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This article reports that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued the first air-worthiness certificate for a commercial unpiloted aerial vehicle (UAV). The FAA and the developer, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., see the certification bringing unpiloted aircraft one step closer to commercial use. The UAV, called the Altair, is a version of the military Predator B unmanned craft. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., the developer, said that it designed the aircraft in partnership with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration for scientific and commercial research missions that require high-altitude endurance. The Altair has an 86-foot wingspan and 3,000-pound fuel capacity.

This article focuses on a newly published paper by Sarah Binder, a political science professor at George Washington University, about institutional and political reasons why the U.S. Congress will not legislate for the future. The paper states that unless there are specific benefits in a specific congressional district, it is just plain hard to get a legislator to vote for something like aeronautics research and development, a pressing need that has gone nowhere in recent years.

Presents government policy updates relevant to aviation and aerospace businesses in the United States for the week of May 15, 2000. Efforts by air carriers in the country to make nonstop flights to China; Availability of the Air Force's white paper on integrating air and space activities.

If the United States is to maintain technological leadership in aeronautics and aviation, it must support the development of advanced aeronautical technologies, according to a white paper released by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The white paper was written by an ASME steering committee consisting of members of national engineering and aerospace associations. They were charged by the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the Executive Office of the President with providing the engineering community's perspective on technologies that are critical to the long-term health of the nation's civil and military aviation enterprise. The white paper looks at aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics and information technology, flight controls, structures and materials. The committee also addressed flight software and autonomous aircraft. The white paper also addresses policy issues and their impact on civil and military aviation, including the security and quality of life, the science and engineering workforce and the preservation of national research assets.

Discusses how Cambridge Scientific Abstracts announced that the National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts Database is available on its Internet Database Service (IDS). Links from IDS search results to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronauts (AIAA); How the database covers all aspects of local, state, and international criminal justice; Publishing of AIAA meeting papers.