I think the basic message is that the NATS narrow route briefing actually does work pretty well.
Yes it works. And telex would work (if the networks still existed). And morse code would work. But it's not as good as it could be, and I find it error-prone.
I do check NOTAMs every trip. But I know I've made mistakes before now in wrongly placing NOTAMS from the NATS system. It might have been a name that I thought I recognised but is somewhere totally different, or I just misplotted lat/long.
An interesting exercise is to get NOTAMs from the NATS site, check which are relevant, and then repeat the exercise using a map-based tool (e.g.
UK 48-Hour Notams : Warnings and Restrictions, Notamplot, Airbox Fastplan, metutil etc) . When I do that, every now and then I see a NOTAM on the map that I'd missed in the list.
An example: there's a current NOTAM "FLYING OF LARGE MODEL ACFT. 1NM RADIUS 5205N 00123E (WOODBRIDGE AD, SUFFOLK) OPS INFO VIA RAF WATTISHAM 01449 728126. AUS 10-04-0309/AS2."
That's at Woodbridge, but when I read that I got Wattisham. When I saw it on the map, I realised my mistake. Before you brand me as a careless moron, that's exactly the sort of mistake that humans (including pilots) make, even when they're trying to be careful. Wattisham is a much more likely location for a Notam, and Woodbridge is inactive for most purposes, so the name "Wattisham" stood out more. Most mistakes are screamingly obvious when you analyse them, but everyone makes them.
As they say, there are 3 sorts of pilot:
- Those that make mistakes and admit it
- Those that make mistakes and don't admit it
- Those that make mistakes and don't know it.
The system works, but it could be so much better and could help people avoid mistakes.