Surely if you are flying close to an aerodrome en-route it is good airmanship to check the notams for the aerodrome and the area surrounding it in case of the requirement to use it as an en-route diversion or availability of the aerodrome, its surfaces, aids and ATC services? No?
One gets airfield notams only for departure, destination, and planned alternates. Not for a pile of airfields along the route.
Perhaps it is time for the Air Law exam to be amended to include picking up pre-flight notams and such like?
Yeah, should be... I do think notams are taught more these days, but the whole topic is inextricably wrapped up with the availability of the internet where it is needed, etc.
With most new pilots chucking it in more or less right away, there are many more "old" pilots (in the sense of having been flying for many years) flying than there are new pilots flying, so the place to attack this is on the 2-yearly check flight, but there is no requirement to do that on that, either. The only way you don't get signed off is if the instructor does not survive the flight
