[OSM-dev] aviation maps?

Eric Wolf ebwolf at gmail.com
Wed Aug 11 17:09:13 BST 2010


An argument for creating at least a "sister project" to OSM for airspace
mapping is that, in the USA at least, FAA regulations limit the operation of
kites and balloons based on airspace. If projects like OpenAerialMap and
Cartagen are to take off (pardon the pun), access to air space information
will be key.

Specifically, FAA limits kites and balloons to 150 feet AGL within 5 miles
of a FAA designated airport or helipad. Outside this boundary, you can
operate up to 500 feet. You can also make other arrangements working with
the closest air traffic control tower and issuing a pilot's NOTAM. But all
of this becomes a geospatial/mapping problem.

The list of FAA designated airports and helipads is constantly being
updated. Fortunately, it's public domain data that is geocoded, so it's easy
to work with. Calculating that 5-mile boundary is also fairly easy. The
trick to NOTAMs is that the ATC like to know the angular direction from the
tower and linear distance (i.e., 145 degrees, 15 miles). Being able to
easily calculate that information and generate NOTAMs would facilitate
hobbyist aerial photography.

But this still could be done fairly easily with just OpenLayers and maybe at
WFS server. Since the information is dynamic (but the ontology is fairly
static), it doesn't make much sense to use OSM to manage the information.

-Eric Wolf

-=--=---=----=----=---=--=-=--=---=----=---=--=-=-
Eric B. Wolf                           720-334-7734





On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 9:54 AM, Andy Allan <gravitystorm at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 3:00 PM, Ákos Maróy <akos at maroy.hu> wrote:
>
> > totally agree - I would put all this into a separate database. BTW, how
> > would one set up his own OSM online database for such a purpose?
>
> Have a look at http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/The_Rails_Port to get
> started.
>
> Cheers,
> Andy
>
> _______________________________________________
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> dev at openstreetmap.org
> http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/dev
>
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