RTCA SC-203 Folds Up

After almost 10 years,  (October 2004) the once highly esteemed and FAA blessed “one true effort” goes dark with not so much as a by your leave from the community – thanks for the grins.

Not for a lack of trying…

They tried to rekindle magic and breathe life back into the careworn process as the scope was refocused and the effort truncated down from the colossal project of managing multiple committees and subcommittees eating a herd of elephants one bite at a time.  WG3 Sense and Avoid and WG2 for Command and Control would push forward, and working groups 1 and 4 suffering their demise for the common good.

Even after the extensive re-scope the SC-203 would appear to have issues producing work products. The website only references a couple of stale papers the public can still purchase for hundreds of dollars, but nothing that alludes to published standards, or anything tangible for the entire nine year presence.

From the perspective of those not strictly pushing the business plan there is warranted concern. You can’t keep coming back to the well and asking people to volunteer for years and then just cast their work and effort to the side. On the other hand, those working off of the sheet music of the business plan can afford to invest from the overhead as the machine works all of the angles. The fair and triangular game works with lobbying, favorable regulatory and the FBO gravy train.

I know there are some that think frank talk is just mean and hurtful, but we must come to grips with reality however painful we may think it might be. For the record, I’d like everyone to understand that this product is a condensed happy version with its horns ground down to the nubs. Hard to believe, but this industry, the efforts and most participants have more warts than a bayou full of bullfrogs.

Yeah, the other version would have made me even more friends in high places of career advancement. So, why would I pull punches on the SC 228 Extreme Makeover Edition? Simple, I’m a true believer in the technology, and now we must have some regulatory progress. Sure, I’ve been burned on multiple occasions, but we are at a crossroads. The industry in the U.S. the advocacy groups and companies must evolve, or they may perish. We are staring down the barrel of a whole truckload of competitive disadvantage compounding the lost opportunity costs.

The other reason is, the new committee has competent leadership. Not some Johnny-come-lately, but a veteran of many of the same efforts and also with the patience of Jobe, Mr. Paul McDuffee. He understands the issues and has been around the effort for a long time. He is a visionary as he can see the future of aviation and works towards the goal of viable airspace integration. (Viable being the relevant word.) I’ve asked him to put together a few lines about his vision for the new group and what he hopes to accomplish with his new charge.

“Patrick:

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I appreciate your input and perspective on the past and the future. I can appreciate the frustration you and others are feeling over the slow and arduous processes in play by government and industry to reach our goal of routine, safe airspace access for UAS. The 9 year effort of SC 203 was just one of many attempts to responsibly address the countless issues and concerns (some legitimate, some not) blocking our path. As far as I’m concerned, no effort or attempt to “move the ball” is wasted effort. We all gain from the successes and failures of those who were early trailblazers. Those who so graciously and unselfishly volunteered their time and talent to SC 203 have made a difference and contributed to future solutions. When 203 and other similar efforts were chartered nearly a decade ago, there was a lot we didn’t either know or fully appreciate related to UAS operations in our national airspace. I put myself in that category. Time and technology advancements have clarified the picture and as a result, we are far better prepared to take logical, measured steps to solving the biggest issues. Early attempts to “boil the ocean” by trying to solve ALL the challenges at once was clearly a flawed approach. SC 203 may have fallen victim to this reality through no fault of those involved.

As we begin again with more realistic and focused SC 228 terms of reference coupled with “lessons learned” from the past, I am more than confident that RTCA SC 228 will bring us to the next level. We’ll recruit the most experienced experts available, work diligently to well defined goals, and bring meaningful standards to manufacturers and those who deploy UA.  The collaborative work ahead will move us closer to our ultimate goal of routine access to airspace by UAS of all types and capabilities. We’ll get there Patrick

Paul M”