10/8/96

CONTACT: Dennis Atkeson, Avionics Engineering Center, 614-593-1532

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Avionics Engineering Center in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology at Ohio University has signed a five-year, $5 million contract with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), continuing a partnership that began more than 30 years ago.

The center has several ongoing projects with the FAA, including development of new instrument landing and guidance systems, new applications of Global Positioning System technology for aircraft navigation and landing, and tests of existing and new technology used by the FAA.

"The Federal Aviation Administration has been the principal source of engineering and research opportunities for the center since its inception in 1963," said Bob Lilley, director of the center. "During the succeeding three decades, center faculty, staff and students have supported FAA requirements in the navigation, landing systems, communications and radio-frequency interference areas -- producing systems and techniques which are in use nationwide. This collaboration continues today with increasing emphasis on satellite navigation systems."

Among the research projects involved with this renewed contract will be a project to test a new state-of-the-art electronic guidance system developed by Wilcox, a manufacturer of transmitters for landing and navigation systems. The center is helping to develop the software for the system and install it at participating airports.

The center works with the FAA to design and develop airborne and ground-based data acquisition systems. Researchers will also study radio-frequency interference and how that problem affects en route navigation and instrument landing systems.