Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington, DC                         May 20, 1998
(Phone:  202/358-1726)

Kathy Barnstorff
Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
(Phone:  757/864-9886)

RELEASE  98-86

NASA SELECTS TEAMS FOR RESEARCH AGREEMENTS --
A "WEATHER CHANNEL" IN EVERY COCKPIT?

     Airlines and smaller airplanes are one step closer to having 
up-to-the-minute, graphical weather displays in their cockpits, 
thanks in part to a new NASA aviation safety initiative.

     NASA has selected research proposals from eight industry 
teams to develop Aviation Weather Information (AWIN) systems for 
commercial airliners and general aviation aircraft.

     "Pilots tell us their number one priority is graphical 
weather information. We want to make it as easy to get a weather 
channel in the cockpit as it is in your living room. Technologies 
already exist that could help make that happen," said Michael 
Lewis, Director, NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP), based at the 
Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA.

     AvSP is a partnership with the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA), the aviation industry (manufacturers and 
operators) and the Department of Defense (DOD).  This partnership 
supports the national goal announced by President Clinton last 
year to reduce the fatal aircraft accident rate by 80 percent in 
10 years and by 90 percent over two decades.

     The weather information selections are one of NASA's new 
investments in that ambitious challenge.  NASA asked U.S. 
companies to submit proposals for research, development, 
prototyping and implementation of AWIN systems and components.  
Industry teams submitted more than 40 proposals in three weather 
information categories: a national and worldwide system, a general 
aviation system and topical areas or specific components.  NASA, 
FAA and DOD researchers evaluated the proposals based on technical 
merit, cost and feasibility.

     NASA has set aside more than $8 million that will be matched 
by industry to fund AWIN projects over the next eighteen months.  
More money is expected to be designated later to accelerate 
commercialization and make some systems available within five years.

     For the first phase of the program, teams led by Honeywell 
and Boeing/McDonnell Douglas Corp. will receive up to $2.4 million 
apiece to develop a national and worldwide AWIN solution.  Over 
the same 18-month period, the NavRadio group will be awarded up to 
$1.2 million and the ARNAV team, up to $400,000, for a general 
aviation weather information system.  Other teams led by Rockwell 
International, Honeywell and NavRadio will split $1.6 million to 
develop specific components for AWIN.

     NASA envisions a futuristic system that would allow aircraft 
to be both a source and user of weather information.  Airborne 
sensors would provide data for weather systems on board the plane, 
on the ground and in other aircraft.  In the cockpit would be 
easy-to-read, real-time displays that can show weather across the 
country, not just a limited number of miles ahead.  That way 
pilots could more easily monitor possible trouble spots and make 
better, more cost-efficient routing decisions.

     That weather information would get to and from aircraft by 
satellite and ground transceivers using broadcast datalink and two 
way communications systems.  Many industry teams also propose to 
incorporate decision aids into their AWIN designs.  Those could 
include, among other tools, alarm systems or displays of suggested 
routes to help pilots better avoid potentially hazardous weather 
situations.

     The aviation safety initiative was created in the summer of 
1997 by NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin in response to a 
report from the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and 
Security, chaired by Vice President Al Gore.  NASA has designated 
about $500 million over five years for aviation safety, with more 
funding expected to follow.

     Researchers at four NASA field installations are working with 
the FAA and industry to develop affordable, implementable 
technologies to make flying safer: Langley; Ames Research Center 
in Moffett Field, CA; Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, 
CA; and Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, OH.

     Because of advances in the last 40 years commercial airliners 
are already the safest of all major modes of transportation.  But 
with an accident rate that has remained relatively constant in the 
last decade and air traffic expected to triple over the next 20 
years, the U.S. government wants to prevent a projected rise in 
the number of aircraft accidents.

     For more information on the NASA Aviation Safety Program 
please check the Internet at:   
  www.hq.nasa.gov/office/aero/oastthp/programs/avsaf/avsafpro.htm

     For a list of AWIN industry teams, please see:
   http://oea.larc.nasa.gov/news_rels/1998/May98/98_23.html

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