Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By David Wood
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1698266
Serious question. Who polices what people put into NOTAMs?

I'm sure we've all seen examples of the following:

Airfield A with parachuting NOTAMed H24 to FL195. Really? I don't think so...

Or airfield B with aerobatics allegedly being performed in the overhead all day, every day from March to October. Blimey.

Or model aircraft flying all day, every day from a field I see most days, and which is deserted for >95% of the time.

Somebody must surely be responsible for asking the question, is that NOTAM really necessary or truly accurate? And the flipside is, is it fair to ask a pilot to take seriously the NOTAM system when it contains such notifications that are just not true. Granted, such crassly scatter-gun notifications might have been necessary in the days of yore, when NOTAMs were delivered by runners carrying messages in forked sticks, or poled onto wheezing fax machines (remember them?) . But these days? Really?
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By JonathanB
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1698268
I think we need to see the actual NOTAMs in question. Frequently they are mis-read and the actual hours of activity are contained in the body with the validity of the NOTAM covering a longer period.
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By Ben K
#1698277
I don't think they do; for example;

A) EGDM B) FROM: 19/04/25 04:53C) TO: 19/07/24 20:06
E) UAS OPR EXTENDED VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT WI 1NM RADIUS OF
510406N 0015514W (BURCOMBE, WILTSHIRE). MAX HGT 1000FT AGL. FOR INFO
01722 744946. 2019-04-0307/AS2
LOWER: SFC
UPPER: 1600FT AMSL
SCHEDULE: SR-SS

In this one, shurely that implies a UAV being flown sunrise to sunset, up to 1600ft, every day for 3 months? Or am I missing something?

IIRC this NOTAM has been in force for years, in this format, too; I suspect it got disregarded by many as a result. It would have been far more useful to have activated the NOTAM when it was actually being flown, rather than a de facto danger area.
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By Dave W
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1698281
I know that NOTAM. Operations from there happen many times a week, at short notice and often extensively during the day.

Providing a phone number (which is often called) is the most efficient way found of managing the operations whilst providing maximum up-to-date information to other airspace users.
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By xtophe
#1698290
If it's permanent, it ought to be in ENR 5.5 and potentially on the maps.
Model flying sites are listed in ENR 5-5. Not much difference between UAS and models. Some site are notified to 1500ft agl. They don't appear on the 500k maps.
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By lobstaboy
#1698293
Dave W wrote:I know that NOTAM. Operations from there happen many times a week, at short notice and often extensively during the day.

Providing a phone number (which is often called) is the most efficient way found of managing the operations whilst providing maximum up-to-date information to other airspace users.


Er, won't this be the answer you get to the question in your OP if you challenge the owners of the system?

Not saying it's right, mind you.
By chevvron
#1698377
NOTAMs have a maximum validity period of 3 months; if the activity finishes before the 3 months are up, it is up to the 'sponsor' of the NOTAM to cancel it; unfortunately this rarely happens.
On the other hand, if the activity will extend beyond the 3 months but not permanently (thus requiring an entry in the AIP) the sponsor should really ask for an AIP Supplement to be issued, however this is generally only done for things like major works on an airfield.
I had a lot of experience of this when Farnborough was being 'converted' from MOD spec to a civil licensed airfield.
Was 'Airfield A' mentioned by the OP by any chance Weston on the Green?
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By David Wood
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1698378
Dave W wrote:I know that NOTAM. Operations from there happen many times a week, at short notice and often extensively during the day.


Hmmm. I fly over/near/by there many times most weeks and I can only recall one occasion in the last few years when I've ever seen any activity on the little UAV strip there. Maybe they're stealth UAVs... :D
By Dominie
#1698381
chevvron wrote:Was 'Airfield A' mentioned by the OP by any chance Weston on the Green?

I was wondering that as well. The Special Forces do all sorts of odd things and I just keep clear of the place...
By idlelayabout
#1698416
matthew_w100 wrote:How do I discover when precisely a NOTAM was posted? J0311/19 is the one I'm interested in.

Telephone them, 01489-612488 , their full details are in Gen 3-1.
By Ad Eves
#1698423
David Wood wrote:
Dave W wrote:I know that NOTAM. Operations from there happen many times a week, at short notice and often extensively during the day.


Hmmm. I fly over/near/by there many times most weeks and I can only recall one occasion in the last few years when I've ever seen any activity on the little UAV strip there. Maybe they're stealth UAVs... :D


As Dave W said, the site is used regularly and some activities may not be immediately obvious from the air although some clearly are. Local military pilots call when then need to transit through and we all accommodate each other. Very few drone activities are time critical enough not to allow the manned activity to take priority.

However on one occasion someone flew orbits around the UAV ground station at about 400' in a Tiger Moth, totally disrupting a trial of a very large UAV that had been planned for months involving 15 people that had been preparing for the flight since 4am. This could have been avoided with a simple phone call to de-conflict.

The NOTAMs are a bit of a blunt instrument, tis true but it is only a notice and the system isn't flexible enough to manage hour by hour activity. The CAA require the NOTAM due to the nature of the activity. It does however work well as a prompt and contact to call and de-conflict just as it would be polite to do if you wanted to fly around any other private strip at low level.