The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)‘s William J. Hughes Technical Center will soon be developing a 10-year plan, according to Gary Mitchell, ACPA Airports Director and Member-Airport Subcommittee of FAA‘s Research, Engineering, & Development Advisory Committee (REDAC). Mitchell met with other submcommittee members recently at the technical center, located just outside of Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA.
The 10-year plan will encompass the 2020-2030 Research Landscape for the National Airspace System (NAS) and will include input from the entire technical center. The plan is being developed in consideration of current and future changes facing the aviation industry—including unmanned aerial vehicles, spaceports, aircraft changes, infrastructure materials, air space challenges, terminal needs, etc.
“The FAA has requested the subcommittee develop a list of research drivers that we see will drive airspace and airport research over the next 10 years,” Mitchell says. He added that the FAA will be relying in part on the asphalt and concrete pavement industries to provide input about where we envision the future of airfield infrastructure.
Located 10 miles northwest of Atlantic City, N.J., and covering over 5,000 acres, the William J. Hughes Technical Center consists of state-of-the art laboratories, test facilities, support facilities, the Atlantic City International Airport (ACY), and a non-commercial aircraft hangar. The Technical Center is the nation’s premier air transportation system laboratory. The Technical Center‘s highly technical and diverse workforce conducts test and evaluation, verification and validation, and sustainment of the FAA‘s full spectrum of aviation systems, and develops scientific solutions to current and future air transportation safety challenges by conducting applied research and development. Technical Center engineers, scientists, mathematicians, and technical experts utilize a robust, one-of-a-kind, world class laboratory environment to identify integrated system solutions for the modernization and sustainment of the NAS Laboratories, and for delivering NextGen operational capabilities. With more than 50 years of achievement and excellence, the Technical Center continues to serve as the cornerstone for aviation innovation across the globe.
REDAC supports the development of the FAA’s research and development portfolio through strategic planning, budget formulation, program execution, and program evaluation.
For more information on the FAA‘s William J. Hughes Technical Center, please go to: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ang/offices/tc/
and:
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ang/offices/tc/about/
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Finishing tests at FAA Tech Center/#AtlanticCity for
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