We've provided full program support for this co-operative effort between the FAA and the aviation fuels industry since 1995. The program is aimed at developing and certifying an unleaded replacement for the current leaded general aviation gasoline.

Research on this task led SyPort to develop fuels testing standards which are now used on an industry-wide basis. The standards have been accepted and published by the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) as a Standard Practice.

SyPort is the prime contractor for the FASTER Program (Full-Scale Aircraft Structural Test and Evaluation Research). The program conducts dynamic fatigue testing on full-scale aircraft panels. Real-time viewing, collection, and analyis of sensor data is performed using state-of-the-art computer-based test equipment. The data gained in these tests helps to verify theories of crack origination and growth and provides a basis for aircraft inspection requirements.

SyPort also supports the crashworthiness research program at the W.J. Hughes Technical Center. Aircraft fuselage sections are stripped to the shell and refitted with test seats and overhead storage. Specially instrumented test dummies in common seating arrangements are used to measure impact forces. The tests are designed to measure how the fuselage of a large, high-wing transport aircraft would respond if it were involved in a severe but survivable crash.