There aren’t many industries that value safety more than the world of aerospace. Aviation engineers spend rewarding careers formulating and developing new innovations improving aircraft efficiency and ultimately creating a more secure environment for both passengers and crew.

As the aviation industry continues to expand and carrying more travelers and cargo, improving safety in an environmentally sustainable fashion is a prime directive of many aerospace engineering programs. What follows is a look at one engineering program’s attempt to find non-destructive methods to improve aircraft maintenance and safety.

The A*STAR Aerospace Program offers Innovations in Aircraft Maintenance

Researchers and engineers at the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) are developing methods to detect aircraft components in need of repair earlier than previously possible. Their hope is to lessen the cost of aircraft maintenance while increasing passenger safety. Leveraging non-destructive methods to find defects also saves time and money.

One major problem with aircraft is when water seeps into the body. A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology’s Dmitry Isakov is leading a project to detect water in aircraft components before it adversely impacts performance during flight.

“Water always finds the easiest way to get in, which is around discontinuities such as joints and bolts. Once inside, the water expands and contracts as it freezes and melts, damaging structures, causing corrosion and increasing the aircraft’s weight,” said Isakov.

Detecting Water with a Vacuum

The engineers leverage a vacuum to detect water in an aircraft’s body. The vacuum causes the water to boil at room temperature with a resultant fast cooling detectable using thermal imagery. “Water detection using my vacuum method requires just one technician, is fast and highly sensitive, and there is no ambiguity with the sealant,” added Isakov.

This improvement in fault detection makes maintenance both more accurate and more inexpensive — a perfect result for an engineer.

If these aviation engineering innovations inspire you to take your career even further, talk to the talented staff at The Talley Group. As one of the top engineering staffing agencies in the Northwest, they are a great source of Seattle engineering jobs and timely career advice. Schedule a meeting with them today!

Aeronautics and the world of aviation innovation remain one of the most intriguing engineering disciplines. Obviously, Seattle — home to Boeing and many other airplane manufacturers — is a great place to be for aviation engineers. The growth of autonomous unmanned aircraft is yet another example of innovative engineers raising the bar for the industry as a whole.

Let’s take a closer look at aviation engineering and its use for unmanned aircraft.

Integrating Drones into Today’s Civil Air Space

Introducing unmanned aircraft into the current modern civil air space is one of the biggest remaining challenges for aviation researchers. In fact, a new report from the National Research Council notes key barriers to drone integration while recommending a plan of action to solve any pressing issues.

John-Paul Clarke, associate professor of aerospace engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, co-chaired the NRC committee that wrote the report. “There is little doubt that over the long run the potential benefits of advanced unmanned aircraft and other increasingly autonomous systems to civil aviation will indeed be great, but there should be equally little doubt that getting there while maintaining the safety and efficiency of the nation’s civil aviation system will be no easy matter,” said Clarke.

Unmanned Aircraft Development on the Increase

The work of Clarke’s research team is becoming more important, as more and more drones enter the public airspace. Applications for these unmanned aircraft include crop dusting, traffic monitoring, and even fighting forest fires. One of the major technical barriers involved in air traffic control with drones is predicting their flight paths based on the drone’s autonomous reactions to current conditions.

Other potential issues involve regulatory and certification policies for unmanned aircraft, in addition to social considerations, like privacy and safety concerns. Still, the world of autonomous unmanned aircraft provides another growing arena for interested engineers to leverage their creativity and intellect.

If the exciting world of aviation engineering inspires you to take your career to a higher level, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. As one of the top engineering staffing agencies in the Northwest, they remain a great source of Seattle engineering jobs. Schedule some time with them today!

If you are lucky and talented enough to be an engineer in the aerospace industry, prepare for a supersonic explosion of career opportunities, as faster than sound flight looks to be making a comeback. The demise of the Concorde saw the end of supersonic passenger air travel, but some engineering innovations look to bring this state of the art aviation technology back into the mainstream.

Supersonic Speeds coming to Business Travel

One of the main reasons for the failure of the Concorde was its high maintenance costs, which, when combined with declining passenger numbers, caused the business model supporting the jet to falter. There isn’t as much investment risk with the smaller jets used in business travel, so this is the area earmarked for a supersonic travel renaissance.

The Boston-based aerospace engineering firm, Spike Aerospace, is developing a supersonic jet capable of making the trip from New York City to London in 3 to 4 hours — half of the 6 to 7 hour travel time when using a subsonic jet. Vik Kachoria, Spike Aerospace’s founder, noted the growing market demand for faster business travel.

“A supersonic jet will help businesses manage operations and make investments more dynamically. It will bring them closer to their customers, more often. The current fastest jet around for business use is Gulfstream G650, which can go at Mach .875. Our aircraft is designed to fly at 1.6 mach, which is twice the speed of any other aircraft out there, hence reducing the air travel time to about half,” said Kachoria.

An Option for Aircraft Rental Services?

The new business jet, known as the Spike S-512, is expected to retail from $60-80 million, and will carry anywhere from 12 to 18 passengers. With that price, it wouldn’t be a surprise if aircraft rental companies, like NetJets, purchase the model to enhance their service offerings to business travelers.

If these innovations in supersonic aerospace engineering inspire you to take your career to the next level, talk to the recruiting experts at The Talley Group. As one of the top engineering staffing agencies in Washington State, they are a great source for Seattle engineering jobs. Give them a call or send them an email today!

The engineering world typically produces accomplishments that benefit many. The scope of this rewarding work ranges from improving the bottom lines of many engineering companies, to making life better for the human race as a whole. The year of 2013 was no exception, as the feats of talented engineers once again earned accolades.

Here is a list of some of the top engineering achievements of 2013. Maybe they will inspire or at least amaze you?

A State of the Art Helicopter — Powered by Humans

Fred Flintstone enjoyed a human powered “automobile” when traveling around his prehistoric world, but the stuff of Hanna-Barbara cartoons actually became reality in 2013. A Canadian team won the Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition last year with a design capable of sustained flight for over one minute.

The copter only reached a height of 10 feet, so don’t expect it to serve traffic reporting needs anytime soon, but it was the first design to actually win the award in the competition’s 33-year history. Impressive!

Thought-controlled Medical Devices make Headway

Brain-computer interfaces saw much advancement in 2013, bringing “The Six Million Dollar Man” closer to reality. A thought-controlled wheelchair gives mobility to quadriplegics like never before; while moveable prosthetic limbs improve the quality of life for amputees. Expect continued advancements in this area of medical technology by the end of the decade.

Driverless Cars on the Highway

Google has been in the news for their own driverless car project — not bad for a company that derives most of its revenue from a web search engine. An actual automobile manufacturer, Volvo, is also developing a robotic car with a stated goal to completely eliminate driver fatalities. Volvo’s “Drive Me” project expects to bring 100 driverless 2014 Volvo XC90s to the roads of Sweden by 2017.

There remains little doubt that the practice of engineering gives the opportunity to change the world for the better in many different ways. If you want to be part of this exciting time, talk to the folks at The Talley Group. As one of the top engineering staffing agencies in the Seattle area, they offer the insight to take your career to the ultimate level; helping you make a difference. Schedule time with them today and find about some great Seattle engineering jobs!

With the Seattle metropolitan area being home to Boeing and a host of smaller manufacturers supporting that aeronautics industry giant, there is no surprise that Washington State boasts the highest average salaries for aerospace engineers. A recent report from the Department of Labor confirmed the Pacific Northwest’s dominant position in the world of aviation employment.

Other states on the list included Kansas, with a robust industry centered on Wichita, the rocket industry’s favorite state, Alabama, United Technologies Corporation’s home state of Connecticut, and the Sunshine State of Florida. Still, for aerospace engineers living in the Seattle area, the opportunities for lucrative employment remain abundant.

The Seattle Aerospace Industry continues to thrive

Boeing continues to be at the forefront of the aviation industry, with state of the art innovations in the areas of commercial flight, defense and security, as well as the new frontier of space travel. For aeronautics engineers currently living in Washington State, or those considering a move to the Northwest, the job opportunities are plentiful. This boom period is expected to continue, as the aerospace industry is generally able to withstand the economic downturns that hamper other business sectors.

As mentioned earlier, the power and size of Boeing means that many other aerospace companies supporting that giant are able to thrive in the Seattle metropolitan area. Seattle Aero is an example of this kind of business. They provide aerospace parts and service to Boeing and a host of other aircraft manufacturers all over the world.

There are dozens of aviation industry firms just like Seattle Aero located in Washington State. If you are just getting into aerospace engineering straight out of college or even if you boast a fully-developed career as an aviation engineer, Seattle and Washington are definitely the place to be. It might be time to consider relocating to the area for one of the many available lucrative opportunities.

When trying to find work in the Seattle aeronautics industry, a partnership with an experienced recruiter makes perfect sense. The Talley Company is one of the top engineering staffing agencies in Washington State and a great source of Seattle aerospace jobs, with the knowledgeable recruiters on hand able to help your career take off. Make it a point to chat with them today!

Many people think of outer space as a place that is silent, desolate. And all we really know of it is what we can see, through light. However, Janna Levin, a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College, refutes that idea. Levin explained in a TED Talk about the sounds the universe can make, particularly while going through dramatically changing events.

Levin researches the early universe, including chaos theory and black hole creation. She’s also the author of “How the Universe Got Its Spots” and “A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines.”

Most “normal” sounds cannot exist in the vacuum of space. However, there are tens of thousands of black holes in space, formed by dying stars. These black holes spin around each other, treating spacetime (any model that combines space and time into a continuum) like a drum. When these gravitational waves hit Earth, some detectors are able to measure the movements and amplify the sound.

In an interview with CNN, Levin explained the space-sound phenomenon. “It’s important to realize the universe isn’t a silent film, because space itself wobbles and rumbles like a drum in response to all of these things unfolding in the cosmos,” Levin said.

Levin also believes that with the right recording and adjustments, people could hear these changes in the universe. While there is no air in space to compress the ringing against your ear, creating sound, the space itself is “ringing and squeezing and stretching,” allowing your eardrums to respond. The dramatic events are what your ears would take the most notice of.

Scientists are now designing experiments that can pick up the sounds in space–sounds that could even be played on your stereo, for the human ear to hear.

However, Levin cautions that listening to these space symphonies could be dangerous to your hearing, and head, in general.

“Your head would be squeezed and stretched unhelpfully, so you might have trouble understanding what’s going on,” Levin said.

To listen to and see examples of Levin’s theories of the sounds of space and black hole collisions, check out her webpage: http://www.jannalevin.com/science.html.

Contact The Talley Group for the best candidates who may prove new scientific and engineering theories.