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Airfield Maps at Your Fingertips

  • Published
  • By Andree Swanson
  • Air Mobility Command Geo Integration Office
Winter 2013/2014 --  Every AMC aircrew member is well versed with the Giant Report, a part of the Airfield Suitability and Restrictions Report (ASRR). Now the report can be supplemented with a look at the airfield, right from your desktop.

The Rapid Global Mobility viewer is the latest addition to AMC's geospatial visualization effort. Called AMC.maps for short, the CAC-enabled site contains data visualized on a map, combined with tools that make the maps interactive.

On this map, airfield imagery is supplemented by photos from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and other Air Force major commands. Using the Giant Report data, AMC Geo Integration staff mark key airfield structures, including light towers, ILS components, and navigation aids, along with labeling airfield taxiways, runways, parking aprons, and other key features.

Additionally, the maps contain links directly to important flight mission planning websites, from the Global Decision Support System (GDSS) to NOTAMs and airfield pavement reports.

"We asked the Geo Integration people to create these maps because seeing an airfield you've never flown into before is just another way of making flying safer," explained Joe Motowski, chief of the AMC Airfield Suitability Branch. "We use imagery in our branch to determine or verify runway, taxiway, and parking apron dimensions on current imagery. We fly large airplanes into challenging locations. We can list all the taxiways, ramps, and known obstacles we want, but allowing aircrews to visualize the airfield environment enhances their situational awareness."

AMC.maps is a combination of data from the Giant Report, AMC/A3AT Terminal Procedures (TERPS) data, NGA's airfield diagrams, and the Automated Air Facility Information File (AAFIF). The airfields on the maps are those requested by the AMC/A3 staff, generally the most frequently used fields of the 2,500 active fields mobility forces may use. About 100 airfields have data and current imagery associated with them on AMC.maps, but any airfield can be viewed using the Global Airfield Search tool within the map. If requested, the AMC Geo Integration Office will acquire more imagery as needed.

Motowski says the Airfield Suitability team relies on aircrew feedback to make the reports more reliable. "If an aircrew flies to a location and encounters an issue that every AMC aviator should know, the Giant Report is a vehicle to share that knowledge." Aircrews with airfield information to help others should be emailed to the AMC Airfield Helpdesk at airfield.helpdesk@us.af.mil.

AMC.maps' newest viewer is another advancement in the development of the ASRRs. The death of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown in a 1996 CT-43 crash near Dubrovnik, Croatia, was a catalyst in the establishment of a consolidated ASRR and its resultant Giant Report.

Then Lt. Col. Mike Yanaros, who was the AMC Airfield Suitability branch chief, played a key role in today's branch mission.

"The predecessor to the ASRR was archaic. It contained a one-liner for the airfield's primary runway only; it was printed and mailed to customers to be used by aircraft in flight. The Airfield Suitability Branch was slated to be cut when the crash occurred," said Yanaros, now serving as an airfield analyst in the branch.

When Secretary Brown's accident occurred, AMC's Giant Report had Dubrovnik restricted as suitable only for visual flight rules (VFR) landings, recalled Yanaros. "We knew the NavAids there were unreliable, and the mountains made instrument landings hazardous."

The USAFE aircrew, which wasn't required to follow AMC's airfield suitability report, flew an instrument flight rules (IFR) approach into Dubrovnik. Though other factors beyond the approach led to the crash, then Air Force Chief of Staff Ronald Fogleman directed all Air Force aircrews to consult the AMC ASRR from then on. Soon after, the report was automated and put online.

Just as in 1996, aircrews still need accurate airfield data.

"We use a uniform set of airfield approval standards for mobility Air Force aircraft, reviewing each airfield for safety and operational restrictions," Motowski said. "Though only AMC is required to use the Giant Report, all major commands with mobility aircraft are recommended to view it before going into an unfamiliar field."

"Our job is provide the most current and accurate information available," concluded Yanaros. "We resolve conflicting information from different sources. The advantage of the Giant Report is that we resolve those conflicts for the aircrews so they don't have to."

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Accessing Airfield Maps From Your .mil Computer

AMC's geospatial solution to lines of data are maps that host a lot of useful information, from building, aircraft, and overseas airfields locations and information to weather radar and hurricane tracking. Most users use the General Purpose viewer on AMC.maps, but the AMC Geo Integration Office has developed a map view just for aircrews seeking overseas airfield information: the Rapid Global Mobility viewer.

If you have a common-access card, you can access AMC.maps. Go to https://amc.maps.us.af.mil and select the Rapid Global Mobility viewer. New users need to register the first time. When the map viewer loads, you can search for airfield by name, ICAO, or WAC-INNR in the Global Airfield Search window. Click on the name to zoom into the airfield. A popup window shows additional links to airfield information, including NOTAMS, Giant Report, and AirNav.com.

You can also search for an airfield by AOR. Click on the Bookmarks tool on the toolbar at the top of the page, and select the AOR you want. From the popup window, you'll see all the airfields that have data associated with them.

To see Giant Report data, click on any point next to a label. A new popup window will open with information such as suitability codes, runway length, and taxiway width.
Many more tools and services are offered on the General Purpose viewer. On the home page at https://amc.maps.us.af.mil, scroll down to the user guide for an introduction to AMC.maps, the Rapid Global Mobility viewer, a training presentation on the main viewer, video tutorials, and other user guides.

AMC.maps is maintained by the GIO in the AMC Installations and Mission Support Directorate. For additional information, contact DSN 779-4360 or email amc.maps@us.af.mil.