Use Kansas Aviation Portal to Visualizes Airspaces
Kansas Department of Transportation officials selected Burns & McDonnell to develop the Kansas Aviation Portal, a planning tool that represents in 3D the imaginary surfaces of local airspace. This tool promotes protection of the local public airport, improves management of airport funding and economic impacts, and increases awareness of the surrounding airspace.
Developed on Cesium with an ArcGIS Server backend, the portal allows users to interactively evaluate proposed structures’ potential impact on existing airspace. Originally built on the Google Earth API, deprecation required rebuilding the application on Cesium. Work continues as KDOT continues to find new capabilities to explore using the new Portal.
The airspace surfaces were developed according to the geometric descriptions outlined in FAR Part 77 – Objects Affecting Navigable Airspace. These surfaces may vary, depending on the type of instrument approach or the visibility minimums available at the airport. The Portal allows users to easily perform preliminary evaluations with immediate results. Furthermore, local governments use the Portal to clearly define and understand the boundaries of their airspace to facilitate public education as well as create local height and hazard regulations to further protect the airport.
Additionally, the tool allows easy access to System Plan and Economic Plan Analysis and reports. Further, airport owners can view and return information about the condition of their runways by viewing pavement data obtained from the ongoing Pavement Management Program.
The Portal has won a number of awards:
- 2012 ACEC National Honors Award for Engineering Excellence
- 2012 National Association of State Aviation Officials’ Most Innovative Program Award
- 2012 President’s Award in Aviation from the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials
- 2013 Official Google Earth Project Showcase
For more information contact Jamie Katz at Burns & McDonnell Engineering.