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NEW STATE SATSLab ADDED TO SMALL AIRCRAFT TECHNOLOGY
PARTNERSHIP
A NASA/FAA/industry partnership working to develop technologies
and new operating capabilities that could enable a Small Aircraft
Transportation System (SATS) has gained more support from aviation
enthusiasts in the Midwest.
The establishment of a SATS consortium in Indiana brings to six
the number of state or regional groups that are members of the
National Consortium for Aviation Mobility, which has teamed with
NASA and the FAA to make air travel more accessible to more people.
SATLabs in Florida, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina and Virginia
are already researching technologies to improve general
aviation.
Media are invited to attend a Small Aircraft Transportation
System seminar Friday, February 27 at the Omni Indianapolis North
Hotel, 8181 N. Shadeland Avenue, Indianapolis. Indiana Lt. Governor
Kathy Davis is scheduled to speak on the role of aviation in
economic development at 9:30 a.m. She will be followed by Dr. Bruce
Holmes, the Associate Director for Aerospace/Vehicle Systems
Integration at NASA's Langley Research Center and representatives
from the FAA and NCAM.
Researchers at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.,
and at the SATSLabs are developing integrated airborne systems,
cockpit displays and operating procedures for advanced four to ten
passenger aircraft. These technologies could help planes safely fly
into underutilized rural and suburban airports, including many
airfields that don't have radar or air traffic control towers.
About 93 percent of people in the U.S. live within 30 minutes of
one of these airports.
SATS research is focusing on four operating capabilities that
may help permit people and goods to travel faster and farther,
anywhere and any time. These technologies would allow:
- higher volume operations at airports that don't have control
towers or terminal radar
- pilots to land safely in low visibility conditions at minimally
equipped airports
- increased single-pilot performance
- SATS aircraft to integrate seamlessly into the complex national
airspace
For more information about the Small Aircraft Transportation
System, please check the Internet at:
http://sats.nasa.gov
For more information on the National Consortium for Aviation
Mobility, please check the Internet at:
http://www.ncam-sats.org
For more information on the Indiana SATS Consortium, please
check the Internet at:
http://www.IndianaSATS.com
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