NASA Administrator Griffin, FAA Administrator Blakey And Author
James Fallows Headline June Event
Nationally recognized aviation
experts will help kick off SATS 2005, a demonstration of
technologies that could lead to a transformation of air travel,
next month in Danville, VA.
Expected to attend the Small Aircraft Transportation System
(SATS) event, June 5-7, are NASA Administrator Mike Griffin,
Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Marion Blakey, and
well-known aviation author and journalist James Fallows.
The event will showcase technologies designed to make small
planes more accessible to more people, as currently, nearly all of
the people in the US live within 30 minutes of an under-used rural
or suburban airport. Existing SATS technology enables
single-pilot planes to fly more safely and freely into one of more
than 3,500 of these airports, including those airports without
radar or air traffic control towers.
SATS 2005: A Transformation of Air Travel is the culmination of
a five-year, public-private research partnership between NASA, the
FAA and the National Consortium for Aviation Mobility (NCAM), which
includes SATS laboratories in more than a half dozen states.
"SATS is a vision for a new kind of air travel that will
complement today's airline system. Cockpit technologies already
being developed will allow new classes of aircraft including very
light jets and other advanced small planes to use neighborhood
airports to fly people from place to place, " said Jerry Hefner,
NASA SATS project manager.
"The caliber of industry leaders willing to come to the
Danville Regional Airport to see what the project has achieved is a
testament to the hard work of all the SATS partners," said Pete
McHugh, FAA SATS program manager.
"We're excited to receive the support of influential officials
like the heads of NASA and the FAA," seconded Jack Sheehan, NCAM
president. "Their commitment to improve accessibility and
affordability of air travel for everyone, especially those who live
near under-used community airports, is what the SATS vision is all
about."
SATS 2005 will open with a “fly-in” into the
Danville Regional Airport June 5. Designed to inspire the next
generation of explorers, a LEGO Mindstorm robotics competition
where teams of students build mechanical robots out of LEGO
building blocks and compete against each other, is also slated for
Sunday.
Monday, June 6, is the premiere day of the demonstration with
doors opening at 8 a.m. Students and visitors will be able see the
latest aviation technologies that will make small planes more
accessible to more airports, plus hear from experts on what impact
SATS could have on businesses and communities. The tentative
schedule has Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Virginia), the NASA and FAA
Administrators, and Phil Boyer, Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association president speaking from 1015 -1100.
They will be followed by a live demonstration of the SATS
technologies and operating capabilities featuring a number of small
aircraft. Live video will be beamed from the cockpits onto huge
screens making the crowd of on-lookers "virtual co-pilots."
Other dignitaries expected to appear on June 6 are the executive
vice-president of NetJets Richard Smith and author James Fallows.
Up and coming aviation companies such as Cirrus, Eclipse and SATS
Air will also showcase their aircraft and expertise.
SATS 2005 will open at 9 a.m., Tuesday, June 7. On the agenda
that day is a presentation of a new research aircraft developed by
Honda, as well as panel discussions featuring additional aircraft
manufacturers including Adam and Cessna. All during the three-day
event hundreds of students from the surrounding community will also
have a chance to check out aircraft of the future and take part in
hands-on aviation experiences.
SATS research has focused 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