HU joins group to increase safety and enhance the future of aviation
Hampton University has been named an
affiliate member of the FAA Center of Excellence Partnership to Enhance General
Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability (PEGASAS) group. The PEGASAS
group is a part of the newly established FAA Center of Excellence led by Purdue
University, The Ohio State University and the Georgia Institute of
Technology.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
recently established the Air Transportation Center of Excellence (COE) for
general aviation. The COE will focus research and testing efforts on
safety, accessibility and sustainability to enhance the future of general
aviation.
The FAA’s COE program is a cost-sharing
research partnership between academia, industry and the federal
government. Research and development efforts by PEGASAS will cover a
broad spectrum of general aviation safety issues, including airport technology,
propulsion and structures, airworthiness, flight safety, fire safety, human
factors, system safety management and weather.
Hampton University’s Department of Aviation is the only Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCU) in America with a FAA approved air traffic control
instruction program. Graduates from the HU aviation programs have established
careers as pilots for the military and commercial airplanes and serve in airports
and air traffic control towers across the country.
The FAA established the first Center of
Excellence for General Aviation in 2001 through a 10-year agreement to conduct
general aviation research in airport and aircraft safety areas. The
research topics included pilot training, human factors, weather, Automatic
Dependent Surveillance/Broadcast (ADS-B), remote airport lighting systems and
other matters.
As the first Center of Excellence for General
Aviation research concludes, the new team will continue critical research,
testing and education efforts. The FAA intends to invest a minimum of $500,000
per year during the first five years of the new, 10-year agreement with
PEGASAS.