AeroNavData
Data Visualization Techniques for Seamless Air Navigation

The aerospace industry has rapidly expanded over the past few decades. Today, innovations in technology are helping pilots to navigate more reliably and safely. “Subsequently, the aviation industry often demands agile data storage and accurate procedure coding for Flight Management Systems (FMS),” says Neal Covington, President and CEO, AeroNavData. Approved by FAA, AeroNavData, a Columbia, IL, based company, provides comprehensive data quality management systems to support the government, military and general aviation community. The company offers services in aeronautical data production, quality assurance, database conversion, and software applications used in production of Instrument Flight Procedures (IFP) to support current and future aircraft capabilities. “Our team is skilled in coding, verification and validation of IFPs used by aircrafts to maintain an acceptable level of safety,” adds Covington.

AeroNavData designs and builds custom software solutions to process, validate, and create aeronautical navigation data products. AeroNavData processes and delivers navigation data in a format, which could be easily utilized by the pilots in FMS for flight check, flight simulation, or for inclusion within an aeronautical navigation database. In addition to the navigation data procedure coding, AeroNavData has created inhouse tools to perform complete validation of the data that ensures the coding meets the intent of the procedure design. The company uses Visual Procedure Check (VPC) and Digital Procedure Check (DPC) applications to display terminal procedure coding in either Digital Aeronautical Flight Information File (DAFIF) or Aeronautical Radio Inc.

Our team is skilled in coding, verification and validation of IFPs used by aircrafts to maintain an acceptable level of safety

(ARINC) format, which are an international standard file format for aircraft navigation data. “Both VPC and DPC provide the capability to perform critical quality, fly-ability, and terrain evaluation checks prior to procedure publication,” says Covington.Furthermore, this data visualization technique gives users the ability to enter aircraft characteristics such as FMS bank angle, vertical speed and true airspeed. This capability allows aircrews and data reviewers to visually ensure that the procedure coding meets the Flight Information Publication (FLIP) design and verify how a procedure contained in the DAFIF dataset will fly.

The company also assists FAA in providing quality control and other subject matter expertise for civil provide the capability to perform critical quality, fly-ability, and terrain evaluation checks prior to procedure publication,” says Covington.or military instrument approach procedures. Their staff includes former air traffic controllers, commercial airline pilots, geographic information system specialists, and software developers who consult with the other industry colleagues on aeronautical navigation data, airport mapping and software development issues.

AeroNavData assisted the U.S. Air Force (USAF) in the C-17 Flight test at Edwards Air Force Base. The flight test required AeroNavData to design a number of custom procedures that could provide navigation data in a tab-delimited format that matches DAFIF—a comprehensive database of up-to-date aeronautical data. AeroNavData hosted technical meetings with USAF C-17 Program Office and other involved groups to discuss certification requirements, aircraft characteristics, the airspace in which the fight test would take place, and define which aircraft and FMS capability was being tested. The purpose of the flight tests were to assess for certification of the C-17’s ability to successfully fly the ARINC path terminators, using the aircraft’s upgraded FMS. The company provided them navigation procedure design incorporated with aircraft maneuvering speeds, bank angle, and the capabilities of the aircraft’s upgraded FMS.

AeroNavData has collaborated with the other FMS manufacturers like GE Aviation, Rockwell Collins, Thales, Honeywell and Garmin. “We are building strategic alliances and partnership with key industry organizations, leaders, and customers to serve aeronautical navigation data industry,” concludes Covington.