I agree with what IO540 says. While the military are good enough to tell us when they are going to ignore the rules of the air in class G, the average PPL who also on a regular basis ignores the rules of the air is not so kind. Lookout during visual flight and obtaining a radar service (when available) for flight in IMC is a good way to go.
Here are some resons why the narrow route briefing tool is underused;
1. Unless one operates to and from an aerodrome with ICAO designator, one has to tell a lie to the system to get information. Having told the lie, the information received will fit that lie and not the intended route. Solution - allow private airfields to have a local UK code eg Joe Browns Farm could be eg123.
Yes I know that is 5 caracters but it will not be used for flight plans so who cares!
2. Pilots in the UK are far beind the curve when it comes to flight plans (compared to pilots elsewhere when filing is more usual). Thus the route format is hard to understand when one does not understand what a flight plan is. Solution - more training in this area. Perhaps making it a standard that a full flight plan would be filed for solo crosscountry exercises (and some dual to get the practice).
3. People do not use the extra filters and end up with 2 days worth of notams for a 1 hour flight.
Solution - stop the silly practice of saying that all one has to do is fill in the yellow boxes. People who do that get too many NOTAMs.
4. Stop making something like a change to the London City CTA or activity in a north sea danger area applicable to the whole FIR. People in Lands end do not what that rubbish in their briefs.
The NATs AIS software has the capability to produce NOTAM briefings for a radius round an aerodrome. Please permit it's use because what training airfields want most is notams within 30 or 40 or whatever nm from the field to cover local training traffic.
As for plotting NOTAM.
There is a very simple and low cost solution.
The FIR controllers at LACC have access to plotted information for that day updated as necessary by the assistant. Not sure of the current method of display (perhaps a FISO(A) could say) but;
If it is the old map system, a simple digital photo (or 3) posted on the AIS website ensures that the FIR controler and the pilots have the same info. Updates could be made as necessary.
Even better a webcam saves having to do the updates!
If however the LACC has an electronic version then AIS has access to the information already and putting the information on the website is not a big deal.
Regards,
DFC