It's official, they've pulled the plug on DAFIF

[Paul Tomblin]

The Digital Aeronautical Flight Information File (DAFIF) is the
only computer readable file of data about airports, navaids, waypoints and
airspace available to developers and users of free or cheap flight related
computer programs, or web sites. For a year now, we've been trying to
convince the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) to keep it
available, but we've lost.
http://www.nga.mil/NGASiteContent/StaticFiles/OCR/nga0517.pdf
"The electronic distribution of DAFIF over the World Wide Web (www) ...
will cease in October 2007."

Anybody got any ideas on how to replace this invaluable source? I thought
about setting up a Wiki-like site where people could edit and enter data
for their part of the world, and then have the data available in an
architecture neutral format (like maybe an extended GPX xml schema), but
I'm not sure I have the time to implement such an idea on my own, and I'm
not convinced that anybody would actually use it.

--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Here in the US, we are so schizoid and deeply opposed to government
censorship that we insist on having unaccountable private parties
to do it instead. -- Bill Cole

[JohnH]

> Anybody got any ideas on how to replace this invaluable source? I

Maybe Accuweather can sell it to you ;)

[Jacob]

> available, but we've lost.
> http://www.nga.mil/NGASiteContent/StaticFiles/OCR/nga0517.pdf
> "The electronic distribution of DAFIF over the World Wide Web (www) ...
> will cease in October 2007."


I quote:
"NGA, in consultation with the Federal Aviation Agency has
determined this action will not affect chart products for US
airspace or Caribbean and South American charts and also Pacific,
Australia, and Antarctica charts in areas considered part of the
US Flight Information Region. NGA has decided not to withdraw
paper map products to a scale of 1:250,000 to 1:5,000,000. These
products will continue to be available to the public."

Does that mean DAFIF will still be available for US, Caribbean and South
America but not for other regions?

[Jose]

> "NGA, in consultation with the Federal Aviation Agency has
> determined this action will not affect chart products for US
> airspace or Caribbean and South American charts and also Pacific,
> Australia, and Antarctica charts in areas considered part of the
> US Flight Information Region. NGA has decided not to withdraw
> paper map products to a scale of 1:250,000 to 1:5,000,000. These
> products will continue to be available to the public."
>
> Does that mean DAFIF will still be available for US, Caribbean and South
> America but not for other regions?

I don't know, but I read it as not affecting =paper= charts. Electronic
information may still be withdrawn and be in compliance with my reading
of the above.

Jose
--
You can choose whom to befriend, but you cannot choose whom to love.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, "Jacob" > said:
>"NGA, in consultation with the Federal Aviation Agency has
>determined this action will not affect chart products for US
>airspace or Caribbean and South American charts and also Pacific,
>Australia, and Antarctica charts in areas considered part of the
>US Flight Information Region. NGA has decided not to withdraw
>paper map products to a scale of 1:250,000 to 1:5,000,000. These
>products will continue to be available to the public."
>
>Does that mean DAFIF will still be available for US, Caribbean and South
>America but not for other regions?

That paragraph appears to be addressing their paper chart products and
FLIPs, not DAFIF. When they first started this process, they said that
DAFIF would only be available to government users who could prove that
they had a legitimate need for it.


--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
I once successfully declined a departmental retreat, saying that on
that day I planned instead to advance.
-- Alan J. Rosenthal

[grubertm]

<< Anybody got any ideas on how to replace this invaluable source? I
thought
about setting up a Wiki-like site where people could edit and enter
data
for their part of the world, and then have the data available in an
architecture neutral format (like maybe an extended GPX xml schema),
but
I'm not sure I have the time to implement such an idea on my own, and
I'm
not convinced that anybody would actually use it. >>

The developers over at pocketfms.com are working on a volunteer-based
system where people type their local airport data into Excel charts..

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, "grubertm" > said:
>The developers over at pocketfms.com are working on a volunteer-based
>system where people type their local airport data into Excel charts..

Yeah, and when I suggest that we pool our resources for the common good,
they told me that they had no interest in helping anybody but their own
customers.

What a bunch of jerks.

--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
"Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the
usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody
thinks of complaining." -- Jef Raskin, interviewed in Doctor Dobb's Journal