AIM/AIP implementations issues

The February 2005 COPA Newsletter highlighted the transition from the old Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), produced by Transport Canada, to Transport Canada’s new Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/publications/tp14371/menu.htm (English) www.tc.gc.ca/AviationCivile/publications/tp14371/menu.htm (French) and NAV CANADA’s new AIP Canada (ICAO) www.navcanada.ca/ContentDefinitionFiles/Publications/AeronauticalInfoProducts/pdf/AIP/Launch.pdf.  
We pointed out where to find these new online publications (note the above links are new locations) and we also informed readers there were potential problems with the new formats and accessibility issues such as large download files. At that time, the current AIP had been transitioned to the web, but there were several more changes in the works to be introduced at the next publication date, Oct. 27, 2005.
COPA had concerns but we agreed to wait until the final versions were online before commenting on any outstanding issues. This article is meant to help you access the information in its current form and to let you know we are working with TC and NAVCAN in improving the documents from their current form.
A letter was sent to TC and NAVCAN providing details of our concerns. The highlights of our concerns are as follows: Notification by email of a new version is an important tool for keeping pilots up-to-date with changes. Very few people will remember the planned amendment dates (twice per year for the AIM, seven times per year for the AIP) so the email notice is a good way to prompt them to review the AIM. Transport Canada sent a card to all pilots some time ago asking them to sign up for an email notification service for updates to the AIM. The notification service worked for the October 2005 edition, but the notification was not received until three days after the effective date. There is no apparent way to subscribe for the AIM notification service and there is no notification service available for the AIP. COPA’s recommendation to provide an explanation of changes, similar to the one provided in the old AIP, has been incorporated into the AIM. However, a facility has been lost from the previous AIP. Bars were provided in the margins of affected pages so that readers could zero in on the exact changes. There is no web link from the Explanation of Changes in the online version to the corresponding paragraph in the AIM document. The best way to deal with this lack of capability is to load the summary page into one browser and then open another html copy of the document in another browser.
Although this is workable, it is cumbersome to flick back and forth for the reference, explanation of the change and then to read the affected section. There is no such tool for the new AIP. Very few people will ever read the entire document in order to discover where changes have been made and consequently the AIP will quickly become a stale document for most pilots.
Although the new AIP is essentially a reference document for ICAO purposes, it would help to at least let people know where changes have been made. There is also no key-word search capability on the html version of the AIM. COPA made this suggestion last year when we anticipated that it may be an issue with the new AIM. Although there is a general search tool at the top of any page, it will lead to words found anywhere on the Transport Canada web site. It would help to either have a selection on the “advanced search” page for limiting the search to the AIM or, better yet, provide a dedicated search tool within the AIM web pages that limits searches to the AIM pages.
Even though the entire AIM can be downloaded and key-word searched using the Acrobat search tool, the AIM is so large that it is unreasonable to expect people with slow internet connections to download the entire AIM. Also, for anyone who tries to access this information at an airport, even if they can access a computer, many airports do not have high-speed internet access.
While the above comments are primarily of a convenience nature, the location and format of the Supplements (Supps) and Aeronautical Information Circulars (AICs) are significant safety issues. When COPA learned that Supps and AICs were not going to be included with the AIM but instead only be in the new NAV CANADA AIP Canada (ICAO), and knowing that NAV CANADA intended to only make the AIP available online in pdf format, we strongly recommended that the Supps and AICs be included with the AIM. We are again emphasizing this need to Transport Canada. In the meantime, please note these important updates to aviation are only available on the NAV CANADA site in the AIP and only in pdf format.
Availability of hard copies is another issue, especially for the AIP Supps and AICs. Of course, all documents can be downloaded and printed, but they are very large files. The AIM will be issued in hard copy, free of charge, for the current issue and next Spring, and then available for $12 per copy plus taxes and shipping. The AIP is available for $250 per copy. This is essentially a “please do not order” price. We anticipate that the AIP itself will not be a useful document for most Canadian pilots, but the Supps and AICs are important information sources and should be more readily available online and in hard copy. COPA is emphasizing this need to Transport Canada and NAV CANADA as well as other recommendations as indicated in this article. TC has acknowledged COPA’s suggestions and said they are already in the works, and they wil also be working on improving their website in order to make it more user-friendly.
If you have comments about the new AIM, please contact Transport Canada at: AIM Coordinator, Transport Canada (AARBH), Ottawa ON K1A 0N8 Tel. 613 993-4502, Fax 613 990-1198, E-mail shankd@tc.gc.ca. For the AIP, please contact A.I.P. Canada (ICAO) Co-ordinator, NAV CANADA, 77 Metcalfe Street Ottawa, ON K1P 5L6 Tel.: 613 563-5466, Fax: 613 563-7987; E-mail: Oconndo@navcanada.ca. And please copy COPA on your correspondence: kpsutka@copanational.org.