The goal of the AIRCRAFT TRAFFIC MONITORING PROGRAM (also known as the "RENS Program") is to monitor aircraft operations at non-towered and part-time towered system airports, in an effort to provide more reliable estimates of operations for use in planning, forecasting and setting development priorities.

 

 

ODA´s operations monitoring program has existed in Oregon since 1979, when the Department (at that time, known as the Aeronautics Division of Oregon Department of Transportation) piloted a new method of statistically sampling aircraft operations. Funded by an FAA grant, this monitoring method actually proved to be more accurate than commonly used methods for estimating airport operations. It also proved to be far less costly than the more technologically-advanced methods of counting aircraft traffic, which are deemed to be slightly more accurate. The minor variance in accuracy is so minuscule that the cost savings are well worth maintaining the program, which has proven over time to be more than sufficient to meet both industry and government needs.

 

The RENS program uses an acoustical counter to capture the sounds of aircraft operations, which are then interpreted and tailied. This data is then fed into calculations to derive annual estimates. The accuracy of these estimates is dependent upon several factors, indluding: the number of samplings done at a specific airport, the numbers of days in each sampling, the working condition of the sampling equipment, and the training and skills of the sound auditor.

 

The random samplings are done for a minimum of seven full days several times each year-long cycle. The number of counts per year is determined by a variety of airport features. Each cycle runs from October 1st of the first year given through September 30th of the following year. This cycle is set specifically to coincide with FAA timelines.

 

The links below give operational data for non-towered airports in Oregon.

 

LINKS TO PROGRAM DATA
Select from the following: