NOTAM site 'upgrade'
For those who, like me, have been struggling with this new website I have discovered that it doesn't like places like EGTU. If you enter this as your destination it just sulks without telling you why.
Entered EGTE instead and it worked. I had previously spoken with a very nice man at NATS and he couldn't tell me why it wouldn't work. I explained exactly what I was doing and he couldn't get it to work either. I am waiting for him to fax me with the answer.
He did agree that this was not the best bit of software ever written. Hopefully they will sort it out quickly.
Entered EGTE instead and it worked. I had previously spoken with a very nice man at NATS and he couldn't tell me why it wouldn't work. I explained exactly what I was doing and he couldn't get it to work either. I am waiting for him to fax me with the answer.
He did agree that this was not the best bit of software ever written. Hopefully they will sort it out quickly.
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The change has been on the cards for months now. One would have hoped for a better replacement system than the text file.
I have also struggled with the form, finding that a lot of background knowledge is recquired in order to fill it in. Particulary narked with the free text box called "route". What goes there?
I have seen similiar systems in operation in towers so I guess this is where the "model" comes from. However, we are not ATC bods who have been trained in such systems and in depth terminology, we are pilots.
I doubt that the relationship between NATS and programmer is an understanding one, so that the comprehension of the problem did not deliver a usable, full-featured solution for the end-user, i.e. the pilot. This smacks of a slightly botched, proprietory system to me. It all boils down to giving what the user wants, which needs to be identified first by talking to them. I fear here we have the age old problem of the programmers interpretation of what NATS stipulated.
Surely we should be living in the age of open, transparent systems now?
Having met Ian Fallon, a GA pilot, and author of NotamPlot, he should be given a consultancy job on this. Even if Ian isn't available, I'm sure NATS could have sourced a developer who is both into flying and IT. It appears that there are a lot of us about
I doubt that a return to the text NOTAM file will happen. I gather that was hand-written and humans always favour automation in order to save time. So, I hope to see a fast improvement in the service now that NATS know the problems. (hopefully, they'll listen and act on our comments). Finally, I think they have released this too early and shoudl have contacted a small group of pilots to BETA test in order to iron out problems like logins and user issues, rather than having a large amount of disgruntled people emailing them.
I have also struggled with the form, finding that a lot of background knowledge is recquired in order to fill it in. Particulary narked with the free text box called "route". What goes there?
I have seen similiar systems in operation in towers so I guess this is where the "model" comes from. However, we are not ATC bods who have been trained in such systems and in depth terminology, we are pilots.
I doubt that the relationship between NATS and programmer is an understanding one, so that the comprehension of the problem did not deliver a usable, full-featured solution for the end-user, i.e. the pilot. This smacks of a slightly botched, proprietory system to me. It all boils down to giving what the user wants, which needs to be identified first by talking to them. I fear here we have the age old problem of the programmers interpretation of what NATS stipulated.
Surely we should be living in the age of open, transparent systems now?
Having met Ian Fallon, a GA pilot, and author of NotamPlot, he should be given a consultancy job on this. Even if Ian isn't available, I'm sure NATS could have sourced a developer who is both into flying and IT. It appears that there are a lot of us about
I doubt that a return to the text NOTAM file will happen. I gather that was hand-written and humans always favour automation in order to save time. So, I hope to see a fast improvement in the service now that NATS know the problems. (hopefully, they'll listen and act on our comments). Finally, I think they have released this too early and shoudl have contacted a small group of pilots to BETA test in order to iron out problems like logins and user issues, rather than having a large amount of disgruntled people emailing them.
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DDC said:
Not that then 
Still, we should keep this in perspective:
It cannot have gone hundreds of millions over budget
It cannot have been delivered 6 years late
So they are getting better at this IT lark
I only applied for the UK FIR
Still, we should keep this in perspective:
It cannot have gone hundreds of millions over budget
It cannot have been delivered 6 years late
So they are getting better at this IT lark
No fax from NATS yet. But I've just remembered that I will be drinking with a software engineer tonight. And guess who he works for? Yes! NATS!!!. Boy, the drinks and the jokes are going to be on him.
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Would it be worth sending NATS the link to this particular pprune topic so they can see first hand our disgruntled comments?
And I agree with Bluerobin that the author of NOTAM plot should certainly have been given a consulting role on this project, and an MBE for services to aviation whilst we're at it................
As a GA pilot with little money / time I tend not to fly for more than an hour and a half at a time. Notam plot made it easy for me to have a quick look at the local area to check that there was nothing to conflict. My initial exploration of the new site would suggest that I'm now going to have to dedicate significantly more time to my flight planning with little confidence that the results are accurate.
And I agree with Bluerobin that the author of NOTAM plot should certainly have been given a consulting role on this project, and an MBE for services to aviation whilst we're at it................
As a GA pilot with little money / time I tend not to fly for more than an hour and a half at a time. Notam plot made it easy for me to have a quick look at the local area to check that there was nothing to conflict. My initial exploration of the new site would suggest that I'm now going to have to dedicate significantly more time to my flight planning with little confidence that the results are accurate.
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Would it be worth sending NATS the link to this particular pprune topic so they can see first hand our disgruntled comments?
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May I suggest that all disgruntled AIS/NATS website users register their dismay at:
http://www.flyontrack.co.uk/
They have a thread about this too...
http://www.flyontrack.co.uk/
They have a thread about this too...
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I didn't realise the Notam site had changed (haven't done a lot of flying recently) and tried to access it yesterday morning for a flight yesterday afternoon. 24 hours on I'm still waiting for my registration, so it gets a big thumbs down from me. I was glad to read about the site's reaction to EGTU. That would really have stumped me. Guess that's another big thumbs down then. Wonder how many other airfields are ignored. So if the text is no longer available, which explains why it's no longer on the notice board at the club, what do those people who don't have computers/internet access do? If not enough people bothered with Notams before fewer will now. Is this supposed to be an improvement?
sua cuique voluptas
Oh dear. I wish that I could say something nice about the new scheme, because obviously a lot of time and effort has gone into it. It does seem to have demonstrated all of the mistakes
that the rest of the IT world knows about and tries to avoid, like:
INADEQUATE warning of change
INSUFFICIENT beta testing
ABSENCE of parallel running during the transition
LACK of consultation with the end users.
OK, so I'm not the typical GA user. I fly balloons for pleasure and my typical flight planning is necessarily biased towards the met and planned track. But I always checked the NOTAMS because it made for good airmanship.
An example: A few weeks ago the text version threw up the fact that the Red Arrows were doing a display at Halton which is close enough to my area for a "heads up" from me! If I'm not flying a predicted track from ICAO airfield to airfield there doesn't seem much in it for me and hence not a lot of point in even looking. As others have said, it doesn't do a lot for my perception of air safety. I'll just have to rely on being highly visible to others....
that the rest of the IT world knows about and tries to avoid, like:
INADEQUATE warning of change
INSUFFICIENT beta testing
ABSENCE of parallel running during the transition
LACK of consultation with the end users.
OK, so I'm not the typical GA user. I fly balloons for pleasure and my typical flight planning is necessarily biased towards the met and planned track. But I always checked the NOTAMS because it made for good airmanship.
An example: A few weeks ago the text version threw up the fact that the Red Arrows were doing a display at Halton which is close enough to my area for a "heads up" from me! If I'm not flying a predicted track from ICAO airfield to airfield there doesn't seem much in it for me and hence not a lot of point in even looking. As others have said, it doesn't do a lot for my perception of air safety. I'll just have to rely on being highly visible to others....
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I did a search on the www.nats.co.uk site for "NOTAMS" and got "no matches were found for notams"!
Does that help explain something?
Carlito
Does that help explain something?
Carlito
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We've a similar set of comments coming into our website at www.flyontrack.co.uk and you're very welcome to join in.
We've also had direct e-mail from the NATS supervisor answering some comments; he's clearly busy but give him your honest feedback - this is obviously a prototype which will need upgrading.
We're gathering ideas to help reduce infringements and the availability and readability of NOTAMS (and AICs etc etc) is an active area for improvement.
There's several threads going on our open forum page on this subject - keep sending your comments in by whatever means and you will make a difference!!
By the way, if you have any thoughts on NOTAM layout and readability now's the time to get them in while NOTAMS are under scrutiny.
Remember you're the customer - register your opinion & suggest improvements.
DE
We've also had direct e-mail from the NATS supervisor answering some comments; he's clearly busy but give him your honest feedback - this is obviously a prototype which will need upgrading.
We're gathering ideas to help reduce infringements and the availability and readability of NOTAMS (and AICs etc etc) is an active area for improvement.
There's several threads going on our open forum page on this subject - keep sending your comments in by whatever means and you will make a difference!!
By the way, if you have any thoughts on NOTAM layout and readability now's the time to get them in while NOTAMS are under scrutiny.
Remember you're the customer - register your opinion & suggest improvements.
DE