[Federal Register: March 12, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 49)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 11825-11826]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12mr04-18]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 71
User Input to the Aviation Weather Technology Transfer (AWTT)
Board
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT)
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The FAA will hold an informal public meeting to seek aviation
weather user input. Details: April 14, 2004; Northrop Grumman, 475
School Street, SW., Washington, DC 20024; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The
objective of this meeting is to provide an opportunity for interested
Government and commercial sector representatives who use government-
provided aviation weather
[[Page 11826]]
information in operational decision-making to provide input on FAA's
plans for implementing new weather products.
DATES: The meeting will be held at Northrop Grumman, 475 School Street,
SW., Washington, DC 20024; Times: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 14, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debi Bacon, Aerospace Weather Policy
Division, ARS-100, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence
Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone number (202) 385-7705; Fax:
(202) 385-7701; e-mail: debi.bacon@faa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
History
In 1999, the FAA established an Aviation Weather Technology
Transfer (AWTT) Board to manage the orderly transfer of weather
capabilities and products from research and development (R&D) into
operations. The Director of the Aerospace Weather Policy and Standards
Staff, ARS-20, chairs the AWTT Board. The board is composed of
stakeholders in Air Traffic Services, ATS; Regulation and
Certification, AVR; and Research and Acquisitions, ARA in the Federal
Aviation Administration and the Office of Climate, Water and Weather
Services, OS and the Office of Science and Technology, OST in the
National Weather Service.
The AWTT Board meets semi-annually or as needed, to determine the
readiness of weather R&D products for experimental use, full
operational use for meteorologists or full operational use for end
users. The board's determinations are based upon criteria in the
following areas: Users needs; benefits; costs; risks; technical
readiness; operational readiness and budget requirements.
FAA has the sole responsibility and authority to make decisions
intended to provide a safe, secure, and efficient U.S. national
airspace system. However, it behooves FAA to not make decisions in a
vacuum. Rather, FAA is seeking inputs from the user community before
decisions are finalized. The purpose of this meeting is to obtain
industry feedback.
Industry users will be invited to participate in quarterly, one-day
meetings to provide input for development of concepts of use (ConUse)
for individual aviation weather products approaching specific AWTT
board decision points. The decision points are for transition from the
test stage (D2) to the experimental stage (D3) and/or from the
experimental stage (D3) to the operational stage (D4). Industry
meetings will precede the scheduled AWTT board meetings approximately
one month prior to each board meeting and in each of the other two
quarters of the year. These industry review sessions will be announced
in the Federal Register and open to all interested parties.
This meeting is the industry session intended to provide input for
a roadmap for aviation weather. It is also intended to receive feedback
on weather R&D products that will be presented for consideration at the
May and November 2004 and May 2005 AWTT Board meetings. The products to
be considered include the Current Icing Potential (CIP) Severity
product for D3; the National Convective Weather Forecast (NCWF) 2 hour
product (D3); the Forecast Icing Potential (FIP)--Alaska product (D3);
the FIP Supercooled Large Droplets (SLD) product (D4); the FIP Severity
product (D3); the Graphical Turbulence Guidance (GTG) Flight Level 100-
200 (D3); the Oceanic Cloud Top Height product (CTOP) (D3); and the GTG
Mountain Wave Turbulence (MWT), probabilistic and 24 hour capability
products (D3).
Meeting Procedures
(a) The meeting will be informal in nature and will be conducted by
representatives of the FAA Headquarters.
(b) The meeting will be open to all persons on a space-available
basis. Every effort was made to provide a meeting site with sufficient
seating capacity for the expected participation. There will be neither
admission fee nor other charge to attend and participate. Attendees
must present themselves to the security guard at the Northrop Grumman
Office, 475 School Street, SW., Washington, DC 20024 to obtain a
visitor pass and adhere to security instructions for the Northrop
Grumman facility.
(c) FAA personnel will conduct an overview briefing on the user
input process to the AWTT and changes made to that process. Questions
may be asked during the presentation and FAA personnel will clarify any
part of the process that is not clear.
(d) FAA personnel will lead a session intended to refine an
aviation weather roadmap, and a second session intended to refine
ConUses for specific weather products due for AWTT board decisions
during 2004. Any person present may offer comment or feedback on the
aviation weather roadmap, or the specific products due for board
decisions. Comments/Feedback on the proposed products will be captured
through discussion between FAA personnel and those persons attending
the meeting.
(e) FAA will not take any action items from this meeting nor make
any commitments to accept specific user suggestions. The meeting will
not be formally recorded. However, informal tape recordings may be made
of the presentations to ensure that each respondent's comments are
noted accurately.
(f) An official verbatim transcript or minutes of the informal
meeting will not be made. However, a list of the attendees and a digest
of discussions during the meeting will be produced. Any person
attending may receive a copy of the written information upon request to
the information contact, above.
(g) Every reasonable effort will be made to hear each person's
feedback consistent with a reasonable closing time for the meeting.
Written feedback is also solicited and may be submitted to FAA
personnel for the period April 15-May 31, 2004.
Agenda
(a) Opening Remarks and Discussion of Meeting Procedures
(b) Review of AWTT user input process and calendar updates
(c) Roadmap Work Session
(d) ConUse Work Session
(e) Closing Comments
Issued in Washington, DC on March 9, 2004.
Richard J. Heuwinkel,
Acting Staff Director, Office of Aerospace Weather Policy and
Standards.
[FR Doc. 04-5681 Filed 3-11-04; 8:45 am]
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