WHAT IS THIS WEB PAGE?

This web site generates a database of current TFR's in a format suitable for use with the Flight Master in-flight navigation program. I created this web page and database generator to add my little bit to the ecology of very low cost, yet very high quality flight planning and navigation software for the Palm OS. The founding members of this group are:

Laurie Davis creator of the premier Palm flight planner CoPilot.
Kevin Haines creator of Flight Master for in-flight navigation with CoPilot flight plans.
Paul Tomblin creator of the way point database generator for CoPilot/Flight Master.

With the introduction in 2005 of FM5.0 supporting airspace and obstacle databases, Kevin has generated an impetus for a bunch of new people to provide the databases and infrastructure that support these features.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

When you first access the main page a script is executed that retrieves the contents of the TFR Overlay Database System (TODS). This is a system administered by Jeppesen for the FAA that allows the entry, editing and distribution of data describing Temporary Flight Restrictions in the United States of America. The documentation describing how this works can be accessed from Jeppesen here (PDF). If they lose the document then there is a copy stored here. The data is in XML format although it is a half ass'ed sad and sorry attempted use of XML. My program parses up the data, calculates the correct boundaries of the restricted airspace in each TFR. It then filters the list to get only TFRs that are active in the next 24 hours and that contain a mappable boundary. Finally, it outputs that list in the format specified by Kevin for the Flight Master TFR database.

WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY?

My name is Brenor Brophy and you can find out a lot more about me on my personal web page at www.brenorbrophy.com. I'm an Electronic Engineer living & working in Silicon Valley, California. I'm also an avid airplane pilot with a Commercial Certificate and Instrument Rating for Single Engine Land Airplanes.

WHAT ELSE ARE YOU WORKING ON?

This web site www.getwx.com is going to evolve into a suite of tools for accessing real time data for pilots. I believe we will soon be living in a wireless world where data will be like air - colorless, odorless, all around us, essential to life but unnoticed unless its gone. In this world we will have access to aggregated information tailored exactly to our needs. So for example NEXRAD radar images will be combined with METAR observations and TAF forecasts, TFR's will be added and everything will be delivered to whatever wireless terminal you are carrying (cell phone, hand held GPS, PDA etc.). I started work on the NEXRAD data and METARS for delivery in a format suitable for my Blackberry. The current embryonic incarnation of this can be accessed for the following 3 areas in CA: SFO, LAX & SAN. Eventually you will be able to enter any airport (at least in the USA) and retrieve a map with all pertinent data displayed. There are a ton of people and companies working the same thing. My site will be free because I'm one of those techy anarchists that like open source software and believe that all data should be free (like beer) unless its personal data about me. As long as the government makes the raw data available for just the tax dollars I already pay then I'll keep transforming it into something useful.

I planned on doing TFR's later, but when Kevin released FM5.0, I decided to focus on the TFR database. I thought it would be simple, how wrong I was, 2,500 lines of code later it is done. Along the way I've become proficient at programming a new language PHP, I have finally come to terms with (and now enjoy) Object Orientated Programming, I have learned more about planer geometry and algorithms for performing boolean operations on polygons than anyone should ever need to know and I've learned all about map projections like Universal Transverse Mercator and Conformal Conic Lambert - who knew this stuff would be useful?

If you have other questions you can always email me.