Aviation Web Services
Enable aviation data to flow freely
Weather and navigation data is published for pilots on the Internet and the World Wide Web.
Pilots can create flight plans with this information using PCs:
Unfortunately, this data is contained or trapped in individual web pages on different websites,
requiring pilots to go to many sites to obtain a complete picture of flight and weather conditions.
Pilots are forced to view information in the format specified by each website:
text, static images, and Java applets. Often, these websites are not secure, although the
FAA has recently published security requirements.
In addition, data on aviation websites is currently designed for humans to read, not for
computer programs to manipulate. This means that other websites and aviation software
can not understand and use the information.
To fix these problems, C3D Aero is proposing the creation of Aviation Web Services,
which are software components that can be run over the Internet and contain aviation data
in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format.
Click the image below to see a larger version of the Aviation Web Services diagram:
Pilots will be able to quickly and easily access data from a variety of sources
once existing aviation data on the Internet has been published as Aviation Web Services.
Information will be freed from individual web sites, and applications and aviation
web portals will be able to collect, process, integrate, reformat, and redisplay
information from other sources.
Web services
Aviation Web Services are Web services that contain aviation data.
Web services will become the common Internet architecture for system and application integration.
Web services allow other applications to call modules of code remotely with XML
and are also used to expose data in a database as XML.
Once Aviation Web Services have been built, applications and aviation web portals
will be able to access the following “grid” of information over the Internet:
- Weather conditions (NOAA AIRMETs and AWOS)
- Restricted airspace notices (NOTAMs and SUA)
- Airport information (AOPA’s Airport Directory and FAA’s A/FD)
- Aircraft data in manufacturer’s Pilot Operating Handbook (POH)
- Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs)
Other Aviation Web Services will also be useful. An Airworthiness Directive (AD) Web service
will allow mechanics to be automatically notified of the latest airframe and engine problems.
A medical and licensing Web service will be able to return a yes or no answer if a pilot’s certificates
are valid. Applications and aviation web portals will be able to tap into existing
hotel reservation, restaurant, and car rental Web services.
For example, Dollar Rent A Car currently has a Web service that allows passengers to rent cars
while purchasing tickets on Southwest Airline’s website. This Web service can be used to allow
pilots to rent cars when planning a flight.
In-flight
Aviation Web Services will be part of NASA's SATS and HITS
programs. Once the Airborne Internet is built, pilots will be able to access real-time data
in-flight with a variety of devices.
Click to enlarge the diagram below that shows how Aviation Web Services
will provide data for cockpit displays:
Aircraft will automatically access Aviation Web Services and use them to obtain updates of weather,
navigation, airport, and aircraft performance data. It is important to note that most flight information
will already be stored in a database on the aircraft and will not require the use of Web services,
unless the data changes.
Aircraft will be able to plan the flight and navigate through the air with the information
that Aviation Web Services provide. They will be able to receive alerts and notifications from
the National Airspace System (NAS) and display current flight information to the pilot.
Aircraft will also be able to automatically broadcast their own Aviation Web Services over the Airborne Internet to the ground
network and to other aircraft in the area. Some examples would be flight tracking information,
local weather conditions (PIREPs), equipment performance data and failures, and
Controller Pilot Communications Markup Language (CPCML). CPCML is being proposed by C3D Aero as
an XML-based version of an existing data link message set.
Eventually, aircraft will become so automated that they will no longer
need a human pilot. The diagram below shows a roadmap of the necessary steps. Click to enlarge the diagram:
Money
Aviation Web Services will pay for themselves. They are inexpensive to create because they
are a layer of software components that expose already existing applications and data as XML.
Pilots will pay to use Web portals and flight-planning applications that use Aviation Web Services.
The companies that run the web portals and applications will then pay the government agencies
and other companies that expose their data as Aviation Web Services.
C3D Aero
C3D Aero builds Aviation Web Services.
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