Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington, DC                       August 1, 1997
(Phone:  202/358-1726)

Keith Henry
Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
(Phone:  757/864-6120)

Les Dorr
FAA Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone:  202/267-8521)

Mary Sandy
Virginia Space Grant Consortium, Hampton, VA
(Phone:  757/865-0726)

RELEASE: 97-164


NASA AND FAA ANNOUNCE AVIATION DESIGN COMPETITION WINNERS

     Winners of the 1997 National General Aviation Design 
Competition were named by NASA and the Federal Aviation 
Administration today.  The competition, which is in its third 
year, allows university students to participate in a major 
national effort to rebuild the U.S. general aviation sector.

     NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin and FAA Acting 
Administrator Barry Valentine presented the awards in a ceremony 
at the Experimental Aircraft Association's Annual Convention and 
Fly-In at Oshkosh, WI.

     For the purpose of the contest, general aviation aircraft are 
defined as single-pilot, 
fixed-wing, single-engine, propeller-driven aircraft for two to 
six passengers.  Teams of undergraduate and graduate students from 
U.S. engineering schools work with faculty advisors to address 
design challenges for a small aircraft transportation system.  The 
competition seeks to raise student awareness of the value of 
general aviation for business and personal use, while promoting an 
understanding of its economic relevance.  NASA and the FAA believe 
that this kind of competition serves to stimulate breakthroughs in 
technology and their application in the general aviation market.

     The national goal for revitalizing the industry presents 
excellent, open-ended design challenges that stimulate engineering 
students and provide the basis for a quality, real-world 
educational experience.  Teams were asked to address design 
challenges in one or more of the following technical areas:  
Integrated cockpit systems; propulsion; noise and emissions; 
integrated design and manufacturing; aerodynamics; operating 
infrastructure; and new designs such as air-cars.

     Students may consider designs for an entire aircraft or for a 
system or subsystem.  The first place award was presented to a 
student team from the University of Kansas, Wichita State 
University, and Kansas State University.  The teams design offers 
a four-passenger, kit plane "for the pilot with limited 
resources."  The design claims payload, range, cruise velocity, 
take-off and landing field lengths, rate of climb, and handling 
qualities comparable to a Cessna 172R for about half the cost, or 
$75,000.  

     The team calls its aircraft "Adagio" in honor of its 
potential for graceful flight reminiscent of the adagio musical 
movement of a symphony.  The design uses a Zoche AeroDiesel Engine 
Z0 02A and features an unusual, inverted "V" tail.  The team 
believes that its design can be built in about 200 hours, a 
fraction of the time required for current kit planes.  The short 
assembly time for the Adagio is due to use of pre-assembled/pre-
fabricated structures.  This approach would require a new 
interpretation of FAAs rule which requires an owner to build 
and/or fabricate at least 50 percent of a kit-type plane.

     This is the second time the Kansas team has garnered the 
first place award in this prestigious and highly competitive 
competiton.  As the first place winner, design team members will 
share a cash award of $3,000 while the participating unversity 
departments will share a $5,000 cash award.

     The second place award was presented to students from the 
Department of Aerospace Engineering at Pennsylvania State 
University, University Park.  The design, dubbed "The Stingray," 
won praise from the review panel as a well-engineered aircraft 
design with realistic costing.  The panel cited the team for 
excellent targeting of general aviation revitalization goals.  The 
design features a high-performance aircraft, with a high-power, 
turbocharged engine and retractable landing gear.  A low-wing, 
pusher configuration is used, with advanced composite materials 
offering lighter-weight and improved aerodynamic efficiency.  
Crashworthiness, good stall characteristics, structural 
simplification for ease of manufacturing, and a user-friendly, 
multifunctional-display cockpit were also hallmarks of the award-
winning design.  As the second place winner, team members will 
share a cash award of $2,000.

     The third place award was presented to a student design team 
from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg.  The team 
will share a $1,000 cash award.  This design is for a sport 
utility aircraft named the "VenTure."  A single-engine, propeller 
diver, fixed-wing amphibious aircraft, the VenTure can take-off 
and land on water and then taxi onto land, or land on standard 
runways through the use of a hydraulic retraction landing gear 
system.  The energy-efficient and environmentally friendly 
aircraft uses a powerful and light Aero-Diesel engine with record 
low emission levels.  The aircraft incorporates many design 
elements that enhance safety and add passenger comfort.

     A special award for Greatest Retrofit Potential was given to 
Jennifer Wilson, a Princeton University student. The award was 
given because Wilsons design offered the greatest potential for 
being retrofitted in currently operating general aviation 
aircraft.  Wilson, a senior and May graduate majoring in 
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, received the $500 award, 
which is sponsored by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association 
Air Safety Foundation.  Wilsons design presents innovative ideas 
for simplication of cockpit instrumentation through the inclusion 
of a head-up display as an approach to reducing pilot error. 

     The intuitive display drew praise from the competitions 
expert review panel for its simplicity and uncluttered 
presentation of information using symbols that have universal 
appeal, cross language barriers and minimize the use of numerical 
data.  Simple and effective visuals provide critical take-off and 
landing data, situational awareness, engine/fuel information, 
altitude data and stall warnings.

     Wilsons award is unique in that it is the first in the 
competition ever given to a design submission by an individual.  
All previous awards in the prestigious and highly competitive 
competition have gone to student teams.

     The National General Aviation Design Competition is 
coordinated for NASA and the FAA by the Virginia Space Grant 
Consortium.  Guidelines for the fourth annual competition, to be 
held during the 1997-1998 academic year, will be available from 
the Consortium in August by calling  757/865-0726 or by E-mail 
message to:  msandy@pen.k12.va.us.

                          -end-