CAIPD Joins CBAA

Instrument Procedure Design Issues in Common

After discussions with the Canadian Business Aviation Association, it became evident that they are facing many of the same issues as the Canadian Association Instrument Procedure Designers (CAIPD) (of which Air Navigation Data is a founding member). As a result, CAIPD has joined CBAA so that the two can speak with a common voice.

NAV CANADA Publishing Delays

One of the most important common issues is the delay associated with the publishing of new procedures. As described in the post, the formation of CAIPD, the NAV CANADA backlog related to procedure publication has increased from the previous 3 months to 12 to 18 months. This is putting regional airports and operators at a disadvantage as they are not able to provide the level of infrastructure their communities need.

Canadian Design Criteria Out-of-Date

Another pressing issue is the release of new instrument procedure design criteriaInstrument procedure design criteria are the rules by which instrument procedures are designed. They define, among many other things, the clearance distances from terrain and man-made obstructions.. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released new criteria (FAA Order 8260.58) that takes advantage of the latest advances in satellite navigation. While Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) follows the FAA criteria, these new criteria are yet to be approved in Canada, putting all Canadian operators at a disadvantage.

Meeting with Transport Canada Civil Aviation

There is an upcoming meeting hosted by Transport Canada Civil Aviation to discuss ways of accelerating the adoption of the new FAA design criteria. The attendees will include representatives from NAV CANADA, a cross-section of commercial aircraft operators and, of course, most of the independent procedure design offices. It is expected that there will be an opportunity to add the procedure publishing delay to the agenda.