A Study of the Air Force Airworthiness Assessment Process with Recommendations for Reusable Launch Vehicles

Abstract

Flight safety is a critical design and engineering consideration within the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and particularly the United States Air Force (USAF). This study conducts an independent evaluation of the airworthiness assessment process used by the United States Air Forces Engineering Directorate through modeling and simulation. The airworthiness process is examined for its ability to effectively verify sound engineering design and efficiency with respect to the implementation of new software-based assessment tools and its impact on timeliness of reviews and resource utilization. Simulation results guide recommendations for reducing non-value-added activities and strategic leveling of resource demands to increase efficiency and decrease processing time. Lastly, from observation and detailed study of the aircraft airworthiness process, recommendations are made for the space domain toward the development of a re-qualification process for reusable launch vehicles, as this is a growing area of interest for the space community.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 22, 2018
Accession Number
AD1056542

Entities

People

  • Austin A Troya

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Airworthiness
  • Department Of Defense
  • Engineering
  • Governments
  • Information Operations
  • Launch Vehicles
  • Military Aircraft
  • Military Aviation
  • National Governments
  • Performance Tests
  • Reusable Launch Vehicles
  • United States
  • Vehicles
  • War Colleges

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Missile Defense Systems.
  • Organizational Process Management (OPM).

Technology Areas

  • Space