Small Aircraft Transportation System
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The Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) is a joint research project between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), along with local airports and aviation authorities. It is designed to facilitate transportation between small General Aviation airports using small aircraft as an alternative to traditional airline travel.
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Conception
The terrorist attacks of September the 11th caused the Transportation Security Administration to dramatically increase security measures. These increases also increased the time passengers had to spend at the airport before making it onto a flight. After the tourism industry rebounded from the recession caused by the attacks, the increase in traffic further increased the strain on the system.NASA and the FAA saw in General Aviation, the cure to the aviation industries problems. With more than 3,400 small airports in the U.S. alone, a large amount of traffic could be diverted from mass transit airline travel, to private, small aircraft General Aviation.
With new technologies proposed by NASA and new logistics, systems and infrastructure developed by the FAA, the idea was born.
Proposed Technology
A poor safety record, low capacity, and weather complications were seen as the greatest barrier of the SATS program. As such, research was proposed by NASA for the following four areas:
- High-volume operations at airports without control towers or terminal radar facilities
- Technologies enabling safe landings at more airports in almost all weather conditions
- Integration of SATS aircraft into a higher capacity air traffic control system, with complex flows and slower aircraft
- Improved single-pilot ability to function competently in evolving, complex national airspace
Sources
[NASA SATS fact sheet]External links
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