:mad: Spent a total of 8 hours trying to get NOTAMs this weekend. The new site continuously crashed. When I was finally able to do anything, I found the information totally useless for gliding. This system is totally unable to cope with weekend demand.

When setting a cross country task, it is normal to plot those NOTAMs in the planned task area on the map and then set a task avoiding them - notamplot was great for this.

According to the very hastled person I spoke to, our best option is to request a series of overlapping "narrow" routes running north/south giving a 99 mile corridor. Then try to locate the information that is required, plot this manually (again) and then set a task.

The new system was meant to provide the required information for all involved in aviation - it certainly fails miserably for gliding - which has been recognised, and by the comments here and elsewhere, it seems to be failing for many other forms of aviation. The other reason I was given was that it was very costly to produce the A1/A8 and they are trying to cut costs - Sadly, this was resulted in a masive reduction in safety for all.

Rustle:



I've posted the NATS reply to one pilot on our website

http://www.flyontrack.co.uk/comm.asp

Look under "New AIS Service" to see it

I have heard that someone filed an MOR. What do you think, many more might help?

The other NOTAM thread currently running refers to the ability to get UK Notams from the FAA:
https://www.notams.faa.gov/
You then enter EGTT for London FIR.

Is this list exhaustive?

Is it possible that Notamplot could be reconfigured to this source?

Does this provide the ability to bypass the new AIS system?

Thank you!

All Notam Plot needs is the data in a text format. Surely this must still exist for flying clubs etc who are not online.

All NATS have to do is have a page with the docs in the old format somewhere accessable on thier web site. It is very easy to repoint Notam Plot to another web page.

Saying this, if anybody knows of a web site that has the info in text format. Can you please mention it. Problem solved

I don't know if Ian Fallon ( creator of Notam Plot ) reads these, but if not, I'm willing to have a go at converting the Notam text to something the software can use.

Sadly not - some time ago, our club paid subscription to receive NOTAMs by post was terminated by NATS and we were told we had to use the online version (for free)

The FAA web site has the info in text format, but not the same format as AIS used to present their bulletins in, so NOTAMPlot will not work. I've tried pasting the FAA report and raw formatted data into a text file and having NOTAMPlot process the tet file, with no success.

It should be possible for Ian to change NOTAMPlot to work from the FAA RAW format relatively easily, as the RAW format is very well structured. Let's hope he does so.

I'm going to ruin someone's chips again :p

The LAT/LONG info that NotamPlot requires used to be input by hand.

To cut costs, NATS no longer do this where there is an ICAO code or name of area (danger areas activated by NOTAM etc.)

Obviously the web-redesign was free ;)

Because the state of origin -- UK (NATS) in this case -- provide the NOTAM info to other AIS agencies it won't be there either.

Draw your own conclusions.

editied because I forgot to mention the ICAO and DA bit.

The A1 and A8 are still available on the "MARS" system so there is no reason why they can't be made available on the web.

Flap40,

Pardon my ignorance, but what is this "MARS" system, and who has access to it?

It is the NATS supplied weather and notam (old text based mono screen probably running DOS) system that crews/ handling agents use at most(all?) BAA airports plus a few others eg Jersey.
So if they can supply the A1/A8 to this system then why can't they put them on the web???????

F40,

Thanks...

And you're sure those users are still getting this post 19/08/2002??

Got any contacts I can get recently dated copies of A1/A8 from?

Puts the cost/benefit thing in a whole new perspective if so (as well as underlining the BS we've heard so far from NATS)

Yes. I checked last Sunday and I'll check again in the morning.

Thanks very much :)

It is surprising we have not had a response from NATS on this forum. Any NATS people out there?

Come on guys, if my organisation was taking this much flack I would want to put my side and explain to the users, what I was going to do to get out of the mess.

Rod1

I received a reply to my E-mail: "Thanks for your comments, they have been taken into consideration". Short and sweet, but at least the mail is being read and hopefully the message is getting through. Iit would be nice if someone would comment.

Ah, reading www.flyontrack.co.uk, there's this:

:) Hi all, finally got around to subscribing to PPRUNE as well as the Flyer list.

Firstly thanks for all the positive messages about NotamPlot - I'm glad you all found it useful.

I'm currently investigating several avenues I could take with NP in order to regain a graphical plot of NOTAMs at least similar to what we had previously.

Will keep you posted ...

Ian :D

Hi Ian

Thanks for NotamPlot, hope it doesn't turn out to be "Thanks for the memory" ;)

Evo 7 must have been poised as I posted the AIS reply on our website at www.flyontrack.co.uk where there's more comment on this and other ideas to reduce airspace infringements. By the time I looked here he'd lifted it!!

Here's the rest of it:

I've just spoken to the manager of the new AIS website by phone and have invited him to have a look here and at Pprune for feedback, and hopefully for a response.

I did put forward many of your observations, and they are working to keep up with the steady flow of complaints and enquiries coming in. They had 1400 e-mails to work through as we were speaking.

Apparently the new programme is a commercial product (in use elsewhere) which was upgraded at 0900 this morning when they took it offline for 4 minutes to incorporate some fixes in reponse to user feedback.

I trust in due course that we will receive a direct response from AIS. In the meantime, please keep your comments coming as they are taking note! (Endquote)

So there you have it !

Flyontrack, (or NATS if you're there ;) )

Any truth in the rumour that this commercial product you mentioned is from Thales? Part of the same organisation who bring us Aerad?