Flying in Good Form

When aircraft of the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Aviation System Standards (AVN) take wing, their crews carry an unusual payload: about 650 pounds of computerized measurement equipment. AVN certifies ground navigation systems nationwide, ensuring their accuracy within fine tolerances. "We analyze to the microamp what the signal strength is when it radiates into space," says Scott Rose, computer specialist and project leader in AVN's Oklahoma City headquarters. "If you're flying into an airport in bad weather, you want the navigation system to be accurate."

AVN is responsible for testing all the components of landing systems: the instruments that provide electronic guidance, radar, and even the ru nway ligh ts -- "anything that brings an airplane closer in to an airport," says Rose.

The U.S. government requires that the AVN crews write up their analyses and test results in detailed reports. For the past several years, AVN has been using Symantec's PerForm and FormFlow software to fill in and route these reports. "We originally just did fill and print," says Rose. "Now we route via electronic mail, so field reports can be viewed back at the home office."

Rose is looking forward to a Web-based e-forms solution. It might better support a plan to create a pool of crew members who aren't based at a specific location. "A Web-based form filler would give us better access and mobility," he says.

Until that happens, the current system is linked to an Oracle database containing data on aircraft movement operations, crew personnel records, and operational costs. "We dump our Oracle data into a query table and read it with FormFlow," says Rose . "That way, if a form changes, we change a query, not the whole system."

The forms software also protects the integrity of the data, which is vital because the reports must be able to stand as legal documents. "FormFlow gives you a locked file, and you can use an electronic signature to bind the data to the form," explains Rose. (However, AVN does not currently use this feature because the government requires genuine handwritten signatures on each report.)

AVN is planning to revamp its procedures by collecting the data in-flight, downloading it to the ground, routing it to the proper destination, and then filing the reports electronically -- a completely paperless process. This year, AVN aircraft began testing the first phase of that plan, in which airborne crew members enter the information into e-forms software running on laptops. By the end of next year, says Rose, the aircraft's own measurement computers will be able to fill in e-forms directly.

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Fly FormFlow

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The FAA uses Symantec's FormFlow.