Originally Posted by
BackPacker
Have you ever tried to get an account and talk to the Eurocontrol servers direct? Apparently they've got an XML-based API that allows you to query their NOTAM servers direct and in real-time. That API is of course specifically created for applications such as this.
I just tried to search the EAD website for the reference, but all I got, ironically, was this:
I remember that Alexandra (from Orbifly Met'Map fame) has done some work on this as well, but I don't really remember if she actually succeeded. They try to depict NOTAMs on a map too, although it looks like they simply ignored the coded position line and tied NOTAMs either to the FIR, or to a specific airport. They also don't limit the NOTAMs to 48 hours in advance.
MET'MAP - ORBIFLY FLIGHT SCHOOL - IFR ET CPL AMERICAIN EN EUROPE - FAA IFR AND CPL IN EUROPE
I did open a dialogue with the Eurocontrol people, but I got bounced around between several points of contact, and I got the distinct impression they weren't interested unless I was prepared to part with large quantities of cash, regardless of the fact these aren't commercial applications.
The UK EGTT and EGPX data is refreshed at 15 minute intervals, the others are hourly. When Google first made AppEngine available, there were various performance issues which meant that grabbing a 48-hour window was about the limit - that, and the whole idea of this being a quick overview of the things you *really* need to know about
today - in a manageable form (particularly on the iPhone/Android - and Kindle - Web Apps) meant I kept the 48-hour format, although the AppEngine performance limits have largely been lifted. (Today, typically, someone seems to have given the hamsters in the AppEngine servers a nasty case of food poisoning, but that is an increasingly rare occurrence). Hopefully, the Google Chrome extension for the AIS website covers the general case.