In the decades since the historical flight of the Wright Brothers, aviation has evolved at a remarkable pace. The driving forces behind its evolution were, and still are, private industry and the government. Presently, there is a wealth of information pertaining to aeronautics on the Internet. There is commercial and government information describing the industry's history, research and development, and regulations- to name a few. Unfortunately, this valuable information is useless unless you know where it is.

The purpose of this page is to introduce you to government information on the Internet devoted to aviation. The information is divided into five categories: museums, education, research, regulations, and odds & ends. The categories and sites are not meant to be exhaustive. Rather, they are good places to begin digesting government information about aviation.

National Air & Space Museum of The Smithsonian Institution could be considered the premiere aviation museum. Its website provides a wealth of information about the museum, and allows the visitor to search its archives, collection, and library. Some of the links include collections and research; exhibits; public programs and information; departments; membership; online features; faq; and employment information. A good site for just about anyone interested in aviation-the student, the scientist, and the aviation enthusiast. The Smithsonian Institution is also a good site for aviation enthusiast especially its aviation history series.

United States Air Force Museum is not merely a military institution. This institution commemorates the achievements (and failures) of aviation. The Air Force Museum website divulges information about the museum (departments, calendar, etc.), and allows persons to visit its galleries. There are also links to topical information about aviation history and equipment as well as links to other military museums.

List of aviation museums provides a listing of both public and private aviation museums.

Dryden Flight Research Center's Education Web Server Dryden is responsible for flight research and flight testing. Fortunately, they allow much of their research to be accessed for educational purposes. This website contains links to teacher enhancement programs; student (k-12) programs; undergraduate and graduate programs; and faculty and postdoctoral programs.

NASA Dryden Educational Research This website divulges research and educational materials produced together by NASA and Dryden. It has links to a teacher resource center; education introduction to the Internet; UCLA Flight System Research; NASA Co-op program; Adopt-a-School; graduate student programs; and NASA Aeronautics education information.

National Air & Space Museum Education Center is an excellent educational tool. It divulges information about teacher workshops, school tours, public programs, and publications. Like the website for its parent agencies (National Air & Space Museum &The Smithsonian Institution), this website is both easy to use and filled with useful information.

NASA Ames Educational Research This website makes available large amounts of research conducted by Ames Research Center and NASA. Some of the links include activities for kids and teachers; faq; teacher resource center; and program listing. It also has a link to other educational sites.

William J. Hughes Technical Center is an aviation research, development, engineering, test, and evaluation facility. Their website is well-structured and informative. It includes links to aviation simulation; airport and aircraft safety; communication, navigation and surveillance; air traffic control; aviation security; research and development; and technical support. It also has a general information link which provides information on a broad range of aviation topics from civil rights to weather to summer internships. FAA topics can also be searched from this site.

Lewis Research Center focuses its research in the areas of aeronautics and propulsion technologies; onboard propulsion; commercial communications and launch vehicles; and microgravity. Their website provides access to their research in a number of ways. Their holdings can be searched by subject area, organization, project, information resource, or search query. The site also has links to what's new/ what's hot; about LeRC; public affairs information; opportunities for business and industry; and LeRC personnel.

NASA Dryden is responsible for flight research and testing. Though much of the information on this website can only be accessed by NASA and Dryden personnel, there are some areas open to the public which are very informative. Persons can obtain information on projects, programs, technology, job opportunities, organizations, and faq. The site also includes a photo and movie gallery.

NASA Ames Research Center conducts research in the areas of aeronautics, space, and computing. This website makes available large portions of its research. Under aeronautics, there are links to an aeronautics directorate; research by department directory; links to other government departments' research; links to contractors; X-36 press release; BAD-WEB; and aeronautics faq. The site can be searched in several different ways. It also has a good site map which allows the user to see an overview of the site. Also, it allows the user to select the format in which they want to view the site (text format only-Lynx/WWW; enhanced-frames/Java; or basic-no frames/no Java).

NASA/JPL Imaging Radar outlines some of the work undertaken by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It includes links to images and video; projects; products; software; science and education; and how to get data.

Federal Aviation Administration As the regulatory agency for aviation, this is an extremely important site. It includes a wealth of information and resource tools for the general public and for professionals, and is well-organized. Specifically, it divulges information about administration; airports; air traffic services; commercial space; regulations and certification; research and acquisitions; and office of system safety. Other links include news; centers and regions; FAA supported sites; hot topics; and a how do I? button. This website also features a quick jump option (A-Z listing of topics and departments) which facilitates searching.

The FAR Library is produced by Legislative Information Services, and offers Aviation News from various sources on the Internet as well as daily updates to the Federal Aviation Regulations. They claim to "offer a unique blend of the most current information, accuracy, and cross-referencing to Federal Information." The site is fairly easy to use and does indeed cover a broad range of government information pertaining to aviation. Major links include US Federal and European Aviation Regulations: Airworthiness Directives; advisory circulars; and complete text of the Daily Federal Register.

Airportnet serves as a liaison to Federal Agencies which regulate aviation and the federally sanctioned entities that make formal recommendations to these agencies. It has links to AAAE services, products, and committees; federal oversight bodies; regulatory agencies; and federal advisory boards and standards setting organizations. The page is well-structured and information can be accessed through a number of channels.

Department of Transportation This website provides access to DOT offices, bureaus, administrations, and publications. The site can be searched through a variety of methods, but the quickest and most efficient method is to go to the quick locator site map. Only a portion of the articles pertain to aeronautics, yet it is still an important site particularly for economic information.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics is similar to the Department of Transportation  webpage in that it provides access to BTS offices, bureaus, administrations, and publications. It also provides information about data products lists, press releases, and announcements. The most important aspect of the page, however, are the current transportation statistics.

Glossary of aviation terms is an A-Z listing of important terms. Users can either click on the letter of the alphabet or go directly to a term.

Ames Imaging Library Server , NASA Image eXchange (NIX) , & Dryden Research Aircraft Gallery allow persons to access the images collected over the course of their respective research projects. The three sites are fairly similar in that they allow users to either perform direct searches (search queries) or browse through their collections. Dryden Research Aircraft Gallery also allows users to search by photo, movie, or audio. All three sites provide information about copyright issues. Both Ames Imaging Library Serverand Dryden Research Aircraft Gallery provide links toNASA Image eXchange (NIX) .

Interesting web sites & aviation hot list is a great all-in-one reference to government and commercial aviation sites. The site includes links to pages on such aviation topics as libraries, news, manufacturers, publications, government information, international organizations, and weather.

For comments or questions contact Kristen S. Davidson at kristed@univscvm.csd.sc.edu

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