WHAT EXACTLY DO NOTAMS DO?
By Lucas Rodden, Government Affairs manager | lucasr@modelaircraft.org
THIS MIGHT BE a harder question than it seems. Keeping definitions straight is difficult whether you’re a seasoned contest director or brand new to the hobby. Let’s take a closer look at a tool that’s becoming increasingly relevant to many modelers for both daily flights and sanctioned events: the NOTAM.
NOTAM stands for Notice to Airmen (or previously, Air Missions) and that’s exactly what it is—a notice. The NOTAM system provides information to full-scale pilots about navigation aids, hazards, operational changes, and other time-sensitive conditions that they might need to know while planning their routes.
A NOTAM can be tied to a specific set of coordinates or associated with the nearest full-scale airport, and it stays active in the system until its designated end date. These notices help airports communicate runway closures, allow the Secret Service to announce temporary flight restrictions, and impose extra security measures for public events such as the Super Bowl or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
For modelers, the primary use of a NOTAM is to notify full-scale pilots of modeling activity and usually to comply with a written requirement in an authorization document, although modelers can elect to post a NOTAM regardless of the circumstances if they feel it is in the best interest of safety operations at their field.
The FAA often relies on this use of NOTAMs as an enforcement mechanism to check compliance, granting authorizations to AMA fixed flying sites, sanctioned events, or other related documents. In practical terms, this means that an event that posts a NOTAM for operations up to 700 feet above ground level (AGL) is not receiving that altitude because it filed a NOTAM. Rather, the preexisting agreement between AMA and the FAA already allows that altitude—if all other rules and regulations are followed and a NOTAM is filed.
It might seem to be a small distinction, but it makes a large, practical difference. For instance, if I request a NOTAM for 3,000 feet AGL of an active airport with whom I have had no communication, the NOTAM will be posted, but I have not gone through any of the proper channels to actually receive permission from the necessary parties.
Maintaining an understanding of not only when a NOTAM is needed but also of exactly what function it is serving in a given situation will greatly simplify the planning of events and competitions, as well as the establishment of new daily flying fields within complicated airspace.
Takeaways for Hobbyists
NOTAMs are, at their core, communication tools—not authorization tools. They don’t grant altitude, Remote ID privileges, or permissions on their own. We use them because the FAA requires them as part of the process that enables groups, such as AMA, to receive more flexibility in how, where, and when we operate.
Understanding that distinction helps both club officers and individual members more easily determine when they have the tools and authorizations that they need and when they require AMA assistance to analyze airspace or help to apply for non-standard altitude and Remote ID authorization.
In coming issues of Model Aviation, I will address the question of, “What do I need to fly there?” In a series of articles, I will tackle different airspaces, property issues, and model types to help modelers better determine what they need to legally and safely take flight.
If you have specific scenarios that you’d like to have addressed in the upcoming series, please reach out to me at lucasr@modelaircraft.org.
To remain current with the most recent government-related news, regularly visit the AMA Government Affairs blog at amablog.modelaircraft.org/amagov. If you have any further questions or concerns, contact the Government Affairs department at (765) 287-1256 or amagov@modelaircraft.org.
SOURCES:
AMA/FAA NOTAMs
modelaircraft.org/media-resources/faa-notams
FAA FNS NOTAM Search
notams.aim.faa.gov/notamSearch
NOTAMS, TFRs, and Aircraft Safety Alerts
faa.gov/pilots/safety/notams_tfr
