Improving aviation safety, especially in emergency response and homeland security operations, is the aim of a new Aviation Center of Excellence that includes the USDA Forest Service; the University of California, Davis; NASA; and industry partners.

Located primarily at McClellan Business Park just north of Sacramento, the center will include a new certificate program in Emergency Response Aviation Safety Management offered through UC Davis Extension, and a research program that draws on existing expertise at the Forest Service, UC Davis and the NASA Ames Research Center, as well as facilities including the university's McClellan Nuclear Radiation Center and whole-aircraft robotic X-ray equipment owned by Aerobotics, Inc.

Aerial firefighting poses special challenges for aircrews, firefighters on the ground and managers. Operations can involve several different kinds of aircraft in the air at once working in a fast-moving situation. One aspect of the certificate program will be to train crews and their managers in how to communicate effectively during an operation.

"It's all about communications and coordination," said Dennis Hulbert, regional aviation officer at the Forest Service's Wildfire Training Center at McClellan.

A key tool in that training will be a new simulator developed by the Forest Service at McClellan Park that recreates real-life cockpit conditions in wildland firefighting operations. Six stations create a mix of air tankers, lead planes, air attack planes and helicopters that have to work together on a computer-generated fire scenario. The students have to find and fight fires, watch their altitude and drop their retardant in the right places, while communicating effectively with each other and their commanders.

The simulator will also help users appreciate the stresses on aircraft caused by rapid maneuvering around fires and similar situations. Students in the extension program will learn about managing aircraft health and developing a safety-conscious approach to operations.

"We want to make people aware of what they can do to promote safety," said Joe Fernandez, director of the Aircraft Health Management program for UC Davis. "We can open people's eyes to new issues in aircraft maintenance and new ways of doing business."

The UC Davis Extension course in Emergency Response Aviation Safety Management will begin this fall. The course is designed to provide students with an overview of the critical issues facing aging aircraft, particularly those engaged in emergency response aviation. Students will learn topics such as: how to implement and monitor an aircraft health management plan; how an airframe structure works and how materials fail; FAA-certified operations; non-destructive inspection methods; and aircraft modification and re-engineering.

The center's research program will draw on the expertise at McClellan Park, UC Davis and NASA Ames to improve the health and maintenance of the airplanes and helicopters used by the Forest Service.

"Anything that we generate with the Forest Service fleet should be generally applicable," said Michael Hill, associate professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering at UC Davis.

Hill's laboratory is studying laser peening, a technique developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for strengthening metals by blasting them with very brief pulses from a high-powered laser beam. The laser sends a shockwave through the surface layer of metal that Hill compares to "rolling out cookie dough." The treatment makes the surface more resistant to corrosion, stress and fatigue.

Other facilities at McClellan Park will contribute to the research and training program. The nuclear reactor at UC Davis' McClellan Nuclear Radiation Center was built by the U.S. Air Force to look for hidden defects in aircraft parts. Transferred to UC Davis in 1999 following the closure of the McClellan Air Force Base, the reactor can be used for neutron beam imaging of solid objects and for carrying out sensitive chemical analyses. University researchers are using it for research projects in geology, electronics, biology and materials science.

Also located at McClellan Park is a former U.S. Air Force facility for taking X-ray images of whole aircraft. Aerobotics Inc. is currently refurbishing that equipment.

Other private sector partners in the Aircraft Health Management center include: DynCorp International; Hill Engineering LLC; Eclypse International; and the Metal Improvement Company.