|
“To supervise and
direct the scientific study of the
problems of flight with a view to their practical
solution.”
The foregoing statement was
included in the charter of the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) upon its creation
by Congress in 1915. The Langley Memorial Aeronautical
Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia, was the first—and
until 1941 the only—NACA research center.
Langley became one of the brilliant jewels in the
crown of U.S. government research establishments,
and its contributions to the Nation’s military
and civil aircraft are legendary. After it was
incorporated into the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) as the Langley Research
Center in 1958, it continued to play a key role
in aeronautical research and development. NASA
Langley has historically excelled in maintaining
a leading position in many critical aircraft design
and development disciplines, such as aerodynamics,
structures and materials, flight deck technology,
flight dynamics, and instrumentation and measurement
research. The development and operation of world-class
aeronautical testing facilities and research aircraft
is a priority of the Center, as well as maintaining
a close working relationship with the civil aviation
sector.
Within its charter, NASA conducts
cooperative research with U.S. industry, other
government agencies, and educational institutions
if appropriate common interests and cooperative
funding are provided. The breadth of these critical
organizational interfaces includes the airframe
and engine industries, airport and airline operators,
and government agencies such as the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA). Under cooperative study guidelines,
considerable benefits occur for both parties. For
example, NASA researchers benefit from participating
in projects that extrapolate, challenge, and validate
their individual disciplinary concepts, while industry
benefits from the expertise and unique facilities
of the NASA Centers. A high priority is placed
by NASA on the rapid, timely dissemination of information
to appropriate U.S. organizations, while being
extremely sensitive to proprietary interests and
the protection of technology and critical intellectual
property.
Traditionally, NASA’s
aeronautical research studies are basic (fundamental,
physics-based, or applied science) or focused (specific
systems-level goals). NASA formulates, develops,
and conducts research programs to meet the requirements
for national needs. Such programs can be stimulated
by either a rapid acceleration in basic research
that leads to progress for certain critical or
beneficial technologies (technology push) or critical
national requirements for certain technologies
(requirements pull).
Numerous NASA focused programs
for civil aircraft have emerged and delivered unprecedented
opportunities for the maturation of key technologies
to the U.S. airframe, propulsion, and avionics
and flight controls industries for the design of
advanced aircraft. In addition, data provided by
these programs have led to significant improvements
in the efficiency and safety of the U.S. air transportation
system and an improved quality of life for both
the flying and nonflying public. Focused programs
have touched virtually every aspect of civil aviation,
from fuel efficiency to the advancement of personal
owner aircraft systems.
Several of these focused programs
have stimulated Langley’s contributions to
civil aircraft of the 1990s. Three of the most
important of these programs for civil aeronautics
were
- The Aircraft Energy Efficiency (ACEE) Program
- The Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST) Program
- The Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments
(AGATE) Program
The ACEE Program was a national
research and development response to the potentially
disastrous impact of the fuel crisis of the early
1970s on the air transportation system. From 1973
to 1975, the fuel prices paid by U.S. airlines
almost tripled, and fuel costs rose from about
20 percent of a typical airline’s direct
operating costs in the early 1970s to 60 percent
by 1982. In recognition of the potentially devastating
impact of the situation on air transportation,
the U.S. Senate, in January 1975, requested that
NASA develop a program that would provide the structural,
engine, aerodynamics, and control technologies
required for future air transport industry designs.
NASA responded with a program plan for a 10-year,
$600 million program that involved industry as
a major partner. The ACEE Program was approved
and launched in 1976. In 1978, the ACEE Program
accounted for almost 70 percent of the funding
in NASA’s research for advanced civil aircraft.
The NASA aeronautical research centers of Langley,
Glenn, Ames, and Dryden participated in the ACEE
Program. The results of research conducted during
ACEE have had a profound and enduring effect on
large commercial aircraft of the 1980s and 1990s,
and its impact will continue far into the future.
The scope of the program included engine component
improvements, energy efficient engine technologies,
turboprop technologies, energy-efficient transport
aerodynamics and controls, laminar flow control,
and advanced composites.
The AST Program was initiated
in 1992 as a research partnership of NASA, U.S.
industry, and the FAA. The vision of the AST Program
was a new generation of environmentally compatible
and economically viable aircraft. Technical goals
were directed at several elements of technology
for large commercial transports. Perhaps the most
unique aspect of the AST Program was the fact that
integrated NASA and industry teams were formed
to conduct research in several critical areas.
Technical exchanges within disciplinary lines between
competitors had been virtually unprecedented prior
to the AST Program, yet the technical work of the
NASA program permitted the sharing of results and
information without concern for proprietary disclosure.
Following this pioneering arrangement, the AST
Program elements proceeded to make enormous progress
in design methods and analysis tools until NASA
canceled the program in 1999. Unfortunately, the
results of these efforts occurred after the design
and operational entry of the latest large U.S.
commercial transport, the Boeing 777. Although
these technologies did not contribute directly
to operational aircraft of the 1990s, the technology
and method improvements will certainly be used
for derivative and future aircraft in the early
twenty-first century.
In the 1980s, the U.S. general
aviation industry nearly collapsed. At its peak
in 1978, the U.S. general aviation industry delivered
14,398 aircraft. In 1994, the number of aircraft
deliveries had fallen to an all-time low of 444.
The average age of general aviation aircraft flying
at that time was about 30 years. Flight deck technologies
in use dated back as late as the 1950s, and piston
propulsion technologies had remained unchanged
for the past 40 years. Building on its long established
relationship with the general aviation industry,
Langley took the lead in cooperative planning with
industry to create a new future for general aviation.
Under the General Aviation Element of the AST Program
Office, the AGATE Consortium was formed in 1994.
The AGATE alliance included industry, universities,
the FAA, and other government agencies. AGATE goals
included the development of affordable new technologies,
as well as new approaches to meeting industry standards
and certification methods for airframe, cockpit,
flight training systems, and airspace infrastructure
for next-generation single pilot, 4–6 place,
all-weather light airplanes. Starting with NASA
seed funding of $63 million in 1994, NASA, the
FAA, the Small Business Innovation Research Program
(SBIR), industry, and universities have pooled
nearly $200 million in combined resources among
39 cost-sharing partners. About 30 other partners
also joined the effort as non-cost-sharing, supporting
members of the AGATE Consortium, for a total of
nearly 70 members to revitalize U.S. general aviation
through the rapid development and fielding of new
technologies for a small aircraft transportation
system. In addition to restoring the health of
manufacturers that provided aircraft from business
jets to personal-owner aircraft, it was projected
that the general aviation transportation capability
may become a viable answer to the increased demand
for air transportation expected in the 2000s.
The cumulative result of AGATE
produced a revolution in the research and technology
deployment capacity for all sectors of the U.S.
general aviation industry. AGATE provided a voice
for industry to provide national clarity and action
on key technology development, certification, and
standards-setting activities. During AGATE, which
ended in 2001, the research and technology capacity
of the general aviation industry advanced from
virtually nonexistent to world-class in avionics,
propulsion, airframes, and flight training.
NASA Langley Research Center
has made significant contributions to civil aircraft
and the operation of the civil aviation system.
Langley’s critical contributions to the civil
aviation industry come from a staff that is experienced
in research and highly trained in disciplines that
range from fundamental physics to applied engineering.
With sensitivity toward the unique problems and
challenges facing the U.S. civil aviation industry,
Langley researchers have conceived and conducted
extremely relevant research that has been applied
directly to civil aircraft. These contributions
have benefited U.S. citizens through an improved
civil aviation system that transports people and
goods with greater safety, efficiency, and economy.
|