Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments

The Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) project was a consortium of NASA, the FAA, the general aviation industry and a number of universities. Its goal was to create a Small Aviation Transportation System (SATS) as an alternative to short-range automotive trips for both private and business transportation needs. The Small Aviation Transportation System will make many time-sensitive short-haul trips more affordable for business, medical, public safety and recreational pursuits.

The AGATE Alliance was launched in 1994 and born out of an effort to stem the gradual decline of general aviation innovation in the United States. It played an instrumental role in the forging of joint technology development and testing partnerships between Government, industry and vital non-profit contributors.

The AGATE Alliance was organized as an operating partnership between government, industry, and academia established to develop new ways of reviving the troubled general aviation industry. The partnership is the product of two years of government-industry collaboration. The Alliance, composed of representatives from each partnership sector, has been formed to give the revitalization effort formal structure. It will also leverage and focus resources for higher risk efforts with higher payoffs.

General aviation, defined as all flying except the military services and commercial airlines, had fallen from its position of economic prominence in the late 1970s to record lows in the mid-1980s before recovering in the late 1990s. American GA aircraft production numbers declined down from 18,000 in 1978 to 954 in 1993, an all-time low. Regulatory restrictions, liability claims and a withering of the product innovation pipeline took their toll on the industry, driving up prices and causing some businesses to file for bankruptcy.

Approximately 70 U.S. aviation-related organizations and companies, including NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), private industry, academia, and non-profit organizations, agreed to reverse these downward trends. Together, this consortium worked to develop safer, more affordable aircraft and user-friendly flight systems that promise to improve pilot training and simplify operations in and near congested airports.

The AGATE Alliance design was generated by the American Technology Initiative, Inc. (AmTech), a California non-profit corporation retained by NASA to organize and operationally support public/private technology alliances. The AGATE Alliance was finalized by negotiations between AmTech staff members, NASA, and the many alliance participants.

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