Mentor Blogs

Are U.S. avionics and aircraft risk assessment and certification processes flawed? The defects now evident in Boeing Dreamliner 787 commercial airliners are causing the public and safety professionals to question the efficacy of current methods. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials investigating the cause of a short circuit in a Boeing Dreamliner 787 lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery are … Read More

Military, Milaero, Mentor, Aerospace, Airbus, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, 787, Boeing, FAA, Geek, Deborah A.P. Hersman, GS Yuasa Corp, Avionics, Li-ion, Battery, Elon Musk, Dreamliner, Engineer, NTSB, Software

All eyes in the aerospace market, especially those of safety specialists, have been on Boeing and the avionics employed by its Dreamliner 787 since a Japan Airlines (JAL) commercial airplane caught fire in Boston last month. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), roughly one month after an investigation was launched, revealed that the battery was indeed responsible for the fire. NTSB Chairman … Read More

Milaero, Mil-Aero, Li-ion, Aerospace, Battery, Mentor, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, 787, Dreamliner, Geek, Hardware, electrical, JAL, Boeing, Japan, Boston, Elon Musk, Electronic, Embedded Systems, Military, Telsa Motors, NTSB, spacex

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the U.S., investigating the cause of a fire on a Boeing Dreamliner 787 parked at Boston Logan Airport in January, transitioned its work from a macroscopic study to a microscopic examination, including chemical and elemental analysis of the areas of internal short circuiting and thermal damage. Soon after launching a microscopic investigation, NTSB officials … Read More

Massport Fire Rescue, Japan Airlines, Engineer, Aerospace, APU, Geek, Hardware, JAL, 787, Dreamliner, Boeing, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Electric, electrical, auxiliary power unit, Electronic, Boston Fire Department, Design Automation, Mentor, Military, Mil-Aero, Milaero, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com

The aerospace industry has been a hotbed of activity this year—and we’re only two months into 2013. The hottest news (no pun intended) has been and continues to be related to the grounding of the entire fleet of Boeing Dreamliner 787 commercial airliners. Just last month, the Transport Ministry within the Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) closed its investigation of Kyoto, Japan-based battery manufacturer … Read More

JTM, Japan Airlines, Geek, Aerospace, All Nippon Airways, GS Yuasa Corp, Hardware, JAL, 787, electrical, Boeing, Electronic, ANA, Engineer, APU, FAA, EASA, Dreamliner, Electric, NTSB, Li-ion, Milaero, Military, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Mentor, Mentor Graphics, Lithium Ion, Logan Airport

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner tale has it all: mystery, suspense, and now controversy. On the same day, Japan’s Transport Ministry closed its investigation of Kyoto, Japan-based battery manufacturer GS Yuasa, and U.S. safety officials asked Boeing for its operating history of lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery use on 787 aircraft. The Transport Ministry, part of the Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB), found … Read More

JTM, Japan Airlines, Geek, Aerospace, All Nippon Airways, GS Yuasa Corp, Hardware, JAL, 787, electrical, Boeing, Electronic, ANA, Engineer, APU, FAA, EASA, Dreamliner, Electric, NTSB, Li-ion, Milaero, Military, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Mentor, Mentor Graphics, Lithium Ion, Logan Airport

Just as an avalanche of events occurred this month related to the Boeing Dreamliner 787, with one issue after another rearing its ugly head, a seeming chain reaction of investigations has also resulted. Boeing, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration, Japan’s Transport Ministry and Civil Aviation Bureau launched investigations; and, the European Aviation Safety … Read More

JTM, Japan Airlines, Geek, Aerospace, All Nippon Airways, GS Yuasa Corp, Hardware, JAL, 787, electrical, Boeing, Electronic, ANA, Engineer, APU, FAA, EASA, Dreamliner, Electric, NTSB, Li-ion, Milaero, Military, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Mentor, Mentor Graphics, Lithium Ion, Logan Airport

What can only be described as a series of unfortunate events (to borrow from Lemony Snicket) with prompted organizations dedicated to safety to launch investigations into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s safety and potential for additional problems, as well as to ground 787s until its safety is proven. While some problems are expected in the release of new design into service the quick succession of these … Read More

Li-ion, JTM, Geek, Aerospace, All Nippon Airways, Hardware, JAL, Japan Airlines, 787, electrical, Boeing, Electronic, ANA, Engineer, APU, FAA, EASA, Dreamliner, Electric, Lithium Ion, Military, NTSB, Mil-Aero, Milaero, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, Logan Airport, Mentor

When we last left off, the auxiliary power unit (APU) of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner parked at Boston’s Logan Airport had caught fire, purportedly melting a Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery module. It would not be the last of the commercial airliner’s—or even Japan Airlines’—problems, however. The very next day (Jan. 8), in fact, a second Japan Airlines (JAL) 787 suffered a fuel leak, and its flight out of … Read More

Mentor, Logan Airport, JAL, Aerospace, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Li-ion, Lithium Ion, 787, Electronic, Boeing, Engineer, Geek, ANA, Hardware, APU, Electric, Dreamliner, electrical, Mentor Graphics, Narita International Airport, Milaero, Military, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero

Aerospace professionals the world over are focused on three little words: Lithium ion batteries. Even the collective interest of the defense community (more on that later) is piqued about potential power problems. Alliteration aside, Boeing’s 787 battery has captured the attention of aerospace geeks, government agencies, and the traveling public. In case you haven’t heard about the latest trouble with … Read More

Massport Fire Rescue, Japan Airlines, Engineer, Aerospace, APU, Geek, Hardware, JAL, 787, Dreamliner, Boeing, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Electric, electrical, auxiliary power unit, Electronic, Boston Fire Department, Design Automation, Mentor, Military, Mil-Aero, Milaero, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com

A new, non-lethal microwave weapon is causing a great deal of excitement in the military and aerospace (mil/aero) community. Military officials the world over have been asking for new, non-lethal options, such as directed-energy deterrents, with which to counter irregular, or non-traditional and asymmetric, warfare tactics, especially in urban environments with large civilian populations. The U.S. Air … Read More

Hardware, Geek, Kirtland Air Force Base, The Dark Knight Rises, AFRL, Milaero, Boeing, Military, Raytheon’s Ktech subsidiary, Aerospace, Sandia National Laboratories, Mentor, Directed Energy Directorate, Mentor Graphics, EMP, Mentor.com, Boeing Phantom Works, Mil-Aero, Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project

Look, up in the air. It’s a microwave missile. It’s a smart bomb. Actually, it’s CHAMP, the Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project, and it’s arguably the hottest directed-energy innovation in the military and aerospace (mil/aero) market today. Government and industry—including the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Boeing Phantom Works, Raytheon’s Ktech subsidiary, … Read More

Hardware, Geek, Kirtland Air Force Base, The Dark Knight Rises, AFRL, Milaero, Boeing, Military, Raytheon’s Ktech subsidiary, Aerospace, Sandia National Laboratories, Mentor, Directed Energy Directorate, Mentor Graphics, EMP, Mentor.com, Boeing Phantom Works, Mil-Aero, Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project

On 17 December 2012 at 5:28 p.m. and 5:29 p.m. Eastern Time, NASA JPL scientists in California will set the twin probes Ebb and Flow on a shallow angle collision course with the rim of an impact crater on the moon. At the time of the impact, the chosen crash site will be shrouded in darkness; yet, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will be on location to photograph the impact site before and after the … Read More

JPL, Hardware, Lunar, nasa, Moon, Ebb, Mentor Graphics, electrical, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Aerospace, Milaero, Lunar Prospector, Flow, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Geek, Maria Zuber, Electronic, Mentor, Engineer

Engineers and Scientists at NASA JPL in California are again making headlines in the military/aerospace (mil/aero) community. Aerospace engineers and enthusiasts the world over are talking about NASA’s plan to crash Ebb and Flow, two spacecraft on a moon-mapping mission throughout 2012, into the moon’s surface. Not since the Curiosity rover landed on Mars has the mil/aero industry been so focused on … Read More

JPL, Hardware, Lunar, Crash, Milaero, Ebb, Moon, nasa, Aerospace, Software, Mentor, GRAIL, Mentor Graphics, gravity, Mentor.com, Flow, Mil-Aero, Geek

What does a longtime space agency do with lunar research satellites when they have run out of fuel? If you’re the space geeks at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena, California, you do something unforgettable: You crash them into moon! Ebb and Flow are appliance-sized probes (or spacecraft) in NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) … Read More

Military, Milaero, Mentor, Delta II, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Aerospace, Ebb, Geek, GRAIL, electrical, JPL, Design Automation, Lockheed Martin, Discovery Program, Engineer, Embedded Systems, Flow, nasa, The Boeing Company

The military/aerospace (mil/aero) industry is obsessed with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) this month. The FAA is occupied with the safe integration of UAVs in public airspace. The Pentagon is buzzing about the first recorded attack on a military drone in the airspace over the Persian Gulf. The public is growing more concerned and vocal about UAVs as they relate to privacy. Unmanned aircraft systems … Read More

unmanned, UAV, Military, AeroVironment Qube, Aviation Week, police, RPA, RPAS, Aerospace, Drones, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, Engineer, Mil-Aero, COTS, Milaero, DraganFlyer X6, Hardware, Geek, Mentor, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, vertical takeoff and landing, VTOL