Aerospace Technology Development

Progressive Efforts in the Light Plane Industry

THE ADVANCED GENERAL AVIATION TRANSPORT Experiments (AGATE) consortium and the NASA General Aviation Propulsion (GAP) program are reporting impressive progress, according to leaders of this government-industry effort to revitalize the U.S. light airplane industry. "These accomplishments are laying the foundation for a small aircraft transportation system that will make personal air travel for business or pleasure a safe, affordable transportation alternative," said Michael B. Mann, NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for Aero-Space Technology.

"Newly developing technologies and procedures are allowing us to move from the research stage to practical use. Even the challenging task of developing a lightweight, affordable jet engine for personal airplanes is coming along quickly through NASA's GAP program," Mann said at a joint NASA, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and U.S. industry news briefing held at the recent AirVenture '98, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) annual Fly-In and Convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Anne Harlan, the FAA's Director of the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, also participated in the briefing.

The following are brief descriptions of the accomplishments.

AGATE-Equipped Airplanes Coming to Market

The first two production airplanes to offer extensive AGATE technology are being introduced, with customer deliveries expected to begin after the FAA flight certification to be done by year's end. The Cirrus SR20, produced by Cirrus Design Corp. of Duluth, Minnesota, and the Lancair Columbia 300, produced by Lancair International Inc. of Redmond Bend, Oregon, boast of value, performance, comfort and safety.

AGATE technology contributes to the ease of operation of these two pioneering airplanes through single-lever power control and multifunction display of satellite navigation and airport information. The display technology will also handle graphical display of real-time weather, terrain and digital air-to-ground communications when available in the near future. Other AGATE technologies reflected in these new airplanes include advanced lightweight and aerodynamically efficient composite materials (graphite-epoxy, for example). AGATE safety advances are seen in energy-absorbing structures and improved safety harness systems that improve crashworthiness.

New Process Promising up to $1 Million Savings per New Airplane

The time and costs of certifying materials for new single-engine airplane designs will be dramatically reduced with the adoption of an AGATE-developed certification process. The process promises to cut materials certification for a new design to six months and $30,000—it was two years and a cost range of $600,000 to $1 million. The National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas, is conducting research to validate the overall process to meet FAA certification standards. The idea is that the AGATE consortium will pool resources to spread the costs of initial research and certification for each material of interest. The data will go into a handbook, specifying the exact process to be followed to receive a speedy certification from the FAA. The first two aircraft to make use of the new process are the Cirrus SR20 and Lancair Columbia 300, mentioned above. They will be the first composite material, four-seat, AGATE-type airplanes to be certified in the United States.

First Pilot Graduating From Streamlined Training Course

The first student has successfully completed a unified flight training curriculum that earned her both a visual and an instrument pilot rating, while saving training time and expenditures. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Melbourne, Florida, administered the AGATE-developed curriculum, which simultaneously trains pilots in visual flight rules and instrument flight rules at significant time and cost savings over traditional methods, which call for separate courses for separate ratings. The national average for receiving a basic private pilot license is approximately 72 hours of in-flight training over nine months. This is followed by instrument training of 104 hours over an additional nine months.

The Embry-Riddle student completed the equivalent training with a 29-percent savings in ground and flight training, a 20-percent savings in cost and an 83-percent savings in total elapsed time. NASA (through the AGATE program), Embry-Riddle and the FAA Flight Standards District Office in Orlando, Florida, support the new training curriculum.

Flight Tests Proving Cockpit Technologies

The results from two series of ongoing flight experiments are expected to have a major impact on the standards that will be set for operating general aviation airplanes in the future. The AGATE experiments are validating advanced navigation and communications technologies developed to revolutionize how light airplane pilots interact with real-time weather and flight data information. A Cessna T210 has been test-flown since December 1997 to learn more about the display and use of real-time weather in the cockpit. The preliminary results indicate that the use of advanced cockpit weather displays reduces pilot activity while increasing the pilot's ability to accurately and safely navigate around hazardous weather.

A Raytheon Bonanza has been test-flown since January 1998 to assess the operational capabilities of digital datalinks. The results of this powerful new cockpit tool are encouraging. The potential applications are numerous, including the present test and evaluation of three attitude and heading reference systems expected to significantly enhance the pilot's awareness of his or her airplane's position and flight heading. Future plans for the Bonanza test airplane include the integration and demonstration of all AGATE technologies in a single cockpit.

First Statewide Digital Datalink Providing Real-Time Weather

Virginia has inaugurated the nation's first statewide application of aviation digital datalink technology, establishing a public-private partnership that will set the pace for its introduction to other states in an effort to form a national system that may someday be global. At a ceremony last July in the state capital in Richmond, Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shirley J. Ybarra praised AGATE member ARNAV Systems Inc. of Puyallup, Washington, the Small Aircraft Manufacturers Association and NASA's Langley Research Center for the successful partnership. Ybarra said that the extension of the AGATE technology "will provide small business with safe, efficient and secure all-weather air transportation to urban and rural communities all over the country."

Reducing the Cost of Lightning Protection

AGATE members are working with Lightning Technology, Inc., Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to reduce the cost of lightning protection for small airplanes from the current $5,000 per airplane to $500 or less by next year. This ambitious goal is part of the AGATE effort to make future single-engine airplanes more affordable to more people. Lightning does not strike small aircraft often, but when it does, it can cause significant damage to nonconducting components and digital cockpit systems.

The company is evaluating airplane surface treatments, such as low-cost lightweight metal meshes embedded in the advanced fiberglass-epoxy composite materials increasingly used in small airplane structures. Tests have applied simulated lightning effects (up to 200,000 amperes of current) to small "coupons" representing airplane skin and structure.

Propulsion Research Filling the Gap

Two years after NASA's Lewis Research Center unveiled the General Aviation Propulsion (GAP) program, industry teams are reporting substantial progress in developing forerunners of the next generation of general aviation light aircraft engines. The development of the following engines is on schedule for flight demonstration at EAA's AirVenture '00:

• New Piston Engine at Half the Price—An industry team led by Teledyne Continental Motors, Mobile, Alabama, has designed and built a highly advanced 200-horsepower compression ignition engine, now going through a series of tests. The first aircraft installation is set sometime in late 1999. The engine will use jet fuel and is designed to be priced at half the cost of current engines. Careful design consideration has been given to making this engine the smoothest and quietest piston engine to have ever flown in a general aviation aircraft. The design is now becoming reality.

• New Turbine Engine Promises High Performance at Competitive Price—Williams International of Walled Lake, Michigan, and its industry team have designed a radically new turbofan engine, which will make turbine engines affordable for small general aviation aircraft. This engine, known as the FJX-2, is a high-bypass-ratio turbofan that will produce 700 pounds of thrust while weighing less than 100 pounds. The FJX-2 is designed to provide excellent performance while being price competitive with piston engines. Turbine engines are known for their good performance and quiet smooth operation; however, they have only been used in the top-of-the-line general aviation aircraft because they are very expensive. A turbine engine propulsion system can cost more than an entire airplane. Engine component testing has progressed at a good pace. The first full engine was scheduled to be completed and ready for testing sometime in December 1998.

For more information, contact Leo Burkardt at Lewis Research Center.
Call: 216/977-7021, Fax: 216/977-7008, E-mail: leo.burkardt@lerc.nasa.gov
Or contact H. Keith Henry at Langley Research Center.
Call: 757/864-6120, Fax: 757/864-8199, E-mail: h.k.henry@larc.nasa.gov
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Logo for the Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) consortium.