History

A Brief History of AV070

In 1975, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) established the Special Committee on Air Transport Activities. Multiple committees were established under the guidance of the Special Committee on Air Transport Activities to address the research needs and challenges facing aviation. The first committee organized was the Airport Landside Operations Committee in 1976. Two committees along with a Task Force were added in 1977 and one committee was added in 1978. 

In 1979, the Aircraft/Airport Compatibility Committee along with the Air Transport Operations and Maintenance were added. Currently known as AV070, the committee began as A3A16. TRB established the Aviation Section in 1984 and A3A16 was changed to A1J07. The Aircraft/Airport Compatibility committee took on its current code name, AV070, in 2003 after the Aviation Section reorganized into the current Aviation Group. The Aviation Group now consists of nine standing technical committees. 

In 2012, the Aircraft/Airport Compatibility Committee established a joint subcommittee with the Geographic Information Science (GIS) and Applications Committee (ABJ60), on Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Geographic Information Systems. The subcommittee has hosted workshops at the TRB Annual Meeting exploring subjects such as big data collection and storage, LIDAR and point clouds, and e-Airport Layout Plans. 

At the beginning of this millennium, AV070 helped to promote the concept of having a funded research program to support research areas that were not currently being addressed by federal agencies. This concept saw fruition in 2005 with the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP).

In 2020, several international groups with similar interest for aviation safety end engineering participated to the Annual Meeting at the invitation of AV070. During our committee meeting, they agreed on working together for sharing best practices and fostering collaboration. These groups include the Airport Think Tank of ENAC Alumni, ALACPA (Asociación Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Pavimentos Aeroportuarios), the Canadian Airfield Pavement Technical Group (CAPTG), ICAO's Airfield Pavement Expert Group (ICAO/APEG), the Infrastructure WG of The French-Speaking Airports (UAF&FA), and the Pavement Engineering Society of Singapore.

At the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that had tested the resiliency of the aviation community, we held our 2020 Mid-Year Committee Meeting online for the first time. In these difficult times, we also created a new page on our committee website for promoting aviation jobs to our members and friends. In January 2021, TRB held its first ever virtual Annual Meeting. This was a new opportunity for increasing our outreach and the participation to AV070.

Since then, AV070 has progressively strengthened its position by organizing regular committee meetings, both in-person and virtually. It has also fostered partnerships with other committees and groups in the aviation sector, all while extending a warm invitation to new members and friends from the aviation community worldwide.

In early 2023, there was a transition in leadership as Dr. Heymsfield concluded his six-year tenure as the Chair of AV070, passing the responsibility to Dr. Chou. The committee greatly appreciates Dr. Heymsfield's impactful leadership and is confident that Dr. Chou's guidance will play a key role in the ongoing strength and expansion of AV070.

Evolution of the Committee Scope

The committee’s scope and objectives have evolved over the committee’s existence, however has stayed true to the committee’s major goal of research related to ensuring that airports and aircraft remain compatible. 

 The committee scope in 2000 was: “The Committee is concerned with the development and application of techniques for analyzing the interface of civil aircraft with airport and airport environs. The committee’s work focuses on research and development of aircraft operational and design factors, particularly as those related to: operational efficiency, airport capacity, security, safety, and on-airport environment.”

The committee goals included:

• Anticipate future problems and develop research projects to address these needs;

• Identify existing problems and/or technology needs and respond with appropriate research;

• Identify and promote emerging technologies; and

• Disseminate available information that will improve aircraft/airport compatibility

 The committee scope was broadened in 2003 by expanding the 2000 scope to include: “and for providing a basis for decisions concerning design and operations of aircraft and airports that are compatible, integrated and cost-effective.” 

The most committee scope modification was made in 2023 and the current AV070 scope statement is: “The AV070 Aircraft/Airport Compatibility Committee is concerned with issues related to aircraft and their compatibility with airport airside areas, which include the regions that aircraft interface with during ground movements: airport aprons, taxiways, runways, and their environs.  In addition, the committee is concerned with the use of and evaluating data from geographic information systems to support airside operations.”

This scope statement summarizes the overarching purposes for the existence of the Aircraft/Airport Compatibility committee and identifies the current AV070 committee scope.

Committee Membership

The Aircraft / Airport Compatibility committee has transformed from being heavily comprised of members from the D.C. area to having a more uniform representation throughout the country and internationally. In 2000, the AV070 was comprised of 22 members in which 8 members were from the Washington, DC area and with no representation from outside the US. An international member was added to the committee in 2003. As in January 2019, the AV070 roster includes 24 main members, 4 international members, and 4 young members. Members from more geographical regions of the U.S. are included on the roster. In addition to the United States., several countries are represented on the AV070 roster. Within the AV070 committee structure, AV070 has enjoyed a highly involved and diverse membership.

TRB Annual Meeting

Six committee members attended the 2000 TRB Annual Meeting along with 11 other attendees. The Aircraft/Airport Compatibility Committee reviewed 7 papers for the TRB 2000 Annual meeting. This number increased to 9 papers for the 2004 Annual Meeting. AV070’s involvement with the TRB Annual Meeting has continued to increase, so that 22 papers were reviewed for the 2015 Annual Meeting. A high watermark was reached for the 2018 Annual Meeting when 31 papers were reviewed for presentation and publication. During the 2020 Annual Meeting celebrating the 100th anniversary of TRB, we hosted discussions with other groups of similar interests on how to collaborate for promoting excellence in aviation engineering and safety. 

The AV070 meeting at the most recent TRB Annual Meeting in 2023 had 22 members and 40 non-members in attendance (52 in person and 10 virtual). Please check the meeting minutes here for more information about this meeting.