Washington DC (SPX) Jun 06, 2005
Imagine taking a safe, fast, small airplane from a neighborhood airport to visit your family 600 miles away. Imagine almost door-to-door, on-demand service that means you may never see a crowded, major hub airport again.
NASA’s Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) project is offering a glimpse into that kind of personalized air travel with a special flying demonstration, June 5-7 in Danville, Va.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and industry partners will join NASA in showcasing forward-looking aviation technologies at “SATS 2005: A Transformation of Air Travel.” NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and FAA Administrator Marion Blakey will help kick off the demonstration at the Danville Regional Airport.
For small planes to fly safely and reliably into more than 3,400 community airports in all kinds of weather, they need crucial new technologies and operating capabilities since many of these small airfields don’t have control towers or radar.
The demonstration by NASA, FAA and state research groups – known as SATSlabs, will use six airplanes equipped with advanced cockpit technologies and displays to demonstrate that small planes can fly safely and efficiently into these local and regional airports.
SATS is a five-year, public-private research partnership between NASA, FAA and the National Consortium for Aviation Mobility.
