EAA Signs on to Joint Comments Regarding Proposed RCO Elimination

On Tuesday, EAA signed on to joint comments with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and Vertical Aviation International (VAI) regarding the FAA proposal to eliminate all remote communications outlets (RCOs) in the U.S. outside of Alaska. The comments support the continued availability of the RCO network, arguing that despite the decline of RCO use in recent years, many pilots still find value in the network of local radio frequencies that allow pilots to open and close flight plans and access other forms of flight service. The FAA estimates that the remaining non-Alaska network of 936 facilities receives 300 calls per day, down from 22,000 calls per day in the mid-1980s.

Until there is an alternative replacement which provides an equivalent level of service to airspace users, the associations do not support a wholesale decommissioning of the RCO network.

The associations recommend that the FAA instead focus on reducing the number of RCOs in areas “experiencing the lowest RCO utilization and where there is sufficient radio coverage overlap for pilots to reach FSS via other nearby RCOs, common FSS frequencies, or voice-enabled VORs.”

You can read the joint comments posted by EAA, AOPA, and VAI here.. Comments can still be submitted to the docket through May 27.