Plain English Meaning

A government center that studies transportation problems for the U.S. Department of Transportation. For pilots, it is the group that finds and lists the towers, buildings, and terrain that the FAA needs to know about when designing instrument approaches.

Full Definition

A federal research and analysis center within the U.S. Department of Transportation that provides technical expertise on transportation systems, including aviation. In the instrument procedures context, the Volpe Center is the organization responsible for evaluating and identifying obstacles that may affect instrument approach procedures, and it produces obstacle data used by the FAA in the design and charting of those procedures.

Context Anchor

Seen in FAA handbook material that explains the background, , or support of and related aviation systems.