AvPlot is only as defensible as what it's built on. These are the FAA standards and data sources behind every value — and the citation-trail methodology that keeps the trail intact from screen to deliverable.
A strict source hierarchy: the governing AC always wins; ADG-driven dimensions come from the RDSM; airport facts come from NASR with cycle dates.
Airport Design — the governing FAA standard for runway and taxiway geometry, safety areas, and protection zones. Change 1 (8/2024) baked in.
The National Airspace System Resource subscription — runway dimensions, declared distances, elevations, magnetic headings, navaids — each row cycle-dated.
The FAA "Facility Overview Xcell" (heliport-dimensions) methodology, cross-checked against the authoritative PDFs for rotorcraft/vertiport sizing.
The Airports standard operating procedure for the Airport Layout Plan data tables — airport, runway, and declared-distance tables.
Objects Affecting Navigable Airspace — imaginary surfaces and obstacle-clearance surfaces, with the approach footprint anchored per §77.19.
Airport Master Plans forecasting guidance, with the Aug 2024 APP-400 memo TAF-consistency check and AC 150/5000-17 critical-aircraft method.
Three rules keep every AvPlot value defensible — the same trail you see on screen is the one your deliverable cites.
Each dimension returns with its controlling table, paragraph, and change note — or, for airport facts, its NASR cycle date.
When two cited FAA sources disagree, the newest release wins (AC 13B Chg 1 over the 2022 figures) and the citation states the dated basis.
The reference layer, the calculator, and the CAD/XLSX export all read the same source of truth — so the sheet you ship cites the table you saw.
Plain-language explainers that crosswalk the standards to the work. Published as they're written.
How the FAA Airport Improvement Program Handbook maps to the design standards AvPlot returns.
The dimensional, table, and TDG revisions in Change 1 — and which standing references they quietly supersede.
Two surface frameworks, two purposes — when each governs, and how they coexist on one airport.
See the citation trail on a real answer — open the free FAA-equivalent tools now, no account, exports included. Request beta access to unlock the full production suite.