Avionics
SATS sitting pretty as NASA begins field demos
Just as very light jets are on the verge of joining the new generation of general aviation aircraft produced by Cirrus and Lancair, NASA has begun field de

Just as very light jets are on the verge of joining the new generation of general aviation aircraft produced by Cirrus and Lancair, NASA has begun field demonstrations of its Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) in preparation for a more comprehensive proof-of-concept drill next summer at the Danville Regional Airport, Va.

Although the weather was decidedly uncooperative, the Maryland Mid-Atlantic SATSLab (MMSL) held a briefing on this emerging technology at Easton/Newman Field on Maryland’s Eastern Shore last month. That the organization’s Cessna 402 couldn’t do a real-time demo flight was rather ironic in that two of the stated goals of SATS are to demonstrate lower landing minimums at minimally equipped landing facilities and higher-volume operations in non-radar airspace and at non-tower airports.