There are many things to discuss regarding the new 2022 datum, NA TRF 2022. My particular interest is in the development of the new State Plane Coordinate System. I have a few questions for you: 1. Do you use State Plane Coordinates? Why or why not? 2. If you do use State Plane Coordinates, how do you reconcile the difference between grid inverses and horizontal ground distances in your surveys?

1. Yes, nearly all of our surveys are done using State Plane Coordinates. Most of our city platting groups require state plane coordinates to be on the plat, and our GIS systems are setup to automatically default to State Plane Systems, so it's easier to keep it in that system for all of the work.
2. We have scale factors for each project (or system of projects) in an area. All of the office calculations are done in surface. We have just a couple of people who are responsible for the management of these scale factors and they track all of the combined scale factors for a project. Once it is calibrated, all control is then re-loaded into the field files so the field and office are working on the same "surface" coordinate values.

First thank you Shawn for you and your task forces work on the new datum and gathering input from the stake holders in our state. My response would be similar in nature to Heather's above. Thanks and I look forward to the feed back from other TSPS members.

1) Yes, most everything I do is set up in State Plane Coordinates. I've found it necessary for the integration of LiDAR, aerial imagery and other GIS files, and like Heather mentioned most municipalities require it for platting.

2) I use a combination of County/City Wide Scale Factors and Project specific scale factors, it really depends on the type of work and who the client is. At the moment, my projects are smaller in scale so I prefer to do my field work in grid and I keep my Civil3d Survey Database in Grid. I will then apply a transformation through the drawing settings (CSF scaled from 0,0) prior to importing points from my survey database and will do all my calculations and drafting in Surface.

1) Yes, I typically use a Base/Rover, set up in State Plane Coordinates, collecting static data at the same time, and post-process with OPUS.
2) I adjust all coordinates to the OPUS position and use the scale factor from that same report, as it's usually quite close to the site. Normally I keep everything in grid coordinates, scale the final boundary and/or measurements and adjust the labels accordingly. Mixing GPS and conventional methods on the same project gets a little complicated sometimes.

I am very interested to know whether TXDOT is going to recommend using Low Distortion Projections and if so, how they will be determined and who will create them. I have a copy of a recent paper on that subject if anyone is interested and doesn't mind a little calculus (ok, well maybe a lot of calculus).