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From: mentat@juniper.UUCP (Robert Dorsett)
Newsgroups: rec.aviation,comp.graphics,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.mac.programmer,comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: Need Airport Database
Message-ID: <2726@juniper.UUCP>
Date: 3 Jun 88 18:20:48 GMT
Organization: Austin Unix Users Group, Austin, TX
Lines: 67
Posted: Fri Jun  3 13:20:48 1988


al@qiclab.UUCP (Al Peterman) writes:

>   Does anyone know where to acquire a database of airport information.
> What we need is the information in the Airports Facilities Directory in
> a format that can be converted to MacIntosh Hypercard.  

MacIntosh?  Hmm... :-)
   ^

> Essentials include
> latitude, longitude, airport name, identifier and hopefully runway lenghts.
> It would be nice to have any other info available such as radio frequencies,
> altitude etc.

> If there is some cost involved, we can probably pay a reasonable amount for
> the data.

As I indicated in a post about three weeks ago, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration distributes the navaid information.  They are treat-
ing it very seriously, however, and, in conformity with a 1985 recommendation
to impose mandatory updates to data, will ONLY sell the data as a subscrip-
tion (and no, pleading as a Mac developer won't help--I tried).

If you are interested, the data can be ordered from Richard Powell at
301-443-8761.  The prices for the data (Visa/MC/check) are:

Magnetic tape: (ASCII or EBCDIC, 1600 BPI, 0.5"): $600.00
Floppy disk (ASCII): $320.00
Paper: $270.00

And no, I haven't dropped any decimal points.  The data is updated every
56 days, which should place it at about $50 a pop.  I strongly encourage
the net (software developers) to call Richard and bug him about releasing
single-edition samples.  He does not appear to have discretionary power,
but perhaps, if he can report enough demand to his superiors, they will
start to release sample copies.

The data isn't in "HyperCard" format, but any competent programmer should
be able to do something with the data.  The data appears in text format, 
one navaid per line.  Data includes mnemonic name, class, long/lat, city
or location, range, altitude, operating times, state, and a variety of
other information.

If anyone on the net has this data, I would be grateful for one rel-
atiely recent (within the last three years) copy.  I'm able to proceed
with my project, since the NOS *does* provide extremely detailed format
information, but sooner or later, I'm going to need data to test it on.

I still have not been able to find any *airport* information, however.
I need (urgently) geometric databases: runways, taxiways, etc., in machine-
readable form.  Preferably for the entire planet, but I only need the
Southwestern US (esp. Texas) to begin with.  I am almost convinced that 
such data exists: the Jeppesen charts these days appear to be computer-
generated, and no draftsman produced the NOS plates .  If anyone has
any tips, please forward them to me (earlier posters thought that IBM
and the USGS might have the data, but I haven't been able to penetrate the
bureaucracy far enough).  NOAA/NOS does NOT handle the airport data; they,
in turn, pointed me to FAA and the DOD's mapping agency.




-- 
     Robert Dorsett     {allegra,ihnp4}!ut-emx!walt.cc.utexas.edu!mentat
University of Texas 	mentat@walt.cc.utexas.edu
          at Austin	{allegra, ihnp4}!ut-emx!juniper!mentat