2009 Annual Report - RTCA

RTCA Committee Activities
From its infancy aviation has been, and will remain, a government/industry collaborative enterprise.
Since 1935, the government and private sectors of the aviation community have relied upon RTCA,
Inc. (formerly known as the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics) to be the premier institutional
mechanism for forging government/industry consensus on capabilities, performance standards,
policies, and investment strategies to implement air transportation system advances that enhance
safety, efficiency, security, and the environment.
A private, not-for-profit corporation, RTCA, Inc. serves as catalyst for the change required to make
NextGen a reality. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has chartered RTCA and some of its
components to serve as a Federal advisory committee. The organization develops consensus-based
recommendations on contemporary operational, technology, policy, procedural, and equipage issues,
principally related to implementation of Communication, Navigation, Surveillance and Air Traffic
Management (CNS/ATM) operational capabilities.
RTCA provides two categories of recommendations: (1) policy and investment priority
recommendations; and (2) performance standards, reports, and guidance documents. RTCA
recommendations are used by the FAA as the basis for policy, program, and regulatory decisions and
by the private sector as the basis for development, investment, and other business decisions.
During 2009, RTCA managed four Federal advisory committee initiatives:
• Air Traffic Management Advisory Committee (ATMAC): Policy and investment priority
recommendations.
• NextGen Mid-Term Implementation Task Force (Task Force 5): NextGen implementation
recommendations.
• Program Management Committee (PMC): Special Committee establishment, review, integration,
coordination, and product approval.
• Special Committees (SCs): Performance standards, reports, and guidance documents.
All Federal advisory committee meetings are open to the public. Annual participation in RTCA
Federal advisory committee meetings is reported to the FAA on a fiscal year (FY) basis. During
FY2009, RTCA conducted 69 Federal advisory committee meetings. There were a total 3,031
attendees at these meetings; those attendees included 1,293 distinct individuals from 400 different
organizations.
RTCA encourages international participation in its activities and is participating in the international
aviation standards roundtable being established under the auspices of the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO). Additionally, a number of Special Committees work very closely
with the European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) to achieve internationally
harmonized recommendations on aviation issues.
2009 Annual Report • RTCA
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