Faculty from the University of Notre Dame's Center for Flow Physics and Controls Aero-Optics has contracted Riley Aviation to provide aircraft, pilots and flight time for their five-year project that initiates, records and analyses laser movement between aircraft.

With funding from a Joint Technology Office Grant administered by the Airforce, the university's Aero-Optics group mission is to understand how the turbulence around an aircraft affects light and laser transmissions and how turbulence-imposed distortions can be corrected.  The research is expected to pave the way for speed-of-light, free-space communications that would occur between aircraft, aircraft-to-ground and aircraft-to-satellites.  Ultimately, this work may lead to the use of high-speed Internet during commercial flights.

Project test flights began in September and project members face a weighty to-do list over the next five years.  A new, larger wind tunnel facility is being constructed for the project and Boeing has been contracted to build parts for the aircraft testing devices.  Riley Aviation's Citation I and Citation II jets have been selected for the test flights.  "We're extremely proud to be involved with a legendary institution like Notre Dame," stated Riley Aviation president David Riley, "and we're happy to assist in the advancement of technology in our industry."

For more information about Notre Dame University visit www.nd.edu.   To learn more about Notre Dame's Department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering visit www.nd.edu/~aoptics/ or call 574.631.5430.