Q: How often are sectorfiles updated?
A: All sectorfiles are updated at least every AIRAC cycle, typically more frequently.
Q: Can anyone contribute?
A: Yes! Our data comes from the wonderful OpenStreetMap project. Follow our tutorials to get started.
Q: What do I do if I find a problem?
A: File an issue!
All ground-based data comes from OpenStreetMap. You can edit the data here. For a more in-depth explnation, watch our YouTube tutorial.
Each ARTCC has a single "sectorfile" which is stored in the repository. These sectorfiles are named after the ARTCC
with the extension .isc (e.g. KZLA.isc for ZLA). The majority of data is stored in the US folder (inside
Include) and is split into a number of folders, detailed below.
GEOs are the taxiway and gate centerlines for each airport, as well as the coastline information which is shared
between all sectors. Each airport has a file ending in .geo (e.g. KLAX.geo) containing the centerlines, and a
shared file named coast.geo contains all the coastlines.
Labels are the little bits of text that are shown over the taxiways, gates, terminals, and aprons. These are split
into two files for each airport: a .txi file containing the taxiway labels, and a .gts file containing all other
labels.
MVAs or MRVAs are a set of altitudes which the FAA has determined are safe for IFR aircraft to be vectored at. In many cases, they represent the lowest altitude you can instruct an aircraft to fly.
Navaids are aids to navigation. In Aurora, we use the term to refer specifically to VORs and NDBs.
Polygons are the shapes that make up the airport layouts. They are the taxiways, runways, aprons, terminals, and anything else that appears "filled-in" in Aurora.
Procedures are SIDs, STARs, and approaches. SIDs are stored in files ending .sid (e.g. KLAX.sid), while STARs and
approaches are stored in files ending .str (e.g. KLAX.str).
Each ARTCC has its own folder containing information specific to it.
The airports.ap file contains the ICAO code, elevation, location, and name of each airport displayed in the
sectorfile.
The airways.high and airways.low contain the high and low (respectively) airways which pass through the ARTCC.
The artcc.artcc file contains the ARTCC boundaries displayed in Aurora. low.artcc contains the boundaries of the
class B airports within the sector. Originally class C and D airports were included, but they were removed for
performance reasons.
The atc.atc file contains the list of positions which you can connect to in the sector as well as their frequencies.
The fixes.fix file contains the fixes used by the procedures, airways, and airspaces within the sector. vfr.fix
contains the visual reporting points (points starting with VP, e.g. VPLQM) in the sector.
The runways.rw file contains the identifiers, elevations, courses, and endpoint positions of all runways in the
sector.
Learn more about reading sectorfiles: https://wiki.ivao.aero/en/home/devops/manuals/SectorFile_Definition