Lift - Fall 2012 - (Page 3)

C HAT T E R n ews & n ote s f r o m th e wo r l d o f e m b ry-r i d d l e Professor Jason Kring, second from left, and students, from left, Breanna Goring, Rafael Patrick (’08, ’12, DB) and Kadon Kyte use sound level monitors to assess the noise produced by the modified and standard Cessna 172s. ALTIMETER More news and events at Embry-Riddle: NASA astronaut Nicole Stott (’87, DB) and retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Arthur Lichte were welcomed as members of the Embry-Riddle Board of Trustees. Samuel Vazquez (’11, DB) ran the 1,500 meter in 3:37.60 at the American Milers Club Series in Indianapolis on June 16. The time earned him a spot on the Puerto Rico Olympic team and set a new record for Puerto Rico. Associate Professor of Business Administration for the Worldwide Campus Soumia Ichoua was awarded the Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar award for 2012–13. Daytona Beach Campus Director of Athletics Steve Ridder was named NAIA/Southeast Region Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. Watch More Online Watch Embry-Riddle’s Noise Abatement Procedures video at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=M_Lwr14lI1c. Good NeIGhbor R Students, community get quieter Cessna fleet Photo by Ruuben Becker esponding to ongoing complaints of aircraft noise from the local community, Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus recently equipped its fleet of 41 Cessna 172s with quieter mufflers and is working with a propeller manufacturer to develop a shorter, less audible propeller. “Our goal is to have the quietest training fleet in the nation,” says Ken Byrnes (’01, ’05, DB), chairman of the Embry-Riddle Flight Training Department. Central Florida is the largest flight training hub in the world, with flight schools of all kinds generating more than 16,000 pilots a year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. As one of the largest and best-known, Embry-Riddle tends to receive a majority of the noise complaints. “Noise has been an issue for a while,” Byrnes says. “And it’s not just around local airports where people complain; we’ve had complaints from rural residents as well. In particular, there is an exotic bird farm whose owner claims that noise from our aircraft disturbs his birds’ mating rituals.” Acknowledging Embry-Riddle’s fleet of 58 aircraft, which average 250 flights a day during the spring and fall semesters, can be noisy at times, Byrnes says it also translates into a strong local economy. “Embry-Riddle is one of the largest employers in Volusia County and generates a half-a-billion-dollar economic impact annually. That noise equals jobs,” he says. Despite this fact, the university is dedicated to remaining a good neighbor and noise mitigation is and has been a top priority for the university. For example, EmbryRiddle is an active member of noise abatement committees in New Smyrna Beach, Ormond Beach and Deland, which have fixed-base operator airports used by its student pilots. Through this effort, volunteer noise abatement procedures were developed, including a video and an in-flight manual of these procedures. The university produced and distributed the video to more than 100 flight training businesses in the area. The procedures are suggestions for all pilots, but are required for Embry-Riddle’s student pilots, Byrnes says. The university’s move to equip its Cessna 172 fleet with quieter mufflers and propellers follows a series of experiments conducted in 2011. Embry-Riddle human factors and systems professor Jason Kring, in cooperation with the Eagle Flight Research Center, experimental pilot Mikhael Ponso (’03, DB) and a handful of students, pitted an experimental aircraft against one of Embry-Riddle’s standard Cessna 172 trainers and measured the noise produced by each during various maneuvers. The experimental aircraft was modified with two types of mufflers, both produced in Europe, and a shorter propeller with a slightly larger pitch (75–65, in lieu of the standard 76–60). “When you combined the propeller with the Gomolzig muffler, we saw the largest noise reductions,” Kring says. Compared with the standard Cessna 172, the Gomolzig muffler with the modified propeller resulted in an average decibel reduction of 11.5 to 12 on takeoffs, 13 on touch and gos and 2.7 on flyovers at altitudes of 500 to 1,000 feet. On takeoffs, the modified aircraft essentially reduces overall noise from 95 decibels to 83 decibels, Kring says. “I would consider a 10- to 12-decibel reduction on takeoffs and landings significant.” Prescott Campus joins Cal Pac Conference Effective with the 2012–13 school year, Embry-Riddle Prescott Campus athletic teams will no longer compete as members of the Association of Independent Institutions, but as part of the California Pacific Conference. Embry-Riddle’s conference competition will include volleyball, wrestling, and men’s and women’s soccer and golf. Additionally, the university will launch men’s and women’s cross-country and fast-pitch softball during the 2013–14 academic year, and has plans to add men’s and women’s basketball by 2015. www.ERAUAlUmni.oRg FALL 2012 liFT 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Lwr14lI1c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Lwr14lI1c http://WWW.ERAUALUMNI.ORG

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Lift - Fall 2012

Lift - Fall 2012
Contents
Letter from the President
Chatter
Wings of Legacy
Flight Path
Moving Mountains
Carving New Ventures
What Presence!
Releasing the Dragon
Giving to Embry-Riddle
Alumni in Action
Alumni News
Class Notes

Lift - Fall 2012