Australian "Bush" strips in a file?

[flying dog]

Ok, I am only asking.

 

(Before you shoot me: I know/appreciate things change and are "dated".)

 

Most modern GPS's know about all the main airports around Oz. But what about the bush ones?

 

Yeah, you can buy the bush airport books, but that is in paper form. Is there a list somewhere in electronic format?

 

 

[Skippy22]

Don't know the answer but sounds like the same old same old!! Just like GPS for cars are very lacking in rural areas, imagine aviation ones would be the same!! The road I live on has been around the 40 years but GPS does not know it!!

 

 

[flying dog]

Yeah, but hang on, you can buy books with them listed.

 

"They" obviously get it from somewhere......

 

And nowadays, it would be stored in electronic format - SOMEWHERE.

 

It would be nice to get a copy - even if dated - just to help when flying in the outback.

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

AOPA airstrip directory,

 

Country Airstrips

 

Etc - they all write to Councils and operators for their updates and I reply and post it back.

 

Aero Club has it electronically Australia: Everything in aviation - Events, Clubs, Schools, Airfields, Aircraft and more... but he hasn't responded to any of my updates on the airstrips I controlled so it is out of date, but there.

 

What about asking Ian nicely for a download of the airstrip directory he had on this site?

 

Sue

 

 

[flying dog]

Sue,

 

No, don't hold your breath for a reply from that site.

 

Oh, your last suggestion: Sounds nice. But I may wait and see if he comes here and reads it.

 

 

[Thalass]

Surely with a decent gps (even an intergrated EFIS type gps thingo) you should be able to manually enter your own objects. Waypoints, obviously, but also things like airstrips. Even if it's not through the device's interface, but a config file you access through your computer or somesuch.

 

At least if i designed the system that's how it'd work :P

 

 

[flying dog]

Thalass,

 

The idea is that I have one of those kind of GPS's. But to save me sitting there and doing all that "leg work" if there is a file with all the "remote" strips it could easily be formatted and loaded into the GPS - via another program - and tehre for the person to use.

 

 

[Guest basscheffers]

There you go: GPX Aviation Waypoint Generation

 

Country Airstrip Guide electronic version has many more. You can download an excel sheet in it, which has all the coordinates. You'd probably need a little scripting to get into a format the GPS is able to use, but it's not that hard. (I only had a look at the tiral version which obviously doesn't have anywhere near all airfields.)

 

Then use easyGPS (or Garmin software) to load it into you unit. You are likely limited to a number of waypoints, but easyGPS allows you select a geographic region.

 

Hope that helps!

 

 

[flying dog]

Thanks,

 

Looking at it now.

 

 

[Steve L]

well there you go I thought most of you knew this one or even used it ---www.ourairports.com its a Google Earth type search engine. I have been using this for a while now to see if its feasible to fly from here to USA in a Jab --- and it is!!! ( check out the deserted island of Urap Russia, with its dissused military airstrip. You will be amazed at how many useable remote airstrips there are here in Aust. and you can even bring them in for a closer look, some have a pilots report.

 

Steve

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

... You'd probably need a little scripting to get into a format the GPS is able to use, but it's not that hard...!

Awk is very handy for reformatting text files and is available for Windows as well as *nix.

 

 

[Guest basscheffers]

well there you go I thought most of you knew this one or even used it ---www.ourairports.com its a Google Earth type search engine.

I have take their list of world airports, taken out just the Australian ones, filtered closed airports and haliports and put them in a format easily imported into your GPS.

You can find it here: Australian Airfields and VFR Waypoints

 

Enjoy!

 

 

[Steve L]

thats good Bass, im not too good at those things. I have enought trouble just turning on my gps lol

 

 

[Guest MackAgri Aviation]

Champagne PC software has its Flight Planner 3000 program which, apart from being a very good flight planning tool (which can download and decode NAIPS weather to plain english!), has an extensive airstrip database. It has a GPS interface which will allow you to upload waypoints and routes to most GPS's.

 

see Champagne PC Services - Flight Planning software for pilots around the world

 

 

[turboplanner]

FD, a great idea regardless of the system.

 

If the supplier is smart he/she will create a "living document"

 

So where the printed books you can buy from Pilot stores will be out of date before they go on sale, a living document can be updated and posted daily, so the latest information is shown when it happens eg when FlyingVizsla sends information or the middle of the strip gets washed away in a storm, or it's closed for whatever reason.

 

In the transport industry it was just not possible to make legal trucks because the DOTARS regulation manuals were forever out of print, or 'expected to be available in three months" etc, so I agitated to get them to put their data on the web in the form of living documents, pointing out that it would be less work for them too, less Enforcement issues etc. They did and where previously you had to pay $60.00 for a set of Australian Design Rules, when they became available, now you can just click on the latest information in seconds.

 

Example: Third Edition Australian Design Rules

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

well there you go I thought most of you knew this one or even used it ---www.ourairports.com...Steve

What a great resource Steve. I've added this one to my aviation links for future reference.

 

Just for fun, I looked up YMBT and the info wasn't bad. Didn't check the GPS co-ordinates, but you have to assume given the map placement of the aircraft is accurate, then the GPS co-ords are at least close. The runway elevation was, however way off. It is 1,100' AMSL, not the 3xx stated. I left a comment on the site to that effect.

 

I've yet to get bad location or elevation data from Google Earth, and use that in conjunction with official charts and ERSA.

 

What it lacks is an "authority" for the information. If you knew, for instance, that the information was maintained by someone associated with the specific airfield, it would give greater confidence in the voracity of the info.

 

 

[flying dog]

Davidh10,

 

Without actually seeing the data, I would suspect the elevation was in Metres - not feet.