2009 Annual Report - RTCA

Program Management Committee and
Special Committees
Program Management Committee (PMC)
The Program Management Committee (PMC), itself a Federal advisory committee, manages
most of the Federal advisory committee-related business of RTCA. The PMC currently comprises
19 members representing a broad cross-section of the aviation community and is structured
to offer a balance between technical and operational considerations. The PMC establishes Special
Committees (SCs) in response to an identified need by government and industry. The PMC approves
the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Special Committees; approves the chairs; approves
committee recommendations; reviews reports; and approves, modifies, returns for additional
work, or disapproves these reports.
Managing the SCs is a growing challenge for the PMC as aviation communications, navigation, surveillance,
and air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems are becoming increasingly complex and interdependent.
In 2009, the PMC established an Integration and Coordination Committee (ICC) to ensure
continued integration and coordination of Special Committee activities by instituting a review of all
Special Committee TORs and monitoring the accomplishment of those TORs to ensure that integration
and coordination issues are identified and resolved.
Special Committees
RTCA Special Committees (SCs) serve as Federal advisory committees and are generally formed in
response to a request from the FAA or, less frequently, from the industry, to address more technical
topics. Special Committees develop recommended minimum performance standards, including Minimum
Operational Performance Standards (MOPS); Minimum Aviation System Performance Standards
(MASPS); Safety, Performance, and Interoperability Requirements (SPRs); and reports, and guidance on
behalf of the aviation community. Special Committee recommendations, published as RTCA documents
(e.g., DO-XXX), are frequently referred to by the FAA in Technical Standard Orders and Advisory Circulars
and, thereby, provide at least a partial basis for the certification of avionics. RTCA documents are
also used by the private sector for development, investment, and other business decisions.
RTCA had 19 Special Committees (SCs) active for all or part of 2009. Of these, one (SC-223) was established
by the Program Management Committee and one (SC-215) completed its work and was retired during the
year. Consequently, as was the case at the beginning of 2009, there were 18 RTCA Special Committees active
on December 31, 2009. Each of the Special Committees active during 2009 is briefly described below.
SC-223, Airport Surface Wireless
Communications was established at the
request of the FAA to develop standards for
the Airport Wireless Surface Communications
System. These standards are required to
support data communication developments for
collaborative decision-making (CDM), surveillance
broadcast system (SBS), system wide information
management (SWIM), as well as weather and
flight information systems (FIS) efforts on the
airport surface.
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RTCA • 2009 Annual Report