Commercial Planes Research Articles

Nenadzirana praktična analiza ponašanja aviona A320 i B738 provedena u međunarodnoj zračnoj luci Sultan Hasanuddin

The purpose of this research was to look at the behavior of two well-known commercial aircraft types in Indonesia (the A320 and the B738) during the take-off phase. This was done to provide new information in the field of aviation, particularly flight safety. Observations were made at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport by observing aircraft ADS-B data, which defines the behavior of the flight pattern. This ADS-B data is the subject of data analysis, which will subsequently be taught to the machine (computer) so that it can recognize the pattern and construct clusters. The purpose of this study is to utilize unsupervised learning, specifically K-Means clustering, to categorize and identify patterns in unlabeled ADS-B data obtained from AERO-TRACK. To prepare the raw data and create a dataset, data analysis techniques were employed. The machine learning model generates three distinct clusters: cluster 1 represents aircraft take-off on two-thirds of the runway, cluster 2 represents aircraft take-off on the entire runway, and cluster 3 represents aircraft take-off on one-third of the runway. The elbow method is utilized to analyze and interpret the three clusters produced by the model. An interesting observation is that the B738 aircraft dominate in all three clusters, while the A320 aircraft dominate in clusters 1 and 3. Notably, in cluster 2, there is a significant number of commercial planes taking off, accounting for 145 out of 628 flights. Based on the observed data spanning 91 days (September 26 to December 26, 2022), there is a 23% probability of runway excursion (overshooting the runway) in this cluster. Additionally, the research reveals that A320 aircraft demonstrate a safe zone take-off rate of 87%, whereas the B738 aircraft demonstrate a rate of 70.5%. These findings, derived from the analysis of ADS-B data such as GPS-Altitude and Coordinate, are intended to serve as valuable knowledge for aviation authorities, aviation users, and other stakeholders in the aviation industry.

More Electric Planes Analyses of the Difficulties and Possibilities for Business Transport Aircraft Using WSM Method

More electric aircraft (MEA) and the transition to electric vehicles has been the subject of extensive study. The objectives of this research include lowering emissions and fuel consumption, which are comparable to those for automobiles. Many components in traditional airplanes may make use of one or more types of power, such as electrical, hydraulic, mechanical, or pneumatic power. However, each form of energy has its own disadvantages, such as sacrificing overall mechanical efficiency when capturing a particular energy, as in the case of hydraulic and pneumatic systems.The majority of the primary non-electric systems, like environmental controls, Old electrical systems will be replaced with new electrical systems in future aircraft to improve "a variety of aerospace characteristics such as engine start, efficiency, emissions, reliability, and maintenance". This essay offers a thorough examination of how systems alter or will alter. Future aviation innovations like gas-electric propulsion for planes and electric taxis are also discussed. Modern state-of-the-art electric aircraft technology is used in the most recent commercial transport planes. Test results on the WSM method show results with a classification of the best and worst aircraft alternatives.

ОСНОВНІ ПОЛОЖЕННЯ КОНЦЕПЦІЇ СТВОРЕННЯ БЕЗПІЛОТНОЇ АВІАЦІЙНОЇ ТРАНСПОРТНОЇ СИСТЕМИ

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles is at an early stage, which is characterized by a significant level of development of unmanned aerial vehicles and their elements, as well as the lack of grounds for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in real technological processes. The resolution of this contradiction requires the solution of various problems of a conceptual, technical, technological, methodological, organizational, legal and regulatory nature.The use of an unmanned aviation transport system helps to avoid the traditional mistakes that arise during the manned use of aviation technology, eliminating the human factor, helps to accelerate the delivery of goods, reduces the amount of inventory of goods and materials, and increases the productivity and efficiency of transportation.In general, today the use of unmanned aircraft systems in the civilian industry is practically limited to special cases of local applications in favor of solving current industrial or economic problems, mainly through an experimental procedure. Consequently, the market for unmanned aerial systems is expected to grow, which will overcome a number of technical and administrative barriers that restrict the use of unmanned aerial systems in national airspace. It should be noted the increasing spread of unmanned systems in public transport.The purpose of this work was to assess the main provisions of the concept of creating an unmanned aviation transport system from the point of view of aerodynamics, in terms of weight perfection, in terms of strength, in control, in aircraft systems, in electronics, in operational manufacturability, reliability and safety, and to show that such cargo drones will competitive with large manned commercial cargo planes and road transport.This research was motivated by the growing worldwide interest in unmanned cargo aircraft. It focused in particular on improving cargo drones over existing conventional general aviation aircraft, and this should be seen as a preliminary step towards a comprehensive assessment of unmanned cargo transport systems.

EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF DOUBLE BOX WING UAV.

In an attempt to reduce the induced drag on a wing, Prandtl found that induced drag reduced significantly by highly increasing the number of vertically offset wings. The same result could be obtained by joining the wingtips of two vertically offset wings. This helped increase payload capacity and also reduced fuel consumption and emissions. Such a wing configuration came to be known as Prandtl’s box wing. In this work, the design and analysis of a box wing aircraft model has been carried out. The preliminary analysis is performed using XFLR5, and the computational analysis is done with the help of ANSYS 18.2. The values of experiments are computed with the help of MATLab R2017. The box wing model has shown a nearly 53.74% reduction in drag as compared with conventional wing models. The computational results of drag have been compared and validated with the results of analytical and the experimental results from the wind tunnel and found to be within 10% of the computational result. Since the drag of the box wing is significantly lesser than the conventional wings the box wing is a feasible configuration which can be used to design various aircrafts including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Commercial Planes.

Modelling and analysis of aircraft radome using different materials

Radome is one of the most important part in aircraft. Radome protects the antenna which transmits and receives the signal in the form of radio waves. These radio waves are helpful in finding the location of aircraft. We can also say that radome is a structural protection cover for antenna as it protect antenna from environmental influences. Radome is constructed in such a way that it is transparent to the radio waves. The radome should be manufactured by a material which minimises the attenuation of signals transmitted or received by the antenna. For different aircrafts such as commercial planes, fighter jets etc. The shape and size of radome are different. In this project we have modelled different radomes in solid works software and analysis is done in the ansys software. The materials selected based on the strength and other good material properties. The different materials taken in this project are Kevlar composite, Fiberglass composite, Silicon nitride. Structural analysis and fluent analysis is performed to get the optimum suited material for the radome and to decide the best radome.

Comparison of hyperloop and existing transport vehicles in terms of security and costs

Technological developments have increased the possibilities, comfort, reliability, and speed of the transportation network in the world. Today, various transport vehicles try to meet the speed, economy, and safety demands of passengers. However, as the passengers' demand increase depending on the population, the requirement for innovation in this field increases. Various studies have been carried out to determine the benefit-cost ratio of Hyperloop, an alternative developed to meet the speed requirement in this respect. The decision to build the Hyperloop anywhere else in the world depends on the system's characteristics, such as sustainability, economy, safety, and response to passenger demands. In this study, Hyperloop and existing systems were compared with comfort, safety, and cost considering these criteria. It was focused on the commercial planes, Maglev, and high-speed train features, as they are similar to Hyperloop in these comparisons. Based on the relevant data, it has been reached that the Hyperloop system could prevent it from becoming a widespread public transport vehicle because of its low passenger capacity and expensive construction and operation.

Comparative Study of Ram Air Turbines based on Wind Tunnel Study for Specific Air Borne Energy Extraction

Ram Air Turbines (RAT) are used for emergency on-board power generation on aircraft and associated systems. Many studies on usage of RATs have shown promising results in terms of using RATs as a source of emergency on-board power generation. Many external podded systems on aircraft utilise RATs for self-sufficient adaptation. These pods generate their own power using RATs for their power requirements instead of depending on the mother aircraft power. Commercial cargo planes use RATs for generating emergency hydraulic power. A RAT was suggested to be used for emergency power, during failure of main alternator on a prototype aircraft. A specific requirement of the RAT was also to produce high drag for aerodynamic braking when deployed and concurrently generate electrical energy. Three models with different solidity were studied in wind tunnel at different wind speeds for suitability of this drag-energy combination. This paper presents the results of the study. Based on the results, a suitable RAT was selected for further analysis and ground trials.

Airport Microgrids: Transportation Energy as a Service [Viewpoint

There are types of airports based on two definitions: statuary and policy. Among statuary airports, there are 395 primary facilities, including large, medium, small, and nonhub commercial service airfields, and 2,937 nonprimary airports, including nonhub commercial service, reliever, and general aviation terminals. Considering policy airports, there are four classifications, including 89 national, 531 regional, 1,261 local, and 813 basic airfields, in addition to 256 unclassified facilities. Airport infra-Mixture supports different transporta-tion modes, including ground (transit buses, railways, cargo vehicles, and so on) and aviation (commercial and cargo planes as well as helicopters).

Doing Businesses During COVID-19 Crisis and Afterwards

The Corona Virus Disease (COVID)-19 hit the entire human civilization in every parts of the globe. All of the major economic powers of the globe including the USA, Italy, Spain, China, Germany, France, UK, Switzerland, Turkey, Netherlands, South Korea and Canada were hit by COVID-19 severely during last three months. The world is now stopped and stagnant for an unknown period due to the deadly attraction of COVID-19. Commercial planes, cargoes, cross country vehicles, transportation, human movements, everything is literally stopped and sitting idle in respective garages. Trillions dollar investment are simply sitting idle without creating values from respective ends. Human, technical, mechanical, technological, every type of production are reduced into insignificant level. Therefore, we can easily state that the economic impact of COVID-19 may result into a deeper Global Financial Crisis in the near future. Entrepreneurs and businessmen must be prepared to continue respective businesses during the crisis and afterwards. Because, consumption of essentials are not possible be stopped at any situation. Stopping supply of essential products may deepen the crisis even further.

Fit for high altitude: are hypoxic challenge tests useful?


 
 
 Altitude travel results in acute variations of barometric pres- sure, which induce different degrees of hypoxia, changing the gas contents in body tissues and cavities. Non ventilated air containing cavities may induce barotraumas of the lung (pneumothorax), sinuses and middle ear, with pain, vertigo and hearing loss. Commercial air planes keep their cabin pres- sure at an equivalent altitude of about 2,500 m. This leads to an increased respiratory drive which may also result in symp- toms of emotional hyperventilation. In patients with pre- existing respiratory pathology due to lung, cardiovascular, pleural, thoracic neuromuscular or obesity-related diseases (i.e. obstructive sleep apnea) an additional hypoxic stress may induce respiratory pump and/or heart failure. Clinical pre-altitude assessment must be disease-specific and it includes spirometry, pulsoximetry, ECG, pulmonary and sys- temic hypertension assessment. In patients with abnormal values we need, in addition, measurements of hemoglobin, pH, base excess, PaO2, and PaCO2 to evaluate whether O2- and CO2-transport is sufficient.
 Instead of the hypoxia altitude simulation test (HAST), which is not without danger for patients with respiratory insuffi- ciency, we prefer primarily a hyperoxic challenge. The supple- mentation of normobaric O2 gives us information on the acute reversibility of the arterial hypoxemia and the reduc- tion of ventilation and pulmonary hypertension, as well as about the efficiency of the additional O2-flow needed during altitude exposure. For difficult judgements the performance of the test in a hypobaric chamber with and without supple- mental O2-breathing remains the gold standard. The increas- ing numbers of drugs to treat acute pulmonary hypertension due to altitude exposure (acetazolamide, dexamethasone, nifedipine, sildenafil) or to other etiologies (anticoagulants, prostanoids, phosphodiesterase-5-inhibitors, endothelin receptor antagonists) including mechanical aids to reduce periodical or insufficient ventilation during altitude exposure (added dead space, continuous or bilevel positive airway pressure, non-invasive ventilation) call for further randomized controlled trials of combined applications.
 
 

The magnitude of detours faced by commercial flights: A global assessment

Scholars and experts in transportation, economics, geography and environmental studies have largely assumed the distance flown by commercial planes represents the shortest route (also known as the great-circle or orthodromic route). However, in the real world, planes follow longer itineraries for various reasons. The magnitude of these detours is assessed through a large, one-week sample of actual flight traces obtained from Flightradar, which we compare with great-circle distances (n = 393,360). The results suggest that the average lengthening is 7.6%, although under conservative hypotheses and with high standard deviation. The shortest flights are proportionally more affected. They also contribute more to the global amount of extra kilometres. The geography of detours by departure airport is the consequence of a wide range of factors. As a result, considering the use of great-circle distances to feed spatial interaction models, emission (or fuel burnt) assessments or airline rankings can lead to significantly skewed outcomes. In addition, detours imposed on certain airlines for geopolitical reasons increase costs, emissions and time aboard, and could be anticompetitive.

TRANSFORMATION OF METHODICAL MARKETING APPROACHES TO THE INVESTIGATION OF THE PROBLEM OF FARMING AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES IN THE GRAIN MARKET IN GLOBALIZATION CHALLENGES

The purpose of writing the article is to justify the methodological principles and recommendations for the functioning of agricultural enterprises-producers of grain in the target markets for its sale under the conditions of globalization challenges. The production and sale of grain traditionally remains the main focus of the specialization of domestic agricultural enterprises, the source of more than a significant share of their income, the formation and implementation of export potential of the agrarian sector of the national economy, the solution of a number of problematic issues of food security and ensuring the stable development of the subjects of the sphere of production of various sectoral belonging and orientation. At the same time, raising the economic efficiency of the main activities of agricultural enterprises remains a central problem, which in fact produces a complex, multi-faceted, and multi-level problem of the formation and functioning of mechanisms for the effective functioning of agricultural enterprises in the grain market. Research methodology. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the classical positions of economic theory, fundamental works, and scientific developments of domestic and foreign scientists on the effective functioning of agricultural enterprises in the grain market, the dialectic method of cognition, and the systematic approach to the study of social phenomena and processes that occur in the process of carrying out the main activity enterprises producing grain. In accordance with the goals and objectives of the article, such general scientific and special methods of economic research as monographic (in-depth study of the set tasks), abstract-logical (a theoretical generalization of the research results and formulation of conclusions and proposals) were used. Taken together, these methods form the methodological basis of the study. Results. After conducting the research, we decided that the study of the problem of the functioning of agricultural enterprises in the grain market is the study of methodological approaches to the evaluation of structural and dynamic trends of development and the state of the situation of target markets for the production of agricultural enterprises-producers of grain in the context of establishing systems supporting strategic and tactical and operational decisions in the production and commercial planes based on the system of integral indicators and individual indicators of the state of the targets. Practical use. The results of the research can be used at the state and regional levels of management in forecasting the change and the state of market equilibrium in the agrarian market of Ukraine and the conjuncture of the world and regional markets for agricultural products and food.

Microstructural evolution in Ti-6Al-4V alloy joints using the process of friction stir spot welding

ABSTRACTFriction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW) is a subject that has recently gained interest and been developed, mainly in Titanium alloys, since there are existing studies on alloys of aluminium, magnesium, steels and polymers. Titanium alloys are widely used in the aeronautical industry, mainly as components of undercarriages for commercial planes. This work focuses on the Ti-6Al-4V alloy; this type of alloy has alpha (α) and beta (β) phases and provided better balance in terms of the mechanical properties of hardness and tensile stress. The FSSW process was performed using a high-speed machining centre, using a rotational speed of 500 RPM, a plunge speed of the tool of 2 mm/s and 3 s as dwell time, on plates with a thickness of 1.5 mm and an overlap length of 20 mm. The results showed the effect of the variables of the FSSW welding process on the microstructure of the Ti–6Al–4V alloy caused by the thermal effect and the plastic deformation of the welding process, concluding that the right combination of parameters provides a joint without any defects.

Methodology for the Design of the Geometry of a Cavity and Its Absorption Coefficients as Random Design Variables Under Vibroacoustic Criteria

Reducing the noise level in the acoustic cavities is the important problem when treating inflight conditions of commercial planes or boats. Shape optimization of the acoustic cavity that will take into account the geometrical and material uncertainties, arising during the manufacturing process, is presented in this paper. The noise level is controlled by minimizing the energy density in the cavity, obtained through an energy method called Simplified Energy Method. Such formulation is based on our previous published work where transformation function mapping 3D cavity surface on a 2D domain was proposed. The optimization process directly relies on this function and thus avoids remeshing of the geometry. Robust optimization is performed using the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) together with the Kriging surrogate model. Influence of geometrical and material characteristics on the optimal solution is identified.

Aerotoxic syndrome as a Mirce mechanics phenomenon

Aerotoxic syndrome is a somewhat controversial condition that could be triggered by the air compression systems in commercial planes. Some of the air that is compressed and recirculated throughout the cabins originates in jet engines; when excess oil molecules enter that air supply, it can result in what is called a 'fume event' Thus, the main objective of this paper is to address the aerotoxic phenomenon as one possible mechanism of the motion in Mirce Mechanic and examine how some of the existing Mirce Mechanics method could be applied to calculate reduction in the probability of inhaling aerotoxic, by the crew and frequent flyers ,through the application of some of the options available to the designers and operators presented in the paper.

The Next War in the Air: Britain’s Fear of the Bomber, 1908-1941. By Brett Holman.

Imaginings of future war changed considerably over the first 40 years of the twentieth century, not least due to the ascent of the aeroplane. The Next War in the Air analyses the origins and evolution of the theory of the knock-out blow from the air, as well as the proposed responses to that threat, expressed by civilian authors in airpower literature and novels. It also explores newspapers’ communication of these ideas to the British public. The first section details the development of the theory of the knock-out blow. The idea was visible in fiction before 1914, but the Great War evidenced the costs of the industrialized battlefront, the importance of the home front, and air power’s potential to blur the distinction between the two. Holman suggests that military theorists might have been influenced by civilian airpower writers, particularly Claude Grahame-White and Harry Harper, who were the first to develop coherent theories of the knock-out blow. They theorized that the next war would be won from the air; almost without warning, a nation’s cities, and therefore civilians and morale, could be quickly paralyzed by aerial bombers, leading to quick victory without the attrition of the Western Front. The only defence would be deterrence. By 1935, readers of airpower literature would have found concern about German rearmament and the potential for commercial planes to be easily converted into effective bombers, and the widespread belief that the bomber would always get through. The use of airpower to attack civilians in Abyssinia, Spain, and China was initially taken to support the theory, but by 1938, airpower writers questioned the impossibility of defence, observing that against fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft defences, bombers had been proven vulnerable while civilian morale had not. By 1940, civilian airpower writers asserted that the knock-out blow would be repelled, and Holman argues that here too they were ahead of military thinkers.

Statistical Appraisal of Maximum Age Requirement for Commercial Airplanes in Nigeria

This paper proposes and uses a factor of relative age difference for each plane termed relative “plane age”, index. Using these indexes and their ranks, it is shown that the enunciated mandatory upper age limit of 20 years is approximately the mean age of the commercial planes in the country estimated to be 20.7 years, but higher than the median age of the planes found to be 19.4years. Thus if median age of 19.4 or about 19 years rather than 20 years is to be set as the required upper age limit, then only about 33 or 34 rather than 37 commercial planes would be properly eligible to fly Nigeria’s airspace. Statistically significant differences in age are found to exist between commercial planes that may importantly affect their operation. Relative “plane age” indexes that are positive with a value of 17 or larger so that the corresponding planes are younger than at least 42 and older than at most 25 other planes and aged at most 15.3 years are statistically significant; while those relative “plane age” indexes that are negative with a value of at most 20 so that the corresponding planes are younger than at most 23 and older than at least 43 other planes and aged at least 21.2 years are statistically significant. Hence if age is to be considered as a statistical factor affecting air-worthiness of commercial planes, then the upper age limit of 15.3 or 15 years should be preferred and used as a selection eligibility criterion for commercial planes in Nigeria. This will in effect imply that no plane aged above 15.3 years may be allowed to fly resulting in only about 26 commercial planes rather than 37 as is the case under the current dispensation being able to properly and normally use Nigeria’s airspace.

Parameter Optimization of the Steam Thermolysis: A Process to Recover Carbon Fibers from Polymer-Matrix Composites

Life cycle assessment has confirmed the effectiveness of carbon fiber reinforced polymer-matrix composite (CFRP) materials’ application in CO2 reduction as well as in weight reduction (JCMA in 2008). Thanks to these strong and ultimate lightweight structure materials, burdens imposed by vehicles on environment nowadays could be significantly relieved. However, speedy manufacturing and recycle technology have to be established to apply to mass-production of automobiles using CFRP components. It is estimated that 3,000 t of CFRP scrap being generated annually in Europe and the USA. Some 6,000–8,000 commercial planes are expected to reach end-of-life dismantlement by 2030 (McConnell in Reinf Plast 54(2):33–37, 2010). Historically, CFRP waste has been disposed of in landfills. Since 2004, most European countries have banned the landfill disposal of CFRP waste. Future EU regulations will be imposed on the recycling of end-of-life aircraft along the same lines as those for scrapped vehicles. Besides, high cost of the carbon fibers is likely to be one of the strongest drivers for recycling of CFRP waste if an economic and environmentally friendly technology can be developed to provide a potential sustainable resource of reusable fibers. Numerous recycling approaches have been proposed and investigated: microwave treatment (Lester et al. in Mater Res Bull 39(10):1549–1556, 2004), vacuum pyrolysis (Cunliffe et al. in J Anal Appl Pyrol 70(2):315–338, 2003), chemical solvolysis (Piñero-Hernanz et al. in J Supercrit Fluids 46(1):83–92, 2008; Goto in J Supercrit Fluids 47(3):500–507, 2009), as well as hydro-thermolysis (Piñero-Hernanz et al. in Compos A 39(3):454–461, 2008). Steam thermolysis, a combination of vacuum pyrolysis and mild gasification, has been studied in our laboratory. The process takes place under medium temperatures (until 600 °C) and atmospheric pressure. By using superheated steam as a soft oxidant, the polymer matrix can be converted into lower molecular weight hydrocarbons, CO and CO2 without seriously reducing the mechanical properties of the carbon fiber reinforcement. The steam-thermolysis has been studied and confirmed efficient in treating epoxy based CFRP materials at bench scale. In order to optimize the process, an experimental design has been carried out by using Taguchi method at semi-industrial scale. Initially, an orthogonal array testing was applied to determine the potential influence of the operational parameters on the decomposition rate of the polymer matrix as wall as on the mechanical property of the reclaimed carbon fibers. Three operational parameters at two levels each (target temperature, isothermal dwell time and steam flow-rate) were identified and tested. During the test, some 100 g epoxy based CFRP scrap samples were loaded into a thermal reactor preheated till desired temperature. The steam is flushed with a flow of nitrogen throughout the test to avoid oxidative side reactions. Additional tests were also conducted to complete and validate the results.

True Courage & Heroes

After considerable thought, I’ve decided that you need to hear some things as you prepare for a well-deserved summer break. My goal is to give you a “pat on the back” for the difficult work you’ve accomplished with young people this year. At first I thought that I would write about educational initiatives – perhaps the No Child Left Behind Act, sometimes subtitled the “No Child Left Untested Act” or the “No Principal Left Unretired Act” – or maybe I should write to you about teaching while forgetting there’s a mandated test at the end of the year. Those didn’t seem very inspirational to me. Do they seem that way to you? …. I didn’t think so! So, instead I decided to write to you about true courage and heroes. Today you leave me in awe. Each of you has labored in classrooms this year, where real awe-inspiring work is done. I haven’t. I realize that I own no reason to write to a group of classroom teachers such as you, for I consider each of you a courageous hero. By this I do not mean a hero of the moment – one, who like the ballyhooed heroes of stage and cinema win awards, or professional athletes who are adored by most of the public. I mean that you are a hero for all time – like the teacher in Stuyvesant High School on 11 September 2001 who spent two hours rounding up her students in the face of danger as terrorists crashed commercial planes into the World Trade Center, or the one who protected her students from the gunman in Newtown. These teachers, like you, are courageous. What do I mean by courageous? It was Mark Twain, I think, who said it best: “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery …

Workers Admit Sleep Problems Have Led to Serious Errors

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Professional NewsFull AccessWorkers Admit Sleep Problems Have Led to Serious ErrorsJonathan WolfeJonathan WolfeSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:18 May 2012https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.47.10.psychnews_47_10_10-bAbstractAre the often-erratic work hours of transportation professionals to blame for a sleepiness that threatens the safety of their precious cargo? And how do such coping mechanisms as napping and caffeine consumption affect on-the-job performance of these individuals?These are just a couple of the questions raised by the National Sleep Foundation’s (NSF) latest “Sleep in America” poll, which has been conducted annually since 1991. The 2012 poll is the first to focus specifically on the sleep habits of transportation workers and to compare them with the sleep habits of workers employed in other fields.The survey, conducted on behalf of NSF by WB&A Market Research, questioned 1,087 adults over age 25, including 180 train operators, 202 pilots (of whom 64 percent fly commercial passenger planes), 203 truck drivers, and 210 bus, taxicab, and limousine drivers. Also completing online surveys this year was a 292-member control group of nontransportation workers.The survey’s most worrisome finding is the number of transportation workers who said that being tired has caused safety problems at work, with 20 percent of pilots admitting they have made a “serious error” at work as a result of sleepiness and 18 percent of train operators citing a fatigue-related “near miss” (see chart).In using survey answers to assess how respondents rate on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the poll found that 11 percent of pilots, train operators, and bus, taxi, and limo drivers were considered “sleepy,” compared with 7 percent of nontransportation workers. While these numbers failed to achieve statistical significance, it is noteworthy that 57 percent of train operators and 50 percent of pilots complained of rarely or never getting “a good night’s sleep,” compared with 42 percent of the control group of workers in other fields.In attempting to cope with on-the-job sleepiness, transportation professionals rely on both naps and caffeine at greater rates than do those employed in other fields. More than one-half of pilots and train operators (58 percent and 56 percent, respectively) reported taking at least one nap on workdays, while only 27 percent of nontransportation workers indicating doing so.And of those transportation workers indulging in workday naps, 50 percent of pilots, 42 percent of truck drivers, and 33 percent of train operators said they napped during work hours in the prior two weeks, compared with 19 percent of the control group.Pilots and train operators also admitted to consuming significantly more caffeine than nontransportation workers to help stay awake and alert at work. Twenty percent of pilots and 12 percent of train operators said they consumed caffeine three or four times a week specifically to stave off sleepiness—only 5 percent of the control group acknowledged caffeine consumption for that reason.So what’s to blame for the comparatively excessive sleepiness of transportation workers? The survey results suggested several contributing factors, with 44 percent of train operators and 37 percent of pilots saying their work schedules don’t allow enough time for sleep, a problem reported by 27 percent of nontransportation workers.Pilots, truck drivers, and train operators all report working average shifts up to nearly two hours longer than nontransportation professionals, while only 6 percent of pilots and 47 percent of train operators (compared with 76 percent of the control group) said they work the same schedule every day.Nontransportation workers also reported significantly more hours off between shifts than did transportation workers (14.2 hours vs. 12.2 hours), as well as shorter average commutes to and from work (46 minutes for pilots and 31 minutes for train operators, compared with 24 minutes for the control group). Complete results of NSF’s 2012 Sleep in America poll are posted at <www.sleepfoundation.org/2012poll>. ISSUES NewArchived