Using ESRI's ArcGIS Server To Help Get Relief Flights Into Haiti

One of our long time clients, FltPlan.com is in the business of helping private and corporate pilots file flight plans with the FAA.

Filing flight plans, along with navigating customs can be a daunting task. Fltplan.com has really simplified this process by storing aircraft and pilot profiles. Access to this data makes these filing procedures a snap. We have worked with them over the years to help enhance their service with GIS. First with ArcIMS, and for the past 3 years, ArcGIS Server.

When the Haitian earthquake occurred and humanitarian efforts began, FltPlan asked themselves, how could they help? With the largest online community of corporate and private pilots on the internet it was a natural step to offer a clearing house to share information about flying in and out of Haiti to assist with the relief efforts. Fltplan.com has a huge database of airports, waypoints and other flight related data. However, to date, none of this Haitian flight related data, had been available on a internet based map. That's where we (ROK) came in.

We took the data and did our GIS thing that we do so well, and the result is a Javascript API based, ArcGIS Server application dedicated to displaying information about flying in and out of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. If you are interested, check out what a pilot would see when planning a flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Port-au-Prince Haiti with this ArcGIS Server site

Now, the legions of private and corporate pilots can better assist these ongoing relief efforts and get their full planes of supplies and doctor on the ground where they are needed.