Some improvements to my Airport Information website

[2KA]

As I previously announced (see my posting on April 1), I have built a
little website that publishes US airport information that has been
extracted from the FAA's National Airspace System Resource
subscription files. The site supports several different output
formats including SeeYou .CUP, Cambridge Aero .DAT, and .NDB for the
SN-10. You can also find some hints there for using the data in
Volksloggers and generic Garmin GPS units.

You can access my site at http://www.xmission.com/~lalley/aviation.

Since I did the original implementation, I've made several
improvements:

1. User-selectable lengths for short names in the output file. This
should be especially useful for Garmin GPS devices, different models
of which support different turnpoint name lengths.

2. A proximity search, so that you can use an input turnpoint file
that doesn't contain the IATA ID codes. If an airport turnpoint in
the input file is very close to one in the FAA's database, they are
assumed to be the same.

3. Support for tab-delimited input files that don't contain the full
complement of columns. As long as the input file follows the correct
tab-delimited format and specifies at least the names and geographic
coordinates of the turnpoints, it should work.

4. More explicit error handling when an input file of the incorrect
format is used.

The most common error I have seen so far is the use of an input
turnpoint file of the incorrect type, hence #4 above. I currently
support only SeeYou (.CUP) and tab-delimited.

Since the information on the site is unlicensed, it is free and freely
redistributable. Happy downloading!

Lynn Alley
"2KA"

[Eric Greenwell]

2KA wrote:
> As I previously announced (see my posting on April 1), I have built a
> little website that publishes US airport information that has been
> extracted from the FAA's National Airspace System Resource
> subscription files. The site supports several different output
> formats including SeeYou .CUP, Cambridge Aero .DAT, and .NDB for the
> SN-10. You can also find some hints there for using the data in
> Volksloggers and generic Garmin GPS units.

I like the AWOS frequencies in the comments - that's useful. Some of the
other details about the runways may help, too.

I suggest another choice for airport area selection: "Entire USA". I
travel with the glider to other areas so I use airports from many area,
and I sometimes look at IGC flights from around the USA, so that's what
I use in SeeYou. In the meantime, I could make a task file with a
turnpoints in Washington state, Maine, Florida, and California, and
accomplish almost the same thing.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
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* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

[2KA]

On May 2, 12:45*pm, Eric Greenwell > wrote:
....
>
> I suggest another choice for airport area selection: "Entire USA". I
> travel with the glider to other areas so I use airports from many area,
> and I sometimes look at IGC flights from around the USA, so that's what
> I use in SeeYou. In the meantime, I could make a task file with a
> turnpoints in Washington state, Maine, Florida, and California, and
> accomplish almost the same thing.

Eric,

Thanks for the suggestion. Actually, tne option for the entire USA
already exists -- if you simply don't specify bounding information,
that's what you get. Both bounding information and input task files
are completely optional. See the help text by following the "Specify
bounding information" and "Upload a task/turnpoint file" links for
more information.

Best,

Lynn

[[email protected]]

On May 1, 4:52*pm, 2KA > wrote:
> As I previously announced (see my posting on April 1), I have built a
> little website that publishes US airport information that has been
> extracted from the FAA's National Airspace System Resource
> subscription files. *The site supports several different output
> formats including SeeYou .CUP, Cambridge Aero .DAT, and .NDB for the
> SN-10. *You can also find some hints there for using the data in
> Volksloggers and generic Garmin GPS units.
>
> You can access my site athttp://www.xmission.com/~lalley/aviation.
>
> Since I did the original implementation, I've made several
> improvements:
>
> 1. *User-selectable lengths for short names in the output file. *This
> should be especially useful for Garmin GPS devices, different models
> of which support different turnpoint name lengths.
>
> 2. *A proximity search, so that you can use an input turnpoint file
> that doesn't contain the IATA ID codes. *If an airport turnpoint in
> the input file is very close to one in the FAA's database, they are
> assumed to be the same.
>
> 3. *Support for tab-delimited input files that don't contain the full
> complement of columns. *As long as the input file follows the correct
> tab-delimited format and specifies at least the names and geographic
> coordinates of the turnpoints, it should work.
>
> 4. *More explicit error handling when an input file of the incorrect
> format is used.
>
> The most common error I have seen so far is the use of an input
> turnpoint file of the incorrect type, *hence #4 above. *I currently
> support only SeeYou (.CUP) and tab-delimited.
>
> Since the information on the site is unlicensed, it is free and freely
> redistributable. *Happy downloading!
>
> Lynn Alley
> "2KA"

Nice resource!

I like #2 since I often combine files. One question: if i use an
input turnpoint file does the result use the original turnpoint
location or the location from the FAA database. I'd hate to hook a
turnpoint in a contest later to find that i missed because I was using
a relocated turnpoint.

9B

[2KA]

Hi 9B,

Oooh, that's a good point. It currently uses the location from the
FAA database. I'll change that to use the coordinates from the
turnpoint file. I'll post here when the change is made.

Lynn
"2KA"

[2KA]

I've finally gotten around to resolving the issue 9B brought up last
month. My site now uses the geographical coordinates given in the in
an input turnpoint file (if there is one) in preference to those
listed in the FAA database. This was done so that the locations given
in an official contest turnpoint list will not be altered.

I've also corrected a couple of bugs:

1. Turnpoint numbers again appear as part of the long turnpoint names
(CUP files only) for numbered tunpoints. I broke this accidentally
sometime in late April.
2. Turnpoint options (such as A, L, T, etc.) again appear correctly
in output NDB files.

All in all, these changes should make my site a bit more contest
friendly. If you are planning on flying in a contest, I recommend
obtaining the official contest turnpoint list (in tab-delimited form)
from the Worldwide Turnpoint Exchange, and then using it as the input
turnpoint file for my site. The result will be an integrated list
containing the contest turnpoints together with surrounding non-
turnpoint airports. The output file will contain runway widths,
lenghts, surface types, communication frequencies, and contact phone
numbers for all the airports.

Lynn Alley
"2KA"