Great Neighbors
Live, Work and Play in Atlantic County
The Next Generation Aviation Research and Technology Park is ideally located near other aviation organizations and businesses including the Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center, Atlantic City International Airport and the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard.
The Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center The FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC) is the world’s premier aviation research and development, and test and evaluation facility. The Technical Center serves as the national scientific test base for the FAA. Technical Center programs include research and development, test and evaluation, and verification and validation in air traffic control, com-munications, navigation, airports, aircraft safety, and security. They also include long-range development of innovative aviation systems and concepts, development of new air traffic control equipment and software, and modification of existing systems and procedures. Through a series of initiatives known collectively as NextGen, the Technical Center is helping to shape the Next Generation Air Transportation System.
The WJHTC has served as the core facility for modernizing the air traffic control system and for advancing programs to enhance aviation safety in all stages of flight since 1958. Along with research and development project work, the center provides 24-hour, daily operational support to the FAA field facilities all over the country.
The WJHTC houses laboratories, test and support facilities, and the Atlantic City International Airport in an area that covers more than 5,000 acres. Some unique WJHTC laboratories include: air traffic control and simulation facilities, a human factors laboratory, a fleet of specially instrumented in-flight testing aircraft, the world’s largest full-scale aviation fire test facility, a chemistry laboratory for analyzing the toxicity of materials involved in a fire, radar test laboratories, a structural panel test facility and the National Airport Pavement Test Facility.
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The Technical Center also serves as a focal point for Homeland Security activities. It is the home of the Federal Air Marshal Service training program and the Transportation Security Laboratory, which is the test and evaluation site for new, advanced airport security technology. The U.S. Coast Guard Group Air Station Atlantic City, the U.S. Marshal Service and the New Jersey Air National Guard 177th Fighter Wing also base their operations at the Technical Center.
The Atlantic City International Airport Operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority, ACY is recognized for having the shortest wait time of all New Jersey airports, as well as a speedier in-and-out time than the Philadelphia International Airport. The airport records a rising number of passengers annually and is capable of handling major carriers and more flight frequencies. It has one of the longest runways in the world and is an alternate landing site for the NASA space shuttle. More importantly, ACY controls its own air space.
THE SJTA continues to make numerous capital improvements to the airport. It has completed a taxiway relocation project, constructed a state-of-the-art baggage screening facility, erected a $26.3 million, six-story parking garage, and has begun a $2.5 million terminal renovations project to better serve its passengers. A F-16 Fighting Falcon piloted by the 177th Fighter Wing located at the Atlantic City International Airport in Egg Harbor Township, NJ.
In an effort to grow, ACY has engaged in a coalition with Atlantic City destination and economic development stakeholders with the goal of attracting carriers and improving connectivity to the national air travel system.
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