Collegiate Times

Thirty major airports operate throughout the United States — and all are plagued with excess air traffic, delays and cancellations. Those who drive on the highways find themselves in a maze of congestion, construction, delays and accidents.

In efforts to solve this ever-expanding epidemic, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration, are partnering with Virginia Tech and other universities to research and develop a system that will allow for the expansion of small aircraft transportation.

Researchers with several Tech engineering departments began the study and development of the Small Aircraft Transportation System in 2000.  The system is designed to allow travel through smaller aircraft and the nation’s 5,000 small airports — making commuting not only easier, but also more accessible.

Virginia Tech project director Howard Swingle, a senior research associate at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, along with faculty members and graduate students, are working on research, development and demonstration of airborne technologies that will potentially enable small aircraft precise and safe access to almost any small airport in a host of weather conditions.

In 2005, researchers in Virginia Tech’s Air Transportation Lab developed the Air Transportation System Analysis Model, to predict the effects SATS will have on air travel throughout the U.S. Gathering data from across the country, ranging from destination to mode of transportation, to cost, they devised a model that illustrates how the use of SATS and small aircraft could potentially change conventional travel. Using the model, the team has concluded the system can save people travel time and give them access to more locations throughout the United States.    

The system could be deployed as early as 2015 and be fully operational by 2020.