For Release: Jan. 2, 1997
Catherine E. Watson
(757) 864-6122
Release No. 97-001a
The Future of General Aviation in the United States
What role will general aviation play in the U.S. air
transportation system in the next century? With emerging
navigation, communications, computer and display technologies,
general aviation - the nation’s other “airline” -
has the potential to serve smaller communities that are too small
to justify scheduled air carrier service.
Dr. Bruce J. Holmes, manager of the NASA General Aviation
Program Office and director of the Advanced General Aviation
Transport Experiments (AGATE) consortium, will
discuss NASA’s role in the future of general aviation on
Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 2 p.m. at the NASA Langley H.J.E. Reid
Conference Center.
General aviation already plays a vital role in the nation’s
air transportation system, yet expanded use of a safe,
high-utility, lower-cost general aviation system could bring the
nation’s smaller “off-airways” communities more
fully into the mainstream of the nation’s business, commerce,
trade and tourism.
A media briefing with Holmes will take place at 1 p.m. in the
Reid Center. Holmes will repeat the lecture at 7:30 p.m. at the
Virginia Air & Space Center, Hampton.
During more than 20 years with NASA, Holmes has served in
research engineering and senior management positions at NASA
Langley and at NASA Headquarters. His research interests include
drag reduction, flight testing methods and aircraft design
concepts.
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