Published in Midwest Flyer – Oct/Nov 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of the newly established Drone Advisory Committee (DAC) were announced August 31, 2016, by the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA), a not-for-profit organization that functions as an advisory body to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Among those selected for the committee are David M. Greene, Director of the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics, who will represent state aeronautics offices, and Mark R. Baker, President and CEO of the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA), who will represent general aviation pilots and aircraft owners.
Among the other 33 members of DAC are representatives from Garmin, American Airlines, Amazon Prime Air, United Parcel Service, Rockwell Collins, Lockheed Martin, Stanford University, and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Air Line Pilots Association, and Academy of Model Aeronautics.
The purpose of the committee is to help integrate Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS), and is modeled after the highly successful NextGen Advisory Committee. The committee will conduct more detailed business through a subcommittee and various task groups that will help the FAA prioritize its activities, including the development of future regulations and policies.
RTCA is a private, not-for-profit association, founded in 1935. RTCA is the premier public-private partnership venue for developing consensus among diverse, competing interests on critical aviation modernization issues in an increasingly global enterprise.
RTCA has provided the foundation for virtually every modern technical advancement in aviation. Its products serve as the basis for government certification of equipment used by the tens of thousands of aircraft flying daily throughout the world’s airspace.
Utilized as a federal advisory committee, RTCA works in response to requests from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop comprehensive, industry-vetted and endorsed recommendations for the federal government on issues ranging from technical performance standards to operational concepts for air transportation. Its deliberations are open to the public, and aviation community volunteers, functioning in a consensus-based, collaborative, peer-reviewed environment, develop their products.
