Drucella Andersen
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                          June 23, 
1994
(Phone:  202/358-4733)

Marcia Adams
Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, D.C.
(Phone:  202/267-8521)

Mary Sandy
Virginia Space Grant Consortium
(Phone:  804/865-0726)


RELEASE:  94-102

 NASA/FAA SPONSOR GENERAL AVIATION COMPETITION

   NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today 
announced their joint sponsorship of a general aviation design 
competition for students at U.S. aeronautical and engineering 
universities.  The contest will challenge teams of undergraduate 
and graduate students -- working with faculty advisors -- to 
develop a multi-disciplinary design for a general aviation 
aircraft.

   Complete competition guidelines will be available by mid-July.  
Designs must be submitted by May 1, 1995.  Up to four cash awards 
totaling $11,000 will be announced at an awards ceremony in July 
1995 at the annual Experimental Aircraft Association Fly-In 
Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Oshkosh, Wisc.

   "These are the types of opportunities NASA needs to develop to 
capture the bold initiative and innovative enthusiasm that exists 
in our nation's college ranks," said Dr. Wesley L. Harris, NASA's 
Associate Administrator for Aeronautics.  "This partnership with 
academia -- and ultimately, industry -- represents the way we want 
to do business at NASA," he said.

   Richard A. Weiss, the FAA's Director of General Aviation and 
Vertical Flight Research and Development notes, "It is the policy 
of the FAA to foster and promote general aviation.  It is our hope 
that participation by universities will become an integral part of 
the revitalization effort now underway and that the competition 
will serve to stimulate breakthroughs in technology and its 
application."

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   Technologies to be addressed in the competitive designs will 
include integrated cockpit systems, propulsion, integrated design 
and manufacturing and aerodynamics.  For purposes of the 
competition, general aviation aircraft are defined as fixed-wing, 
single-engine, single pilot, propeller-driven aircraft.

   "Universities have drifted away from general aviation with the 
decline in the industry's condition.  NASA and the FAA developed 
this competition to help reverse that trend and begin to involve 
faculty and students in general aviation," said Dr. Bruce J. 
Holmes, Manager of NASA's General Aviation Program Office, Langley 
Research Center, Hampton, Va.

   All designs submitted in accordance with competition guidelines 
will be reviewed by a selection panel of representatives from 
NASA, the FAA and industry.  All design projects will receive 
critical evaluation  and feedback.  Faculty and students are 
encouraged to plan now to incorporate this design challenge into 
fall design classes and projects.  Involvement of industry 
advisors is encouraged, as is the participation of  women and 
minorities on design teams.  Teaming across departments and among 
institutions also is encouraged.

   Interested faculty and students may request guidelines from:  
Virginia Space Grant Consortium, 2713-D Magruder Blvd., Hampton, 
Va. 23666.  Requests may be faxed to 804/865-7965.  The 
Consortium, a nonprofit aerospace educational coalition, is 
disseminating information on the competition on behalf of the 
sponsoring agencies. 

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