The hope is that NextGen will move aircraft more efficiently and save fuel as it relies on satellite signals which reach farther than radar. Satellite signals also will allow more consistent tracking of airplane movements than radar, which has an interval of nearly five seconds between trackings as the radar dish revolves, Takemoto said.
One of the recipients of last week’s contracts is Booz Allen Hamilton, of McLean, Va., a government consultant with an office in Miami Valley Research Park that serves Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Under the 10-year contract worth up to $700 million, Booz Allen Hamilton is to work with other contractors and the FAA to determine how to take various NextGen research projects from the development and testing stage to field deployment, Takemoto said Wednesday, July 7.
Within the past two months, the FAA has awarded NextGen contracts to Boeing Co., General Dynamics Corp., ITT Corp. and Georgia Institute of Technology. A 10-year contract for Metron Aviation, of Dulles, Va., worth up to $1.15 billion, was one of the FAA’s largest awards ever to a small business, Takemoto said.
The contracts cover everything from engineering, air traffic flow designs and environmental analysis to how flight crews will work with advanced technology in the cockpit.
Wright State University disclosed in April that researchers in its Ohio Center of Excellence for Human-Centered Innovation had reached a five-year agreement with the FAA to develop standards that would make it easier for humans to work with cockpit technology and displays.
United Parcel Service has also supported NextGen development by installing technology in some of its planes to demonstrate how pilots could help manage spacing between aircraft and reduce fuel consumption with more direct, satellite-tracked approaches to airports.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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