{{Pressrelease, date=February 2014 ] Flight Traffic Mapping uses animation to depict flight traffic. The mapping of flights in real-time is based on a sophisticated air traffic control system that was developed for North America. The air traffic control system is a complex combination of electronics and people that helps guide planes from departure to destination. In 1991, data on the location of aircraft was made available by the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

to the airline industry. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), the

General Aviation Manufacturers Association The General Aviation Manufacturer's Association (GAMA) is the industry trade association representing general aviation (non-military & non-airliner) aircraft manufacturers and related enterprises, chiefly in the United States.General Aviation Manufa ...

, the

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a Frederick, Maryland-based American non-profit political organization that advocates for general aviation. AOPA's membership consists mainly of general aviation pilots in the United States ...

(AOPA), the

Helicopter Association International The Helicopter Association International (HAI) is a not-for-profit professional trade association of over member organizations in more than 68 nations. Since 1948, HAI has provided its membership with services that directly benefit their opera ...

, and the

National Air Transportation Association The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is the public policy group that represents the interests of the general aviation business community before the Congress and federal, state and local government agencies. NATA, founded in 1940, rep ...

petitioned the FAA to make

ASDI The Aircraft Situation Display to Industry (or ASDI) data stream is a service made available through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Volpe Transportation Center. In 1991, data on the location of aircraft was made available by the Federal ...

information available on a "need-to-know" basis. Subsequently, NBAA advocated the broad-scale dissemination of flight traffic data. The Aircraft Situational Display to Industry (

) system now conveys up-to-date information on flights to the airline industry and the public. Multiple companies distribute

information including FlightStats,

FlightAware FlightAware is an American multi-national technology company that provides real-time, historical, and predictive flight tracking data and products. , it is the world's largest flight tracking platform, with a network of over 32,000 ADS-B gro ...

, FlightExplorer, FlightView, and FlyteComm. Each company maintains a website that provides free updated information to the public on flight status and

flight tracking Flight tracking is a service that involves the tracking of flights, aircraft and airport activity, often using software. Overview Flight tracking enables travellers as well as those picking up travellers after a flight to know whether a flight h ...

. FlyteTrax, a product of FlyteComm, is a Windows-based program for displaying the geographic location of airborne IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) air traffic anywhere in the FAA air traffic system. Positions are reported for both commercial and general aviation traffic. The program can overlay air traffic with a wide selection of maps such as, geo-political boundaries, air traffic control center boundaries, high altitude jet routes, satellite cloud and radar imagery.

References

*FlyteTrax, Inc. (2002) FlyteTrax 2002 Manual. *Peterson, Michael P. (1993) Interactive Cartographic Animation. Cartography and Geographic Information Systems, 1993, Vol. 20, No. 1, 1993, pp. 40–44. * Volpe Center (2000) Aircraft Situational Display to Industry: Functional Description and Interface Control Document, Automation Application Division, Cambridge, Mass., August 4, 2000.

External links

Flight Traffic Atlas

Example Flight Animation of Atlanta
Air traffic control Radar Cartography