by Susan Parson, FAA Safety Briefing
The myth of Pegasus holds that by stamping his hooves on the summit of Mount Helicon, the winged white horse released a flow of sacred waters “whence the Muses quaffed their richest draughts of inspiration.” So it seems very appropriate that the acronym for the FAA’s Center of Excellence (COE) Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility, and Sustainability — PEGASAS — should invoke the story of everyone’s favorite flying equine.
To be sure, the PEGASAS effort is all about creativity. Everyone in GA can list the challenges facing our community, with the majority of these falling within one of the three categories that form this COE’s name: safety, accessibility, and sustainability. As officially stated, therefore, the mission of PEGASAS is to “enhance general aviation safety, accessibility, and sustainability by partnering the FAA with a national network of world-class researchers, educators, and industry leaders.”
The Wellspring of Creativity
The inspiring flow of research work from the PEGASAS program began in September 2012, when then-Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the selection of a COE team led by Purdue University, Ohio State University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology, with the Florida Institute of Technology, Iowa State University, and Texas A&M University rounding out the core team. Affiliate members of the partnership include Arizona State University, Florida A&M, Hampton University, Kent State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Oklahoma State University, Oregon State University, Southern Illinois University (Carbondale), Tufts University, Western Michigan University, and University of Minnesota, Duluth. (For a complete list of PEGASAS participating organizations, follow the links under the “Learn More” heading).
To underscore the very practical and (so to speak) well-grounded nature of PEGASAS research projects, the PEGASAS COE announcement included the observation that three of the six core members (Purdue, Ohio State, and Texas A&M) own and operate their own airports, with the remaining partners maintaining facilities, aircraft, and close working relationships with their own community airports.
Navigating the Creative Stream
Since then, PEGASAS has launched 30 research projects that support the FAA in ways that, as its name implies, enhance general aviation safety, accessibility, and sustainability. Specific topic areas include Airport Technology, Airport Safety, Airport Research and Development, Airport Pavements, Software and Systems, Human Factors, Weather Technology in the Cockpit, and Structures and Propulsion. Eighteen of the 30 projects are still active, and two new projects with the FAA’s Flight Deck Human Factors Research Lab at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) launched at the beginning of 2016. PEGASAS also works with the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC) as a participant in several of its teams for safety and issue analysis.
To conduct this work, PEGASAS uses a partnership of principal investigators from the participating universities. As part of the COE mission to develop the next generation of experts, both graduate-level and undergraduate students participate as well. In this connection, during the summer of 2016, PEGASAS launched its first “Center of Excellence Summer Experience” program. This effort involved having nine students from various PEGASAS universities working with researchers in the Aviation Research Division at the William J. Hughes Technical Center, and in the Flight Deck Human Factors Laboratory at CAMI.
Loosely using the “Aviate-Navigate-Communicate-Mitigate” approach we have used to frame the presentation of stories in the past few issues of FAA Safety Briefing, we will explore some of the ongoing PEGASAS work, with special focus on projects whose benefits are likely to flow into GA operations. So join us, and go with the flow!
Learn More
Meet the COE Community
In addition to the PEGASAS Center of Excellence, our focus for this issue, five other COEs are active. Since virtually everything in the aviation research field is connected, allow me to introduce the neighbors in this “COE-mmunity.”
COE for Technical Training and Human Performance
Established in 2016 and sponsored by the FAA Office of Safety and Technical Training, the TTHP COE focuses on Curriculum Architecture, Content Management and Delivery, Simulation and Part Task Training, Human Factors, Analytics, Safety, and Program Management.
For more information: www.coetthp.org
COE for Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Established in 2015 and sponsored by the FAA Office of Environment and Energy, the COE for UAS is researching Air Traffic Integration, Airworthiness, Control and Communication, Detect and Avoid (DAA), Human Factors, and Low Altitude Operations Safety.
For more information: www.assureuas.org
COE for Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment (AJFE)
Also sponsored by the FAA Office of Environment and Energy, the AJFE COE got its start in 2013. The scope of its work includes Alternative Jet Fuels (e.g., Feedstock Development, Processing and Conversion, Regional Supply and Refining Infrastructure, Environmental Benefits Analysis, Aircraft Component Deterioration and Wear, Fuel Performance Testing); and Environment (e.g., Aircraft Noise and Impacts, Aviation Emissions and Impacts, Aircraft Technology Assessment, Environmentally and Energy Efficient Gate-to-Gate Aircraft Operations, Aviation Modeling and Analysis).
For more information: http://ascent.aero
Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation (CST)
Since 2010, the COE for Commercial Space Transportation has focused its research on space traffic management and operations; space transportation operations, technologies and payload; human space flight; and space transportation industry viability. Its FAA sponsor is the Office of Commercial Space Transportation.
For more information: www.coe-cst.org
Joint Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials (JAMS)
JAMS is the only COE involving a joint effort, which involves the Center of Excellence for Composite and Advanced Materials (CECAM) and the Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials in Transport Aircraft Structures (AMTAS). Established in 2004, its FAA sponsor is the Office of Airport and Aircraft Safety R&D Division. The main focus of JAMS is the research, engineering, and development of information used to assure safety and standardize certification of existing and emerging structural applications of composites and advanced materials. Specifically, projects include the evaluation of past applications, performance of applied research, and the development of standard engineering practices.
For more information: www.jams-coe.org
Susan Parson (susan.parson@faa.gov, or @avi8rix for Twitter fans) is editor of FAA Safety Briefing. She is an active general aviation pilot and flight instructor.
