[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 121 (Friday, June 24, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36539-36540]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-12558]


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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 on icing products. Details: July 13, 2005; Northrop 
Grumman, Conference Room A, 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 
information in operational decision-making to provide input on FAA's 
plans for implementing new icing 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 July 13, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debi Bacon, Air Traffic Organization, 
Operations Planning, Weather Policy and Standards, 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 National Airspace (NAS) Weather Office, 
Operations Planning, Air Traffic Organization chairs the AWTT Board. 
The board is composed of stakeholders in the Air Traffic and Aviation 
Safety organizations in the Federal Aviation Administration and the 
Office of Climate, Water and Weather Services, the Office of Science 
and Technology, and the National Center for Environmental Predictions 
(NCEP) 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 makes the determination based on technical and 
operational readiness, cost and benefits, user needs and budget 
considerations.
    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.
    Industry users are invited to participate in one-day meetings about 
three times per year to give specific feedback to the Government. 
Meetings will be focused on a specific domain (e.g. terminal, enroute) 
or specific weather phenomena (e.g. turbulence, convection). Meetings 
will include a time for users to provide input on specific weather 
products and aviation

[[Page 36540]]

weather roadmaps and to surface issues or concerns with those products. 
The meetings will also include information on program and policy 
updates and on-going research. The industry review sessions will be 
announced in the Federal Register and open to all interested parties.
    This meeting in the industry session focused on in-flight icing 
products, roadmaps and research activities.

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 overview briefings on the user input 
process, weather products, aviation weather roadmaps and programs and 
policies. Research leads from the inflight icing product development 
team will conduct an overview briefing on the status of research 
efforts in the icing domain. 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 elicit user views 
on the inflight icing products and any issues surrounding those 
products. Any person present may offer comment or feedback in the 
session. Comments and feedback 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. An official 
verbatim transcript of the meeting will not be made. However, a list of 
the attendees and a digest of discussions during the meeting will be 
produced and posted on a web site Instructions to access the web site 
will be provide to all persons attending the meeting and provided to 
any who desire it.
    (f) 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 July 14--August 13, 2005.

Agenda

    (a) Opening Remarks.
    (b) Review of AWTT weather products, roadmaps and research efforts.
    (c) Inflight icing Products and Issues Session.
    (d) Closing Comments.
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    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 20, 2005.
Richard J. Heuwinkel,
Manager, Aviation Weather Policy and Standards.
[FR Doc. 05-12558 Filed 6-23-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M