Byline: AKWELI PARKER, STAFF WRITER
HAMPTON -- Used to be that personal computers were costly status symbols indulged in only by the wealthy or nerds by who could build their own. That's still the case with aircraft, but things could change with the ``personal airplane.''
The Cirrus SR20 visited the National Aeronautics and Research Administration's Langley Research Center on Thursday, offering a glimpse of the possible future of personal transportation.
The SR20 is one of the first two FAA-certified production aircraft to use technology developed by AGATE - the Advanced General Aviation Transports Experiment - a Langley-led group of more than 70 people from academia, industry, the Federal Aviation Administration and other government agencies.
``What we targeted was intercity travel of more than 150 miles and less than 1,000 miles,'' said Bruce Gunter, a Durham, N.C.-based sales manager and pilot for Cirrus Design, a plane-maker based in Duluth, Minn. The SR20 seats only four, but ``if you look at cars, the average load factor is 1.7 passengers,'' Gunter said.
AGATE advocates portray the program as eventually aiding travelers in small cities that will never be practical for big airlines to serve. Also, they say, it will substantially flatten the learning curve it takes to become a pilot.
``There haven't really been any advancements in this industry since the 1960s,'' said Bruce Holmes, AGATE consortium director.
The program aims to make flying a plane almost as easy as driving a car, albeit four times faster. Replacing what pilots jokingly call ``steam gauge'' dials and instruments are digital, flat-panel displays that relay critical flight data such as altitude and airspeed, as well as radar images of approaching bad weather or terrain.
Planes using AGATE-developed technology also benefit from more crashworthy frames, lightweight composite construction and more ``intuitive'' controls. The Cirrus even employs a ``full-plane'' parachute - one of the first, if not the first, in the industry - for escaping spins and stalls.
Supporters are betting the new technology will accelerate the turnaround of the U.S. general aviation industry - broadly defined as small, propeller-driven aircraft.
After nearly 15 years of abysmal sales, the industry rebounded about three years ago. Many observers attribute it to the passage of a law in 1994 that limits aircraft manufacturers' liability for accidents in older airplanes.
Gunter said Cirrus has several orders from ``customers who don't even have their pilots' license yet. They realize the simplicity'' of operating the plane.
About three years remain in the eight-year AGATE program, which will cost taxpayers about $60 million. Industry contributions will make the total investment around $100 million. In addition, NASA has $55 million invested in a program to develop two ``revolutionary'' engines for light aircraft.
``Like any innovation, the cost at the outset is pretty high,'' said Holmes. But he said the planes sport built-in savings - like more efficient wings that reduce fuel-robbing turbulence.
In a related announcement, NASA said Thursday it was teaming with seven companies to develop a virtual ``highway in the sky'' that will guide a pilot to the destination. It will feature a 3-D, computer-drawn flight path on one of the displays. The program will cost about $6 million - half from NASA and half from industry.
So, will Joe Lunchpail ever be able to commute from Hampton Roads to a job in Northern Virginia in a personal plane of his own?
Not for a while. The Cirrus SR20 goes for $171,300. The other plane on the market that uses AGATE innovations, Lancair's Columbia 300, has a similarly stratospheric price.
AGATE-inspired planes of the future are expected to cost about $100,000 - still not pocket change. Gunter predicted that the non-wealthy will turn to ``fractional ownership'' of light planes much as people do for condominiums or timeshares.
Gunter said that for the SR20 (which takes two years for delivery), someone could buy a one-eigth interest ``for the price of a nicely equipped Honda Accord.''
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Color photos by Motoya Nakamura
The Cirrus SR20
Bruce Gunter...
