Product Support Group, AJV-34

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The Aeronautical Navigation Products Group is focused on the future and committed to exceeding customer's expectations. The public is our most important customer. Because of our commitment to customer service, AeroNav Products provides Flight Procedures Offices (FPOs) in each FAA service area to create an atmosphere that recognizes and promotes superior customer-focused services to internal and external customers.

The FPO provides up front advice and guidance on FAA instrument flight procedures development and maintenance functions. The FPO is the focal point to start the process for completing requests for new and revised instrument flight procedures. The FPO answers questions related to General References, Survey, Airport Data, Environmental Data, Funding to assist the FAA in support of an instrument procedure request. The FPO evaluates the effect of proposed Obstacle Evaluations and Airport Airspace Analysis upon current and future instrument procedures.

The FPOs provide assistance in the collection and interpretation of airport and navigational aid data to ensure the highest possible quality of data is being used for procedure development, flight inspection and publication.

The Product Support Group manages the production planning, administration, distribution, and coordination with Flight Inspection, maintaining records for the Magnetic Variation Epoch year of all ground base navigational aids in the NAS.

The AeroNav production plan (can be accessed via the website) is prioritized based upon risk assessment and contains a matrix that displays the priority as directed by the Regional Airspace and Procedures Team (RAPT)

These priorities are:
1. Procedures requiring amendment to correct a known safety deficiency.
2. Procedures based on newly installed or relocated navigational aids or airport runway/addition change.
3. Procedures which test or implement an FAA National Initiative.
4. Procedures at airports with no existing Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) approach.
5. Procedures providing a reduction in takeoff or landing minima.
6. Procedures which eliminate the requirement for a waiver or NOTAM.
7. Procedures providing flow improvement, more efficient routing, reduced Communication, or reduced coordination or complexity.
8. Procedures providing other benefits; i.e, compliance with new criteria or noise reduction.
9. Public use procedures not providing benefits of priorities 1 through 8.
10. Special and private procedures not providing benefits of priorities 1 through 8.

The NFPO performs, on an annual basis, over 40,000 Obstacle Evaluation (OE)/Airports and Airspace Analysis (AAA) studies. This is the review and analysis of proposed constructions to determine possible impact on existing procedures. Also, over 1,000 feasibility studies per year are performed for pending procedure actions.