The next few months could be formative in specifying the types of onboard equipment aircraft will need to exploit NextGen “mid-term” efficiencies planned by 2018.
FAA has issued an equipage tasking request to the RTCA NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC), the high-level industry and government group formed last fall to advise the agency on mid-term NextGen implementation. The tasking request was briefed to the committee Feb. 11 in Washington, D.C.
By May, FAA asks the NAC to prioritize the types of operations that are dependent on new equipment, and recommend aircraft types or user groups that should be considered for financial or operational incentives to equip.
By September, for each of the user groups identified in the first phase, the NAC is asked to identify incentives to “close the business case” for equipage as well as the delivery mechanism for incentives and a timetable for implementation.
“We’re at a stage in the implementation of NextGen where equipage issues are really more and more front and center of our ability to implement and show benefits and bring projects forward,” Julie Oettinger, FAA assistant administrator for Policy, International Affairs and Environment, told the committee.