Motion

Figure 6.4: Planes of main rotor rotations and the forces produced by the main rotor in forward, sideward and turning

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6.4 The Secret Of Rotating Wings

The helicopter main rotor consists of a number of blades, the minimum is two and the maximum is five) depending on the load it carries and also the mission it has to accomplish. Each blade when rotating produces lift. Since it produces lift for the helicopter flight operations, it is called wing; just like the wing of an aeroplane. The only different between the two is that the rotor blade produces lift while rotating but the wing of an aeroplane just stay fixed to its body. Thus helicopter blade is called rotating wing and the aeroplane wing is called fixed wing.

In flight of an aeroplane, only the relative air velocity coming from the front hits the wing and produces the required lift. It is very much different in the case of helicopter flight. In helicopter forward flight, on only the relative air velocity coming from the front due to forward motion but also the relative velocity of air due to the rotation of the blade itself. The resultant relative velocity is the one that is responsible to produce lift on each blade. The value of the resultant relative velocity depends on which side of the helicopter it is operating. Its value on the advancing side is higher than the one on the retreating side. This implies that the lift produced on the advancing side is higher than the one on the retreating side. Thus strictly speaking, the helicopter will fly in a way that its right side of the body (advancing side of the blades) will be higher than its left side (the retreating side if the blades) as shown in Figure 6.6.

In order to have a stable straight and level flight, the angle of attack of the retreating blade is increased. Thus increasing the lift produced. This in turn equalizes the lift produced by the advancing blade. This happens continuously as the blades keep rotating and hence straight level flight is accomplished. Normally, the angles of attack of the advancing and retreating blades are 4 and 12 degrees respectively.

F = counter force

Hovering / Straight Forward Flight

(a) (b) Anticlockwise Turn in Hovering / Sharp Left

Turning

F < counter force

(c) Clockwise Turn in

Hovering / Sharp Right Turning

F > counter force

Induced Body Rotation

Figure 6.5: The functions of Tail Rotor

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In vertical flight and in hovering conditions, the helicopter does not involve in any forward motion. So, there is no relative velocity due to helicopter forward flight acting on the rotor blades. Relative velocity due to helicopter blade motion is the only one that of concerned. Thus in vertical flight and hovering, there is no necessity to vary the blade angles of attack from the advancing to the retreating sides or vice versa. The lift on the retreating side is already equal to the one on the advancing side. Figure 6.7 gives good illustration on these conditions.

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4 o Advancing

Blade/ Side

Retreating Blade/ Side

Direction of Flight

4 o Keys:

Relative Velocity Due To Blade Motion Relative Velocity Due To Helicopter Forward Motion Resultant Relative Velocity Striking The Blade

Unstable Flight

Stable Flight

4 o

4 o

12 o

12 o

4 o

12 o

Advancing Blade/ Side

Retreating Blade/ Side

Direction of Flight

Rotating Blade angles of Attack

Figure 6.6: Controlling lift production of rotating blades for helicopter flight stability

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6.5 Problem Of Side Wind

Helicopter pilots are being advised to avoid landing, takeoff and hovering in the present of gust i.e. high speed wind; no matter whether the gust comes from the front or from the sides. The one comes from the sides is also known as cross wind / side wind. Special care has to be taken if have to face this situation and only experienced pilot will be permitted to do so. To fly a helicopter in the vicinity of high hills and in the present of cross wind will be more dangerous and difficult since the cross wind is in the form of upwash. If strong head wind or cross wind or even upwash wind comes suddenly while the helicopter is in takeoff or landing or hovering operation, only Allah knows what will happen and all onboard have to make heavy doa. In several cases, accidents do take place.

In order to have some understanding into the problem of flying helicopter in the present of cross wind / side wind, let us refer to Figure 6.8 below. Usually for stable flight the angles of attack of the advancing and retreating blades are of the values

Advancing Blade/ Side

Retreating Blade/Side

4 o 4 o

Figure 6.7: Symmetrical Lift Distribution on Helicopter Rotor during Vertical Flight and Hovering

Lift Lift

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of 4 and 12 degrees respectively (Figure 6.8 – a) . When a strong head wind strikes the blades, the resulting relative wind velocity on the advancing blade will be much higher than the one on the retreating blade. The lift on the advancing side will be much higher than the lift on the retreating side resulting in the left side of the helicopter to drop (Figure 6.8 – b). This situation could be remedied by the pilot increases the retreating blade angle of attack to a value higher than 12 degrees but it could not be more than the blade stall angle of attack which is in the range of 16 degrees. If goes beyond 16 degrees, the blade will stall i.e. will have zero lift and the helicopter will fall and crash on to its left side in no minute (Figure 6.8 – c). Sometimes if too strong a head wind occurs, the lift on the retreating side will be automatically zero and nothing could be done before the helicopter strikes the ground. Figure 6.9 illustrates the limits of helicopter blade angle of attack.

4 o

Advancing Blade/ Side

Retreating Blade/ Side

Direction of Flight

12 o

o < 16

Head Wind Strong Head Wind

Upwash Cross Wind

(a)

(b) (c)

(d)

Zero Lift

Zero Lift

Figure 6.8: The Effects of Strong Wind / Gust on Helicopter Flight

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In the case of upwash cross wind from the left, the retreating side of the main rotor will be push up and the advancing side will drop. To stabilize this situation, the pilot has to reduce the lift on the retreating side. This is done by reducing the retreating blade angle of attack to lower than 12 degrees. In this case, stalling of the retreating blades will not happen. Thus it is quite safe but troublesome.

The most dangerous situation is when the upwash cross wind comes from the right side of the helicopter (Figure 6.8 – d). In this case the advancing side of the main rotor is being pushed up and the retreating side drops. To stabilize this situation, the pilot has to increase the lift on the retreating side by increasing the retreating blade angle of attack to higher than 12 degrees. If the retreating blade angle of attack is more than 16 degrees, the blade will stall and the helicopter will fall to the ground on its lift side. In some instances the upwash cross wind from the right is too strong. The advancing side of the main rotor will be tilted upward to nearly 90 degrees. In this case the pilot could not do anything and the helicopter will hit the ground on its left side in no time.

According to the above discussed theoretical analysis, when a helicopter involves in any accident due to high head on or high upwash cross winds, the helicopter will crash to the ground on its left side. This is being well supported by the cases of real helicopter accidents reported in public media. Figure 6.10 gives good representation of the said accidents.

Lift

Coe

ffici

ent,

Cl

-0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 20.0

Angle of Attack, deg

Advancing Blade Angle of Attack

Retreating Blade

Angle of Attack

Maximum Blade Angle of Attack (Stall Limit)

Figure 6.9: The Range of Main Rotor Blade Angle of Attack for Helicopter Operation

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Based on the said theoretical analysis, all helicopters are being designed with the captain (pilot) seats on the right. This will give some safety measures to the pilots if these circumstances (accidents) occur.

Always remember the old saying, “Never turns your back to a hungry lion”. This is true in the case of helicopter retreating blades. Tremendous loss of lift occurs when the blades faces away from the incoming wind.

6.6 Current Research In UTHM

Based on the said problem facing by helicopter flying, a research has been initiated in UTHM aiming at proposing a solution to the problem either partially or totally. A master

Figure 6.10: Photos of Helicopter Accidents that may due to high head on and high cross winds [Source: http://www.flightglobal.com ,

http://www.canada.com & http://www.foranlaw.com]

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student research that had commenced in July 2009 and completed in June 2011 revealed some outstanding results. In this research the use of vortex traps on helicopter blades was investigated.

In helicopter flight, the angle of attack on the retreating blades was made higher than on the advancing ones. In high head on wind and side gust, the retreating blade angles were increased in order to balance the increase in lift on the advancing blades. If the angle of attack on the retreating blades was made too high then the blade will stall and the whole helicopter will suddenly drop to the ground. Normally the retreating blade angle goes up to 16o

The simulation results are shown in Figure 6.12. The green and pink coloured curves are the plots of Lift Coefficient of the blade verses various angles of attack for the helicopter blades without and with vortex trap respectively. The simulations were done for flow with Mach No., M=0.4 and Reynolds No., Re = 3 x 10

before stalling. This is due to flow separation occurs on the top of the upper surface of the blade creating drag too much higher than the lift produced.

The research introduced vortex traps on the upper surface of the retreating blade in order to trap the vortex and thus delaying flow separation. Hence delays retreating blade stalling. Figure 6.11(a) illustrates flow separation and 6.11(b) shows the function of vortex trap.

6. The blade with a number of vortex traps was simulated and the one with a single vortex trap located at 0.4 chord length on the upper surface of the blade gave the best results among all. The pink curve in Figure 6.12 is the plot for this said blade.

(a). Flow Separation on Aerofoil Without Vortex Trap at 16o Angle of Attack

(b). Flow Separation being delayed on Aerofoil With Vortex Trap at 16o Angle

of Attack

Vortex Trap

Figure 6.11: The Application of Vortex Trap on Delaying Flow Separation on Aerofoil [4]

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From Figure 6.12 it is clearly seen that the lift required in ordinary situation is being produced by the blade without vortex trap at an angle of attack of 12o (black broken line). The same amount of lift could be produced by the blade with single vortex trap at an angle of attack of 11o (pink broken line). Also the stalling point for blade without vortex trap is at the angle of attack of 16o whereas the stalling point for blade with single vortex trap is at 18o. Thus the safe ranges of angle of attack for the two types of blades (without and with vortex trap) are 12o – 16o (i.e. 4o range) and 11o – 18o (i.e. 7o

range) respectively. The percentage increase in the range of safe angle of attack is 75% which implies that the pilot will have a larger range of angle of attack to play with for encountering high head on wind and side gust. This will be the beginning of UTHM contribution in aeronautics application. Further detail investigations and designs will be pursed in the near future.

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 20.0 Angle of Attack, deg

Lift

Coe

ffici

ent,

Cl

Without Vortex Trap

4 o

7 o

Stalling Points

With Vortex Trap At x/c=0.4

Keys:

Figure 6.12: Plots showing the effect of using vortex trap on helicopter blade [4]

HELICOPTER FLIGHT

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THE END…. UTHM AERONAUTICS FOR FUTURE SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE AVIATION

HELICOPTER FLIGHT

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References 1. Fakulti Kejuruteraan Mekanikal Dan Pembuatan. “Cadangan Kurikulum Dan Silabus

Program Sarjana Muda Teknologi Kejuruteraan Aeronautik (Penerbangan Profesional) Dengan Kepujian”, Kertas Kerja Untuk Kelulusan Jawatankuasa Pendidikan Tinggi Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia, Ogos 2008

2. Fakulti Kejuruteraan Mekanikal Dan Pembuatan. “Cadangan Kurikulum Dan Silabus

Program Sarjana Muda Teknologi Kejuruteraan Aeronautik (Penyenggaraan Pesawat Terbang) Dengan Kepujian”, Kertas Kerja Untuk Kelulusan Jawatankuasa Pendidikan Tinggi Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia, Ogos 2008.

3. Fakulti Kejuruteraan Mekanikal Dan Pembuatan. “Cadangan Kurikulum Dan Silabus

Program Sarjana Muda Teknologi Kejuruteraan Aeronautik (Kawalan Trafik Udara) Dengan Kepujian”, Kertas Kerja Untuk Kelulusan Jawatankuasa Pendidikan Tinggi Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia, Ogos 2008.

4. Mohd Fauzi Yaakub and Abas Ab. Wahab. “Preliminary Study on the Effect of Vortex Trap

(Groove) on NACA0012 Helicopter Blade”, The International Conference On Mechanical And Manufacturing Engineering 2011 (ICME 2011), 6-8 June 2011

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Suggested Further Reading 1. Abas A. Wahab, Rosbi Mamat, Syariful Syafiq Shamsudin. “The Effectiveness Of Pole

Placement Method In Control System Design For An Autonomous Helicopter Model In Hovering Flight”, Journal: IJEE, Vol. 1 – February 2010.

2. Arhami, Abas Ab. Wahab, Khalid Hasnan. “ Towards The Concept Design Of A Personal

Air-Land-Water Vehicle”, Proceedings: MUCEET 2009 Malaysian Technical Universities Conference On Engineering And Technology, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia, 20 – 22 June 2009.

3. Mohamed Sukri M. A. & Abas A.W.. “Study The Effect Of Quadratic Blade Shape On The

Vertical Autorotation Performance Of A Small Scale Model Helicopter”, 12-th International Conference On Aerospace Sciences & Aviation Technology (12-th ASAT Conference), Cairo, Egypt, May 2007.

4. A.A.Wahab & M.H.Ismail. “Estimating Vertical Drag On Helicopter Fuselage During

Hovering”, Regional Conf. On Vehicles Eng. & Tech. (RIVET 06), Kuala Lumpur, July 2006.

5. A.A.Wahab & N.A.R Nik Mohd. “Numerical Analysis Of An Isolated Main Helicopter

Rotor In Hovering And Forward Flight”, Regional Conf. On Vehicles Eng. & Tech. (RIVET 06), Kuala Lumpur, July 2006.

6. A.A.Wahab & N.A.R Nik Mohd. “Feasibility Study On Improving Of Helicopter Forward

Flight Speed Via Modification Of The Blade Dimension And Engine Performance”, Regional Conf. On Vehicles Eng. & Tech. (RIVET 06), Kuala Lumpur, July 2006.

7. A.A.Wahab & S.Y. Shamsudin. “The Development Of Autopilot System For An

Autonomous UAV Helicopter Model – Part 1”, Regional Conf. On Vehicles Eng. & Tech. (RIVET 06), Kuala Lumpur, July 2006.

8. A.A.Wahab & S.Y. Shamsudin. “The Control System Design For An Autonomous

Helicopter Model In Hovering Using Pole Placement Method”, Regional Conf. On Vehicles Eng. & Tech. (RIVET 06), Kuala Lumpur, July 2006.

9. A.A.Wahab & M.S.M.Ali. “Preliminary Experimental Investigation On Autorotation

Performance Of A Scale Model Helicopter In Vertical Manoeuvre”, Regional Conf. On Vehicles Eng. & Tech. (RIVET 06), Kuala Lumpur, July 2006.

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10. A.A.Wahab & M.S.M.Ali. “Numerical Study On The Transition Performance Of A Scale Model Helicopter From Hovering To Vertical Autorotation”, Regional Conf. On Vehicles Eng. & Tech. (RIVET 06), Kuala Lumpur, July 2006.

11. A.A.Wahab & N.A.R Nik Mohd. “The Effect Of Blade Solidity On Helicopter Cruising

Speed Performance”, Malaysian Science & Technology Congress Proc., Kuala Lumpur, October 2004.

12. A.A.Wahab & S.Y. Shamsudin. “Preliminary Study On System Identification Modelling Of

A Model Scale Helicopter In Hovering”, Malaysian Science & Technology Congress Proc., Kuala Lumpur, October 2004.

13. A.A.Wahab, M.Z.M.Nor, M.T.Tan & M.H.Ismail. “High - Lift Foldable Wing For Low

Take-off Speed Seaplane”, National Symp. of Science & Tech Proc., July 2003. 14. A.A.Wahab & M.F.Nadzri. “The Study Of Induced Velocity On Helicopter Main Rotor

Blade”, National Symp. of Science & Tech Proc., July 2003. 15. A.A.Wahab & C.H.Oii. “The Development Of An Helicopter Performance Analysis

Software”, National Symp.of Science & Tech Proc., July 2003. 16. Abas Ab. Wahab et al. “Human Resource Development For Malaysian Aerospace

Industry”, Proc. National Workshop On Malaysian Aerospace/Aviation Industry, Its Vision And Future Development, Prime Minister Department, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 1995

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CURRICULUM VITAE

Professor Ir Dr Abas bin Ab. Wahab was born on 20th April 1951 in Kampung Solok Gaung, Bukit Lintang, Melaka. He started his engineering education in 1971 by registering at Maktab Teknik, Kuala Lumpur and obtained his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from Institut Teknologi Kebangsaan, ITK (the new name of Maktab Teknik) in 1974.

In August 1974 he joined ITK as Assistant Lecturer B and was responsible to teach Engineering Drawing, Workshop Practices and to take tutorial classes for the subjects of Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics and Mechanic of Machines. He was sent by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM (the new name of ITK) to do his undergraduate education at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom in September 1975. After getting his Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering (Hons), majoring in Aerodynamics, in 1977, he was promoted to the post of Assistance Lecturer A. By then he was given the responsibility to teach the subjects of Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics and Mechanic of Machines for the diploma courses.

In September 1982 he was again sent by UTM to pursue his master degree at the West Virginia University, USA and 1984 he was conferred the degree of M.Sc. Aerospace Engineering (MSAE). By May 1984 he was promoted as Full Lecturer and it was the beginning of his career in aeronautics. He had to teach the subjects of Aerodynamics, Gas Dynamics and Aircraft Design I & II for the final year of the Aeronautical Engineering Degree and Diploma Programs. He was given the responsibility to lead the Department of Thermo-Fluid, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UTM from 1st June 1985 – 31st May 1987.

He had to be in the classroom again when UTM sent him to further his study to the doctorate level at the University of Salford, UK in September 1989. In 1992 he was awarded with the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree in Aerodynamics. By now he had to teach the subjects of Helicopter Technology, Aerodynamics, Gas Dynamics, Aircraft Propulsion and Flight Management. He gained his Professional Engineer (Ir.) Status from the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) in the same year. Since then he involved actively in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Helicopter and Wind Energy researches and at the same time was appointed as the Head of the UTM Aeronautical Laboratory. He was promoted to the post of Associate Professor in 1993, the Head of the Thermo-Fluid department (1994 – 1998) and the Head of Aeronautic Panel (1996 - 2004), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UTM. He was then promoted to the post of Professor (VK7) in 1999. He was also appointed as the Head of Aeronautic, Automotive and Marine Research Focus Group (2000 – 2006) and the Head of Aerospace and Transport Engineering Cluster (2006 – 2007), both at the Research Management Centre, UTM. He retired in April 2007 at the age of 56 years old after serving UTM for a period of 33 years.

Shortly after retirement he joined the Faculty of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) as Professor (VK6). His main assignment was to develop Aeronautical Engineering Technology Programs at UTHM. Currently he is serving UTHM as the Head of Aeronautical Engineering Department at the Faculty of Mechanical & Production Engineering (2009 – 2011), Senate Member (2009 –2012) and Member of Lembaga Pengarah Universiti, LPU (2011 –2014).

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During his career in the two universities, 3 Ph.D. and 11 Master Degree students (UTM) and 1 Ph.D. and 7 Master Degree students (UTHM) had graduated under his supervision. Currently he is supervising 2 Ph.D. and 1 Master Degree students. He also had published 3 books pertaining to aeronautics and 67 journal and conference papers. In serving the publics, he had been appointed as member of the “Roadmap for Aerospace Engineering Programs in IPTA Committee”, KPT, Malaysia (2009 – 2011), member of the “Guidelines for Engineering & Engineering Technology Programs in Malaysia Institutes of Higher Learning Committee”, MQA, Malaysia (2009 – Now), chairman of the “Malaysian Industry Government Group For High Technology (MIGHT) Aeronautical Committee – responsible for the HRD blueprint:” (1995 – 1996) and chairman of the “Jawatan Kuasa Istilah Pembuatan Kapal Terbang”, Dewan Bahasa Pustaka (DBP) Malaysia (1994 – 2004).

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author would like to express his utmost gratitude to the Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellors, Deans of Faculties and other University’s Senior Officers for the support he had received throughout his career in the university. He would also like to thank his wife for her uncompromising sacrifice and support.