The NASA Langley Cessna 206H Stationair (NASA 504) is an all-metal, six-place, high-wing, single-engine general aviation airplane equipped with tricycle landing gear and is designed for general utility purposes. The aircraft was acquired by NASA in 2001 to provide a low-cost research platform for advanced pilot displays and to serve as a platform for atmospheric science instruments. The aircraft has been reconfigured to accommodate a crew of three: a subject pilot, a safety pilot, and a researcher. The subject pilot/researcher may sit in either of the two front seats, as required by the experiment. The lead researcher sits in the right aft seat at a researcher workstation.
In addition to internal space in the aft section of the cabin for instrumentation, up to 300 lbs. can be carried in the Cessna production belly cargo pod and 100 lbs. in a custom-designed pod which attaches to the right wing strut.
The aircraft is equipped with NASA Langley’s General Aviation Baseline Research System, which includes GPS, Air Data, Attitudes and Heading Reference System (ADAHRS), out-the-window video, a Researcher Workstation, and control position transducers on the aileron, rudder, elevator, pitch trim, and throttle. The research system provides 30A of 28 VDC power.
