Navy plane to research icing at NASA
Decomissioned aircraft acquired at no cost
By Kevin Kelley
Westshore
Published Jan. 30, 2008

Despite a growing emphasis on space exploration at NASA, aeronautic programs continue at the Glenn Research Center.

Last week, the center showed off its S-3 Viking aircraft, a revamped U.S. Navy plane that Glenn will use to conduct icing research.

The plane spent two years undergoing modifications in Florida at a Boeing facility and a Navy facility.

The aircraft, which has a range of 1,850 nautical miles, will allow NASA to conduct icing research at higher altitudes than the previous plane used for such assignments, NASA officials said.

“Today’s dedication of the S-3 as a flight research aircraft helps to expand Glenn’s testing and evaluation capabilities in support of NASA’s mission in aeronautics, exploration and science,” Rickey Shyne, director of facilities and testing at Glenn, said during a ceremony Jan. 23 inside the Glenn hangar.

Glenn acquired two S-3 aircraft at no cost from the Navy, which is decommissioning the plane. The only cost to NASA was $1.5 million for modifying the one aircraft. The second plane may be modified for research purposes in the future.

A new aircraft would have cost NASA in excess of $40 million, said Glenn Director Woodrow Whitlow Jr.

“This represents a significant addition to the center, to the nation’s research capabilities, at significant savings to the taxpayer,” Whitlow said.

High-tech research equipment and a state-of-the-art color weather radar were among the hardware NASA installed in the aircraft, Whitlow added.

The S-3 better allows researchers to simulate the performance of regional jets, which have been increasingly used in commercial flight, Whitlow said.

The first test flights are scheduled to take place later this year in Puerto Rico to investigate icing conditions that exist in the tropical convective layer of the atmosphere.

“Icing occurs in all climate conditions, because once you get to altitude, it does get cold,” Whitlow explained. Testing flights and other missions will be flown out of Cleveland, however.

The research program’s goal is to learn more about the threat of engine power loss due to icing, Whitlow said. Glenn’s icing tunnel testing facilities will then be used to further study the phenomenon and how to mitigate the threat.

Tom Ratvasky, an icing research engineer who resides in Fairview Park, said it is thought that ice crystals can form inside the core of the engine and lower the temperatures of engine components to below freezing. As pieces of ice shift during different flight phases, the engine can then flame out, he said.

In most cases, this is only temporary, he said. The engine usually re-lights.

“It’s just a momentary hiccup,” he said. “But engine blades can be damaged as well. So folks such as Boeing, GE, Pratt & Whitney, they’re all very interested in this problem and having us help them solve that problem.”

Jim Demers, one of three pilots working at Glenn’s Flight Operations Division who will be flying the S-3, has experience flying the aircraft from his 11 years in the Navy. He and other pilots flew the S-3 on submarine hunting missions.

The S-3, which was designed by the Navy to fly with only one engine, is well-equipped to carry the power-hungry sensors needed for icing research, said Demers, a Rocky River resident.

“By today’s standard, (the S-3) engine is very inefficient,” Demers said of its two GE-built turbo fan engines capable of 9,275 pounds of thrust. “By today’s standard, that engine is very, very hardy.”

Flying icing research missions may not be as exciting as hunting submarines, but Demers said he’s excited to be part of this project.

“I grew up with this plane,” said Demers, who has been a pilot at Glenn for six years. “I‘ve been with this plane since I was 22 years old — 16 years now. It was neat for me to come to NASA, help bring the S-3 here, get it modified, get it working toward research.”