Did you know that the time it takes to prepare for a flight can be just as long as the flight itself? This is especially the case for short flights since the tasks required for preparation are exactly the same as those needed for a longer one. Filing a flight plan, generating weight and balance data, checking weather, and pre-flighting the aircraft are tasks that need to be executed prior to every flight.
Accurately completing pre-flight activities is vital to safety in the skies. One of these activities includes interpreting NOTAMs. A notice to airmen (NOTAM) is a notice filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the safety of the flight.
Here’s an example of a NOTAM:
A3239/10 NOTAMRA2040/10
- Q) EDGG/QOBCE/IV/M/A/000/999/5002N00834E005
- A) EDDF B) 1008311224 C) 1012012359EST
- E) MOBILE CRANE ERECTED IN DEPARTURE SECTOR 25R.
POSITION 1130M IN FRONT OF THR 07L AND 100M SE OF EXTENDED RCL.
MAX ELEV 378FT/53FT AGL. NOT MARKED AND NOT LIGHTED
It indicates the temporary presence of a mobile crane close to runway 07L/25R at Frankfurt airport, which represents critical safety information.
While this NOTAM looks like an encrypted message from the secret services, there’s a way to visualize it more easily so that the pilot can decipher it quickly and is less likely to overlook important information. Enter the Digital NOTAM.
Digital NOTAMs: Simplifying Data Visualization
Visualizing the temporary presence of a crane as part of a Digital NOTAM
The Digital NOTAM was first introduced as part of the AIXM 5 format. The Aeronautical Information Exchange Model (AIXM) provides aeronautical information in a digital format. AIXM 5 constituted a significant leap forward in the evolution of the model because it’s the first format that models the temporality concept covering the complete timeline of the aeronautical data (including temporary updates), which provides the foundation of a Digital NOTAM.
Luciad, now part of Hexagon’s Geospatial division, helped launch the world’s first commercially available AIXM 5 technology after EUROCONTROL and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) agreed upon the new standard.
Luciad AIXM 5 Viewer is a free tool for air navigation services providers and other aviation data specialists to view and verify AIXM 5 data and analyze changes over time. Based on LuciadLightspeed technology, it offers a complete toolkit for AIXM 5 data handling, helping you embrace the richness and complexity of the format.
While the Luciad technology consists of an API framework, the Luciad AIXM 5 Viewer is map-centric and contains a minimal UI, which makes it easy for the user to fully focus on the AIXM data handling on the map.
The Luciad AIXM Viewer doesn’t just decode and visualize AIXM 5 data, it also supports raster, vector, elevation, and satellite data. This combination of different data gives a more realistic view of the aeronautical environment; you can see the background, show height, points of interest, cities, country borders, streets, and so forth.
Interested? Watch our on-demand webinar, and discover how aviation data specialists benefit from the Luciad AIXM 5 Viewer.
