[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 49 (Friday, March 12, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11825-11826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5681]


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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: [email protected].

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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