After working informally with the Federal Aviation Administration, DayJet Corporation signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the FAA to begin a five-year, phased implementation of proven NextGen technologies throughout Florida. The tests, which will include collaboration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the Florida Department of Transportation Aviation Office, will be conducted over Florida.
The tests are part of an effort by the Personal Air Transportation Alliance which expects VLJs to play a critical role in testing the NextGen technologies and DayJet’s agreement is the leading edge of these efforts to prove and quicken the deployment of new technology. PATA expects member tests to prove the technology outside busy commercial airports and maximize system usage by expanding usage underused airports and airspace. Related Story
The agreement establishes a government-industry partnership responsible for developing replicable procedures that can be used for the accelerated deployment of NextGen technologies nationally, integrating real-time surveillance and performance data in the air carrier's network control system, and setting the stage for automated flight planning and disruption recovery, said DayJet.

Phased NextGen Implementation
The first phase of the project (2008-2010) will focus on deploying Required Navigation Performance (RNP) technology for performance-based navigation, allowing aircraft operators to fly more precise flight paths at optimum altitudes to reduce fuel burn, carbon emissions, and noise. In addition, this phase will deploy Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology for performance-based surveillance that will enable pilots to see other aircraft in their vicinity, improving safety while increasing airspace capacity.
The second phase (2009-2011) will implement System Wide Information Management (SWIM) for enhanced weather awareness and management, and the third phase (2011-2013) will deploy performance-based communications for flight planning and flight plan management.

"As the largest VLJ operator and first fully digital air carrier, DayJet is uniquely positioned to collaborate with the FAA and other key groups to bring NextGen to life," Chief Executive Officer Ed Iacobucci said. "DayJet has already worked closely with the FAA and Florida Department of Transportation to make our per-seat, on-demand jet service a reality. We are proud to leverage our technology and expertise to help the nation enter the new age of digital aviation."
Setting the stage for the first integrated implementation of NextGen capabilities for passenger services in the continental U.S., the DayJet NextGen project is also the first to focus on the safe expansion of airspace outside metropolitan areas via small community airports using very light jet (VLJ) aircraft operated by a Part 135 on-demand air carrier. The news follows the March 10 announcement by Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters that Florida will serve as the national test bed for accelerating NextGen. The benefits will be a reduction in fuel consumption, carbon emissions, noise footprint and travel time.
Florida Representative John L. Mica, Republican Leader of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee stated: “Florida has a long history of aeronautical innovation and firsts. Our state has the leadership, expertise and innovation to take on this important project that will help the nation make informed, successful improvement to the national aviation infrastructure.”

Florida NextGen Participants
Sharing its flight data and operational implementation expertise, DayJet will work closely with state and federal agencies to develop priorities for airspace procedures and airport capabilities.Under the agreement, DayJet, over the next five years, will operate its Eclipse 500 VLJ fleet with equipment that will enable it to provide the government with data that comprise the key components of NextGen, which are necessary to achieve Performance-Based Air Traffic Management System including:
• New means of accurate navigation and control that will trim air lanes from several miles wide to a few hundred feet.
• New technology for tracking aircraft that will make the position of aircraft known everywhere and anywhere based on equipment in the airplane instead of radar on the ground.
• Networked digital radios that will bring the speed and knowledge-gathering qualities of the Internet into the cockpit.
• System-wide Information Management Systems for weather, traffic and airport conditions that will reduce flight planning costs, while increasing flexibility and accuracy.

The project will include major participation by the Daytona Beach campus of Embry-Riddle which will be responsible for project management, airspace modeling and simulation, implementing RNP procedures and ADS-B applications along with developing curricula for NextGen education. In addition, the Florida Institute of Technology will perform studies of the energy, carbon footprint and noise benefits associated with the implementation of NextGen Technologies.
“We see this as the natural combination of private business, higher education, and the federal government working together to set the course for the future of air traffic management,” Dr. Tim Brady, dean of the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus said.
The Florida Department of Transportation will participate in planning the routes and airports for NextGen implementation. In addition, the State Aviation Office will be involved in the evaluation of the economic benefits of NextGen at the State and local levels.
"Florida is a nexus for air transportation challenges and opportunities, and the leaders of the new on-demand industry are well positioned for early adoption of NextGen by virtue of their new aircraft, new business models, and willingness to invest,” Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Stephanie C. Kopelousos said. “We are proud to continue in this tradition by working with DayJet, Embry-Riddle and others to usher in a new age of digital aviation that will produce a scalable expansion of the nation’s airspace with benefits in footprint, cost, mobility and economic opportunity.”