Lowell Foster Director of Global Innovation and Engineering GAMA

Lowell Foster is GAMA’s Director of Global Innovation and Engineering. Joining GAMA in 2019, Lowell is responsible for developing new paths for the integration of emerging general aviation technologies and assessing technological shifts requiring changes to how general aviation aircraft are designed, manufactured, maintained, and operated. Lowell’s responsibilities are split between supporting the GAMA Electric Propulsion & Innovation Committee (EPIC), which works to enable the certification and operation of hybrid and electric aircraft and supporting existing and new Part 23 certification and implementation issues.   

Lowell comes from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), where he was responsible for a broad range of general aviation safety, policy and regulatory activities with the Aircraft Certification Small Airplane Standards Branch. In addition to serving as project manager for the Part 23 restructuring and performance-based rule-making, Lowell contributed to numerous policy efforts concerning new aircraft technologies including. He has 30 years of experience as a flight test engineer and was involved in policy development for many new small airplane technologies.

Prior to the FAA, Lowell worked at Mooney Aircraft and was in the Air Force, flying as a flight test engineer on F-16 avionics and weapons integration programs. Lowell has a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University and is a private pilot with instrument and glider ratings. He has time in more than 60 different airplanes, helicopters, balloons, and one airship.