Sadly I was one of the unlucky pilots who suffered the "missing NOTAM" problem during the early days, and as a result I very nearly bimbled through the middle of an airshow, save for an alert ATController. That event, exacerbated by my very low level of experience, resulted in my not flying at all for nearly two months, and even now I get a case of the jitters when I plan a flight away from my home airfield. I'm hoping that will pass given time, and I plan to get at IMC rating early next year to rebuild my confidence somewhat.
My case may be an extreme one, but since the removal of the old A1/A8 bulletins and the consequent effect on tools such as NOTAMPlot and NotamPro, I have noticed that the number of pilots I know who check NOTAMs regularly has fallen alarmingly. Most now complain that it is too hard, too slow or just too awkward, and very few bother to try. It is no longer possible for the flying club I am a member of to print out a concise list of NOTAMs for the noticeboard, nor is it quick and easy to get a chart showing "areas of interest" in the local flying area. Even some of the most experienced and cautious pilots I know have been known not to bother any more, with the obvious attendant risks.
Most pilots previously regarded NOTAMs as a necessary evil, now, sadly, they are regarded by many as just evil and no longer necessary. It will take some time to reverse this, and in the meantime there is an increased risk of airspace infringements and other incidents which could have been avoided. Technology will continue to progress, but hopefully future progress will be tempered by the lessons learnt in the last few months, and the changes will be managed with a more sympathetic eye for those who use the service(s) being "upgraded".
I must offer a huge "thank-you" to all of the people who have been trying to improve the current situation, especially Mike Cross, Russell Howton, Ian Fallon and the all of the people behind the scenes in NATS, the CAA, FlyOnTrack, Flyer, ... the list goes on and on. I hope that all your efforts will quickly provide all pilots with a system which NATS can be proud of. To that end I have added my support to Mike and Russell's list of suggestions through the
[email protected] email address - have you?
Cheers,
MD