• RTCA Staff
• Task Forces
• NextGen Advisory Committee
• Program Management Committee
• Special Committees
• William E. Jackson Award
• Directions to RTCA, Washington, DC

RTCA, Inc.

RTCA, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit corporation that develops consensus-based recommendations regarding communications, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management (CNS/ATM) system issues. RTCA functions as a Federal Advisory Committee. Its recommendations are used by the Federal Aviation Administration (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.

Organized in 1935 as the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, RTCA today includes roughly 400 government, industry and academic organizations from the United States and around the world. Member organizations represent all facets of the aviation community, including government organizations, airlines, airspace users and airport associations, labor unions, plus aviation service and equipment suppliers. A sampling of our domestic membership includes the Federal Aviation Administration, Air Line Pilots Association, Air Transport Association of America, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, ARINC Incorporated, Avwrite, The Boeing Company, Department of Defense, GARMIN International, Rockwell International, Stanford University, Lockheed Martin, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, MITRE/CAASD, Harris Corporation, NASA, National Business Aviation Association, and Raytheon.

Because RTCA interests are international in scope, many non-U.S. government and business organizations also belong to RTCA. We currently are supported by over 150 International Associates such as Airservices Australia, Airways Corporation of New Zealand, Airbus, the Chinese Aeronautical Radio Electronics Research Institute (CARERI), EUROCONTROL, NAV Canada, Bombardier Aerospace, Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies, Thales Avionics Limited, Centre for Airborne Systems-Bangalore, the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority and many more.

RTCA has proven to be an excellent means for developing government / industry consensus on contemporary CNS/ATM issues.

RTCA Staff

Task Forces

Occasionally, RTCA is asked by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to develop industry consensus on a broad gauged strategic issue. Examples of completed Task Force issues include Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Transition and Implementation Strategy, Transition to Digital Communications, Free Flight Implementation and Certification.

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NextGen Advisory Committee
The NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC) will develop a common understanding of NextGen priorities in the context of overall NextGen capabilities and implementation constraints, with an emphasis on the near- and mid-term (through 2018). The Committee will foster a common understanding of success with joint performance objectives and development milestones, and will focus on implementation issues to include prioritization criteria at a national level, joint investment priorities, location and timing of capability implementation. The NAC is comprised of top-level executives representing operators, manufacturers, air traffic management, aviation safety, airports and environmental, civil and military, domestic and international.

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Program Management Committee
Our most frequent requests are for RTCA to establish a new, special committee to recommend Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) or appropriate technical guidance documents. MOPS are developed by RTCA and become the basis for certification. When these requests are received, RTCA's Program Management Committee (PMC) discusses the topic and, based on consensus, initiates Special Committee action.

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Special Committees
Essentially all RTCA products are developed by issue-oriented Special Committees staffed by volunteers. As with all Federal Advisory Committee activities, Special Committee meetings are publicly announced and open to participation by anyone with an interest in the topic under consideration. During Special Committee meetings, volunteers from government and industry explore the operational and technical ramifications of the selected topic and develop consensus-based recommendations. These recommendations are then presented to the RTCA Program Management Committee, which either approves the Special Committee report or directs additional Special Committee work. Approved recommendations are published and made available for sale to members and to the public.

Easy access to updates on committee activities and related subjects is available on the RTCA web site and in the Digest, which is published every two months.

Through the years, RTCA has received several awards for its service to the aviation community. The organization was awarded the 1949 Collier Trophy for "A guide plan for the development of a system of air navigation and traffic control for safe and unlimited aircraft operations under all weather conditions." Additionally, in 1994, the FAA named RTCA, Inc. as the U.S. recipient of the ICAO 50th anniversary Medal of Honour. This unique recognition identified RTCA as the single most important U.S. contributor organization to the advancement and support of civil aviation since the creation of ICAO by the Chicago Convention in 1944.

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