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Format Changes
Effective 1 January 2007, NAV CANADA assumed responsibility for the production and printing of Aeronautical Information Publications, including visual flight rules (VFR) charts. To support this responsibility, NAV CANADA has made a major investment in an Aeronautical Data Management System that increases our focus on managing aeronautical data, while providing a digital production platform for documents and charts, and enabling flexible product delivery. This shift to managing data behind the publications and products will support the publication of higher quality products. Over the next few months new VFR charts will be available that will contain changes and improvements to the products.
Digital Processing
The previous production of VFR aviation products was a time-consuming manual process that did not easily lend itself to topographic, cultural, or aeronautical data updating. NAV CANADA customers have noted that cultural data elements were not being accurately updated in a timely manner. Information on road networks and built-up areas are two of many examples cited by our customers as being out of date.
NAV CANADA will begin using digital technology in the creation of updated VFR charts. The required data will be arranged and stored in a database as layers of information. There are basically three types of layers of information that are used to develop a VFR chart: terrain layers, cultural layers, and the aeronautical data layers. The content and source of each of these layers is further described below. Each of these layers are digitally stored and used to create the required VFR product. The result is an accurate representation of what the VFR pilot should see while in the air with the aeronautical information required for navigation presented in a clear and logical manner.
Topographic Data
The terrain layer is made up of layers of similar entities. Examples of these entity layers include contour relief, spot heights, water bodies, ice cap, and vegetation canopy. These data layers will be used to develop the composite background of a VFR chart as an accurate picture of the terrain as seen from the air.
In the past, this terrain layer was based on the same federally collected data that was used to produce the various topographic map series for Canada. This information was not consistently maintained and updated. NAV CANADA will use the basic Digital Elevation Model for Canada as the first layer in our production process. However, we will update and sharpen the terrain image using other terrain data, such as spot heights, water bodies, ice cap, and vegetation canopy, available from federal, provincial, and commercial sources. In some areas of the country the image will be further enhanced using digital space imagery as it becomes available from commercial and government sources.
Cultural Data
Overlaid on the composite terrain layer described above are layers of cultural data. Examples of cultural data are the road network, built-up areas, man-made obstacles, and other features visible from the air and useful for navigation such as prominent power transmission lines. Similar to the topographic information, the cultural data used in the former process was not consistently maintained and updated. NAV CANADA is pursuing the most up-to-date cultural data available from many of the same sources as the topographic data. It is in this layer that users of the new NAV CANADA VFR products will see the most change, especially in the national road network.
Aeronautical Data
Overlaid on the composite terrain layer and cultural data layer described above are layers of aeronautical information. Examples of aeronautical data are elements such as the airspace structure, aerodromes, navigations aids (NAVAIDs), and aeronautical frequencies. These aeronautical data elements are collected, verified, and stored by the NAV CANADA Aeronautical Information Service. NAV CANADA has recently purchased an aeronautical database system designed specifically for this purpose and compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. Aeronautical data that was formerly held in a number of diverse databases has been migrated to this new system. This migration process provided the opportunity to screen and revalidate the data and resolve any inconsistencies.
Final Assembly
Final assembly of VFR chart products will be performed using tools that can upload data as layers from their NAV CANADA repository. To the extent possible, assembly of the VFR products will use an automated process of data links between the assembly tools and the various databases. To minimize the possibility of errors, all NAV CANADA Aeronautical Information Service systems and process systems use internal safety management and quality assurance process.
Digital processing will produce charts that are of a sharper image than was possible using the former manual process. Due to the digital processing, colours may vary slightly from the former product line; however, they will follow the ICAO guidelines for hypsometric tints.
Conclusion
Both the data and the production processes used to create the VFR charts are changing. NAV CANADA will use current, verifiable data from a more diverse group of sources than was ever used in the past. This will enable us to provide the up-to-date VFR products our customers require.
Please make your selection from the chart list below. There are a number of VFR products, such as VFR Navigation Charts (VNC), VFR Terminal Area (VTA) charts, and World Aeronautical Charts (WAC), that are due for revision in 2007
A List of VFR Charts (VNC, VTA & WAC) is also available.
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