National Flight Procedures Office

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• | Updated: 10:14 am ET January 07, 2010

AVN's strategy is effectively integrated with the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) NAS Architecture and National Airspace Redesign initiative and Performance Based Navigation Systems. The AVN strategy also addresses industries' request to fully utilize ground, aircraft, and space based navigation systems for improved safety, capacity, and operational flexibility. The AVN plan integrates the mandates represented in The Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (HR 1000), (AIR21), the initiatives of the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA), and Special Committee on National Airspace Redesign Planning and Analysis (SC-192).

The National Flight Procedures Office (NFPO) is responsible for the global development and maintenance of both terminal and enroute instrument flight procedures. The NFPO provides lifespan maintenance of the instrument flight procedures in the National Airspace System (NAS). There are numerous types of instrument flight procedures. One example is a standard instrument approach procedure (SIAP), which is constructed to allow pilots to safely use airport runways in adverse weather. The current NAS is made up of instrument procedures based on both conventional and satellite based navigational aids. The satellite-based procedures make up approximately 40% of the NAS, but we are continuously increasing this percentage to stay in line with the new technological advancements within the aviation industry.

The NAS consists of approximately 14,000 instrument flight procedures. The current inventory of flight procedures can be viewed at IFP Inventory Summary.