Aero-Linx!

Scouring the information super airways can sometimes be a tough, if educational, task for the Aero-News staff... but it also allows us to check out some truly neat and exciting sites, so it's not that bad a gig. On any given day, we may check dozens (and often hundreds) of different sources for story ideas, and facts confirmation. And, as is the nature of our business, much of this is done on the Internet.

The ANN gang decided we probably shouldn't keep some of the neat sites, info resources, and organizations we've discovered to ourselves... so we decided to bring you Aero-Linx. These are the sites that WE check out -- when we need added perspective, a new spin on a day's topic... or just want to escape into cyber-aero-space for awhile.

Look for some of our favorite sites, coming each day to ANN via Aero-Linx. Suggestions for future Aero-Linx segments are always welcome, as well.

Aero Linx: Historic Maps and Charts

NOAA's Office of Coast Survey's Historical Map & Chart Collection is a rich archive of high-resolution images capturing a vast wealth of the U.S. government's historical surveying and mapping. The collection of over 35,000 scanned images - covering offshore and onshore sites - includes some of the Nation's earliest nautical charts, bathymetric maps, city plans, and Civil War battlefield maps.

Electronic copies are available, by free download, to the public.

FMI: www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov