Re: Where are *our* NACO terminal procedures (online)?

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"Roy Smith, CFI" wrote:

> sgosnell@bigfoot.com (Stan Gosnell) wrote:
> > Technically, approach plates are part of Part 97. Only those persons
> > authorized by the Administrator are authorized to publish or use them.
>
> Where does it say that? Both 97.10 and 97.20 refer to "charts prepared for
> the use of pilots by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey and other publishers
> of aeronautical charts." Nowhere do I see any references to *authorized*
> publishers.
>

The introductory language to Part 97 is even more general than that:

"The large number of SIAPs, their complex nature, and the need for a special
format make their verbatim publication in the Federal Register expensive and
impractical. Further, airmen do not use the regulatory text of the SIAPs, but
refer to their graphic depiction on charts printed by publishers of aeronautical
materials."

Anyone is free to reproduce the regulatory information contained in the Far 97
source document for a SIAP. But, there is a presumption by the FAA that the
chart will also contain all pertinent non-regulatory data generally considered
necessary for the safe conduct of the approach such as frequencies for nav aids,
communications, relevant airport information, etc. Further, it is presumed all
these data, both regulatory source and related non-regulatory data, will be in a
graphical format that is generally recognized by the aviation community.

In other words, regulations cannot and do not cover everything, but there are
lots of policies and practices that come into play to complete the picture, so
to speak. In the case of the FAA charts (formerly NOS) there is a 120-page
(plus) intergovernmental agency document on cartographical standards for U.S.
Government approach charts. This IACC spec spells out every detail and nuance
that must go into the completed chart. Although Jepp isn't bound by the IACC
specs, per se, they certainly know to adhere to the concept to keep their
acceptable for commercial operations.

As to those that feel they have already paid for the official government chart,
that is certainly true as to the source, including design and flight
inspection. It becomes a bit more vague when dealing with the actual graphical
design and production. What is really at issue is the lack of copyright
protection for federal government publications; a concept not shared in many
other countries.

The wholesale copying of NOS charts is part of why they met their demise.
Fortunately, for now at least, policitcal moves were made to have the FAA budget
pick up the tab. Three years ago, NOS almost disappeared completely. Now, the
FAA is paying for the final product, perhaps at the expense of funding some
other project of interest to general aviation. And, whose to say that another
budget crunch won't see the FAA dropping the charts altogether?

As to AOPA reproducting the charts, they are exposing themselves to a whole lot
of liability. Jeppesen's esteemed legal beagals have been quite concerned over
the years about the liability issues that result when charts are difficult to
read because of poor print quality; such as those sent by fax, etc. The
internal debate within Jeppesen over this issue is still unresolved today as to
the JeppView product. Fortunately, with vector graphics and today's good
personal printers, most JeppView produced paper charts are equal to, or better,
than the paper charts printed by Jeppesen.

Jeppesen defends is copyright with great dilegence not only to protect its
marketing interests but to provide a good defense against some inevitable future
lawsuit where Joe Pilot creams using a copy of a copy of a copy of Jepp chart.