Description

Airport Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) / Airport Zoning Regulation (AZR) are conceptual (imaginary) surfaces associated with a runway, which identify the lower limits of the aerodrome airspace above which objects become obstacles to aircraft operations.

There are three types of surfaces in place at an aerodrome that should be protected to avoid penetration by objects or structures. Protection of these surfaces is done by limiting the height of structures, including appurtenances or objects on the ground, to heights that are less than that of the slope surface thereby avoiding penetration of that surface. OLS is also referred to the complex imaginary surface formed by combining all the individual surfaces as follows:

• Outer horizontal surface;

• Takeoff or Approach Slope surface;

• Transitional surface;
  
  

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  Airports that have an AZR have these surfaces protected by law and these zoning regulations apply to land that is located outside the property boundary of the airport. At aerodromes that do not have an AZR, the cooperation of adjacent communities is sought to obtain provincial/municipal zoning protection against development that would compromise the operational airspace, as defined by the description of these surfaces, around the aerodrome facility.

Originator

1. Transport Canada

Use Cases

1. As an Aviation Inspector, I want to be able to visualize the extent of any OLS surfaces and their respective permitted height so that height restriction can be enforced.

Source(s)

Remarks

1. OLS/AZR models are generated using advanced FME workflow based on Transport Canada TP 312 5th Edition Aerodrome Standards .

2. OLS/AZR models generated are only approximate, therefore it should only be used for reference purposes.

3. EGIS Data Folder: \\ncras382\Application Source Files\EGIS\Smartmap Files\

OLS / AZR Models:

Obstacle Limitation Surface Diagram

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Airport Zoning Regulation Diagram

Credit: Images courtesy of Transport Canada

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Process for EGIS integration

OLS / AZR Model Creation:

1. In FME, join Canada Airport database with National Aerodrome Safety Database (NASD) to extract these attributes:
   a) Runway Threshold Coordinates (Runway Centreline)
   b) Critical Aircraft Type (Aircraft Group Number (AGN))
   c) Runway Approach Type
   i) Non-instrument runway. A runway intended for the operation of aircraft using visual approach procedures, or an instrument approach procedure down to a height above aerodrome (HAA)/ height above threshold (HAT) not lower than 500 ft.
   ii) Non-precision runway. A runway served by visual and non-visual navigation aids that provides at least lateral guidance adequate for instrument approach procedure down to a HAA/ HAT lower than 500 ft but not lower than 250 ft, and with an approach visibility not less than ¾ SM (RVR4000).
   iii) Precision runway

2. Join with OLS Parameter Table using AGN and Runway Approach Type as primary keys to determine the corresponding technical specification for Approach (Section 1&2) Length, Divergence and Slope; Transitional (Segment 1&2) Length and Slope.

3. Generate 3D Approach Surfaces and Transitional Surfaces polygons using OLS Parameter specification. Include Z values (height) for 3D extrusion.
   a) Extend runway centreline at both ends by Threshold Distance.
   b) Create buffer of Inner Edge Length for Runway Surface.
   c) Extend (a) at both ends by Approach Length.
   d) Generate wedge shape with Approach Divergence Angle for (c) to create Approach Surface.
   e) Generate buffer of Transitional Length for (b) and (d) to create Transitional Surface.

4. Generate contours at 10m intervals for Approach Surfaces.

5. Generate 45m buffer around Airport Reference Point to create Outer Surface.

6. Output to KML, SHP or GDB as required.

7. Import into EGIS.

Aircraft Classification Table 1

Aircraft Classification Table 2

OLS Parameters Table

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TC Smart Maps:

1. Not all GIS applications can consume KML file directly due to its unique data structures such as networklinks, folders, models etc.

2. Please contact Lawrence Chong, Digital Services Directorate for TC Smart Maps KML dataset and format translation.

3. TC Smart Maps KML link: \tc.gc.ca\tcgis\GISData\Google Mashup\Aerodrome\OLS_AZE-3d_TP312-5\OLS_AZR-3D.kmz

Customization:

1. Schema transformation: Not required

2. Denormalization: Not required

3. Value coding: Not required

4. Attribute renaming: Not required.

5. Attribute removal: Not required.

6. Geoenrichment: Feature symbolization and 3D extrusion are recommended to improve visualization

7. Format translation: Not required

8. Language translation: French version not available

9. Update frequency: As identified