RTCA’s Program Management Committee (PMC) held its summer meeting approving five critical guidance documents, reviewing workplans for the 18 Special Committees (SC), and incorporating changes to the various committee Terms of Reference (TOR) that reflect RTCA as a Standards Development Organization (SDO).
Chaired by Chris Hegarty, of The MITRE Corporation, the 19-member PMC is the RTCA oversight body charged with producing timely and robust standards and guidance documents to ensure interoperability of aviation systems and equipment. The standards encourage innovation and serve as the basis for meeting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. An important responsibility of the PMC is ensuring the operational application of the technical standards.
The Members of the PMC approved five standards covering the following areas:
• Airworthiness Security Methods and Considerations – a globally harmonized set of methods and guidelines addressing safety, operational, and maintenance security aspects of aircraft systems
• Nose-Mounted Radomes – performance requirements to ensure no interference with weather radar systems
• Airport Security Access Control Systems – valuable guidelines to ensure only authorized persons have access to airport designated secured areas
• Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Active Antenna in the L1/E1 and L5/E5A Bands – specifies performance requirements that support safety of life aviation applications as GPS is being modernized and constellations are being updated with new civil signals
• Airborne Weather Radar Systems – incorporates new radar technology for both air carrier and general aviation aircraft
The Committee also aligned all SC TORs with RTCA’s SDO designation by identifying the key FAA representative for each committee as the Government Authorized Representative (GAR). This ensures the continuity of the relationship between RTCA industry volunteers serving on the committees and the FAA in developing standards and guidance materials.
Various revisions were made to the work plans for:
- Traffic Alert & Collision Avoidance System (SC-147)
- Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) (SC-186)
- Enhanced Flight Vision Systems/Synthetic Vision Systems (EFVS/SVS) (SC-213)
- Aeronautical Systems Security (SC-216)
- Internet Protocol Suite (IPS) and Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communication System (AeroMACS) (SC-223)
- Airport Security Access Control Systems (SC-224)
- Airborne Weather Detection Systems (SC-230)
- Standards for Wireless Avionics Intra-Communication System (WAIC) within 4200-4400 MHz (SC-236)
Details from the June 21, 2018 PMC meeting are contained in a letter from Chairman Hegarty to FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, Ali Bahrami.
