HIGH RISE JIB CRANE (LIT AT NIGHT)
OPR W1 1NM 5129N 00007W, HGT
770FT AMSL (VAUXHALL, CENTRAL
LONDON), OPS CTC 020 7820 3151
Sorry to rain on your parade but this is perfectly clear to me. There's a crane moving about in the Vauxhall, Central London area and it's up to 770 feet high. If I would be operating anywhere close there's even a telephone number I can call for its exact status.
Now there are a few minor gripes you can make here. "HGT 770FT AMSL"???? It's either "ALT 770FT AMSL" or "HGT 770FT AGL". Furthermore "Aereodrome [sic] and enroute traffic is affected." Does anybody seriously believe *enroute* traffic will be affected by a 770ft crane over Central London? And why would IFR traffic need to know about this, as it's well below the MSA or MVA for that area?
I swear some of those NOTAMS are over 5 years old
That's something I can agree with. NOTAMs are, in my view, intended for information that's either temporary, or can't wait until the next AIRAC cycle. NOTAMS that are in the system for more than, say, three months are a misuse of the system, as far as I'm concerned.
If you want to understand the Q Line then read ICAO doc 8126 or Annex 15.
More in general, I find that the PPL training course leaves pilots utterly lacking in ability to find information that is not readily available on the clubs noticeboards. I have met a lot of fresh pilots who had to dig very deep in their memory to remember what an "AIP" was, or a "POH", and could not remember at all where they would conceivably find them. Maybe it's because 'air law' is considered a "fire and forget" exam, which you need to get out of the way before first solo.
(Although I agree that the current state of affairs, with EASA taking over from national legislation, and having published the EC rulings but not finalized and published the AMCs and GMs yet, and different countries having filed derogations, and EASA not being applicable to Annex II aircraft anyway, the current legal situation is far from easy.)