Federal 100: Barry C. Davis

Barry C. Davis
Acting Director of Aeronautical Information Management
Federal Aviation Administration
Transportation Department

The work: Modernizing the 50-year-old Notices to Airmen messaging system into a faster, more reliable digital version.

The impact: The new system has reduced transmission time from minutes to seconds. It is operational at more than 50 airports, with another 100 expected to go online by the end of the year.

The nuts and bolts: Under the previous system, pilots were faxed urgent messages informing them of weather or other conditions that could affect air operations. But the messages were often difficult to interpret and could take more than 15 minutes for pilots to receive. Davis’ system integrates with mobile technology for faster transmission and standardizes the information through the use of dropdown menus.

Read more about the 2012 Federal 100 award winners.