AOPA Convinces FAA To Put Graphical Info On Web
AOPA's two-year-long struggle to have the FAA make official,
valid graphical depictions of temporary flight restrictions (TFRs)
available to pilots will finally bear fruit on Sunday, June 15,
2003. The FAA will launch its graphical TFR Web site, giving pilots
for the first time government-issued information that shows what
airspace is restricted. Ironically, pilots now will have a better
TFR picture than most flight service station briefers because of
equipment limitations.
Promise Made, Promise Kept
"FAA
Administrator Marion Blakey stood before hundreds of pilots at AOPA
Expo last October and said, 'You need a good picture; you're going
to get it,'" said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "But she was brand new
on the job then, and didn't know how long it would take to draw
that picture."
"We've been working on this for over two years, since well
before the September 11 terrorist attacks," Boyer said. "The
attacks and subsequent national security flight restrictions just
made the need all the more apparent.
"It's taken pressure from AOPA, Administrator Blakey, her
predecessor, Jane Garvey, two Congressional mandates, and an
investigation by the Department of Transportation's Inspector
General, but pilots finally have a 21st century tool that can
really help them stay out of restricted airspace," said Andy
Cebula, AOPA senior vice president for government and technical
affairs.
AOPA had lobbied Congress for language directing FAA to provide
graphical TFRs and had raised the issue in meetings with Kenneth
Mead, DOT Inspector General.
In The Meantime...
AOPA
felt so strongly about the need for graphical TFRs that the
association has worked with Jeppesen to provide them on its Web
site since November of 2001. However, AOPA felt the issuance of
graphical TFRs, like other notams, is a function that should be
performed by the FAA. Not only does it have the resources to
provide the widest dissemination, but as the issuing agency, FAA is
also the final authority as to the accuracy and content of any such
graphic.
To its credit, the FAA has made an effort to provide graphical
depictions of what they termed "special interest" notams, such as
presidential movement or national security restrictions. But those
were not always available in the timeliest manner, and represented
only a handful of the restrictions pilots need to be aware of.
AOPA lobbied long and hard for the graphical TFR program to
provide the graphics in near-real-time, and to make all flight
restriction types -firefighting, national security, presidential
movement, aerial demonstrations, sporting events, national disaster
areas, and space flight operations - available in a graphical
format via the internet.
The FAA is working to correct the deficiency that prevents many
flight service station (AFSS) personnel from seeing the same
information available to pilots. Having graphical TFRs available to
all flight service stations will address a longstanding problem of
disseminating clear and accurate TFR notams during preflight
briefings.
GRAPHICAL TFR NOTAM INFORMATION
EFFECTIVE JUNE 15, 2003, THE FAA, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF
JEPPESEN, WILL BEGIN PROVIDING GRAPHICAL TFR PRODUCTS ON THE FAA
WEBSITE. GRAPHICAL TFRs WILL BE CREATED BY THE FLIGHT SERVICE
OPERATIONS SUPPORT CENTER (FSOSC) LOCATED IN FAA HEADQUARTERS.
THESE PRODUCTS WILL BE DISSEMINATED OVER THE INTERNET TO ALL FLIGHT
SERVICE STATIONS TO ASSIST IN PILOT WEATHER BRIEFINGS.
THE FIRST 90 DAYS AFTER IMPLEMENTATION WILL SERVE AS A TEST
PHASE AS THE FAA BEGINS TO MIGRATE THIS SERVICE FROM THE JEPPESEN
SERVER ONTO AN FAA SERVER. IT WILL ALSO ALLOW THE FAA TO GATHER
RESPONSES FROM THE PUBLIC SO THAT MODIFICATIONS TO THE PRODUCTS CAN
ALSO BE MADE DURING THE TRANSITION PROCESS. PILOTS WILL BE
ABLE TO ACCESS THIS INFORMATION AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS:
WWW.FAA.GOV
(CLICK ON GRAPHICAL TFRS)
ADDITIONALLY, THERE WILL BE ACCESS TO THE JEPPESEN WEBSITE FOR
THE DOWNLADING OF THE TFR PROTOCOL DOCUMENT. INTERESTED VENDORS
AND/OR PUBLIC WHO WISH TO USE THE FAA TFR PUBLISHING SYSTEM TO
DISPLAY REAL TIME GRAPHICAL TFR NOTAMS CAN USE THIS DOCUMENT TO
RECEIVE DATA PACKETS AND IMPLEMENT GRAPHICAL DISPLAYS OR OTHER
VALUE- ADDED SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS.
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