OFM generated considerable interest at AERO 2016

Considerable Interest at the show

It seems appropriate to review the presence of OFM at  the AERO 2016, now that a week has gone by. This was the first time that the OFM was present at the show, and it seems that the concept was received with considerable interest. A surprisingly large number of people made their way to the stand we were invited to share by Kanardia, to meet us and hear first hand what the project is all about. Of course the fact that we were giving away VFR maps of Germany for free probably had something to do with this popularity. The printed maps were a good promotion, since they demonstrated the high quality that can be achieved, particularly since there were many other similar maps available at the show, produced by more orthodox map providers: in general the OFM maps compared favourably.

openflightmaps and papercharts

But I hope using printed maps as a promotion will not convey the wrong impression about the purpose of the OFM. It is clear that the future of aeronautical information will not revolve around printed maps, which are normally destined to become o ut of date almost as soon as they come off the press. Instead, the importance of the OFM project stems from the speed at which the data in the database can be updated, and the ability to subject the published information to the scrutiny of a very large number of critical reviewers. It is only in this way that we can ensure we maintain the best available database, and that it is maintained up to date on a continuous basis. In short, the success of the project is based on the support of an ever increasing community of contributors. So, on behalf on the OFM association, I would like to convey my gratitude to everybody who expressed their support for the project during the AERO show.

Robert Nisbet President OFM association