1. Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
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2. NOTAM are safety critical
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
NOTAM are safety critical
NOTAM can contain very safety critical information. Here are two examples.
A2840/10 NOTAMN
Q) EDGG/QMXLC/IV/M/A/000/999/5002N00834E005
A) EDDF B) C) PERM
E) EASTERN PART OF TWY P1 BTN PSN V253 AND TWY N-NORTH CLSD.
A3239/10 NOTAMRA2040/10
Q) EDGG/QOBCE/IV/M/A/000/999/5002N00834E005
A) EDDF B) C) EST
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
NOTAM may supersede the content of a static database, an AIP nor a chart. Therefore it is essential that the users get the data. Missing this data might be the difference between a safe journey and a disaster.
Notes:
Source: HindSight - Aviation Safety Magazine for Air Traffic Controllers - Skybrary
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3. Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
NOTAM numbers
PIB
A problem is the significant and constant increase in the amount of NOTAM issued world-wide in the last years. On average, NOTAM are in force are every moment around the World. The system is becoming more complex and more dynamic. This is reflected in increased Pre-Flight Information Bulletins (PIB) that are suffering more and more of information overload.
Who is affected:
Airspace users
Service Providers
AIS/NOTAM offices
Airports and other data originators
Notes:
Source: European AIS Database (EAD)
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4. NOTAM also have quality problems
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
NOTAM also have quality problems
… irrelevant information
… obstacles with imprecise positions
… runway shortenings when the NOTAM simply gives a new TORA and does not really say WHERE the runway have been shorter (in what end)
10%
of the NOTAM have errors
according to a study
done by the EAD
on randomly selected
messages!
… complex restricted area boundaries that take hours to put on a map!
Notes:
… very long and complex to read!!!
… typing errors
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5. Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
Pilot’s Perspective
“Last line of defense” for safety
Typically have less time to review NOTAMs than other customers
NOTAM data not filtered or prioritized
Digitize NOTAM data
A study conducted by the American Institute for Research in the United States looked at issues facing pilots as they use the NOTAM system. Pilots are the last line of defense and must make safety decisions that could personally affect the pilot. As a consequence good NOTAM information is critical to pilots.
Yet, pilots generally have the least amount of time to review the NOTAM information. Other customers like dispatchers and flight services have more time to review and consider the NOTAM information.
Pilot challenges are compounded because the NOTAM information is not filtered or prioritized.
A typical flights of 150 KM in the US can have a 40 page briefing containing hundreds of NOTAMS. A review shows that only a fraction of these NOTAMS have immediate consequence to the pilot.
As a result, pilots are encouraging digital NOTAM as a way to better manage and communicate NOTAM information to pilots.
Notes:
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6. What is a “digital NOTAM”
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
What is a “digital NOTAM”
Instead of
<text>TAXIWAYS OUTER 7 AND E6 CLSD</text>
Use explicit feature properties
For example…
<taxiway>
<name>OUTER 7</name>
<status>CLOSED</status>
</taxiway>
<name>E6</name>
In a digital NOTAM, the current NOTAM fields do no longer exist. Instead, the information is structured using the Extensible Markup Language (XML), according to a pre-defined schema. Every feature, every property and every possible situation needs to be identified by specific codes.
Notes:
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7. Benefits – improved data quality
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
Benefits – improved data quality
Digital data:
clearer / more precise than free text
enables validation
automatic by the system
visually by the operator
Let’s now look at some benefits that Digital NOTAM will bring.
Digital data is much more clear/precise than free text:
Position of obstacles
Shape of restricted airspace
Schedules
Etc.
Therefore, digital data enables much more automatic validation checks:
For example, if THR is displaced, check if declared distances and OCA/OCH have been modified, etc.
Or, check the shape and location of a temporary restricted area
Check the shape and location of the airport surfaces that are work in progress or temporarily closed
Notes:
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8. Benefits – improved PIB
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
Benefits – improved PIB
One radical improvement that is enabled by digital NOTAM is in the area of pre-flight information bulletins.
- prioritise information by criticality
- organise information by item concerned (runway, gate, etc.)
- far better filtering capabilities
- filter out irrelevant information, which can represent more than 50% of the current bulletins;
- reduce the risk of information overload, which is a growing problem because of the significant increase in the number of NOTAM in force world-wide;
- embed graphics where appropriate or even do a full graphical PIB
The ultimate goal is a fully graphical, continuous briefing process from the flight planning phase, followed by pre-flight briefing, in-flight updates and post-flight de-briefing. The same information package would be available on the ground and in the air, continuously updated.
This will also support the development of new, fully digital services for aeronautical information updates on board the aircraft, in graphical format.
Notes:
Positive impact on safety
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9. Benefits – airspace activity maps for VFR
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
Benefits – airspace activity maps for VFR
VFR flyers could also benefit from products enabled by Digital NOTAM. Make digital airspace reservation data available for VFR community -> enable graphical visualisation
Currently, such applications either display the airspace as a circle based on the Q line or require human intervention for decoding the NOTAM text when the algorithms that try to extract the lat/long positions from the item E do not work, because someone has put a dot instead of a comma in the series of lat / long values.
Notes:
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10. On board – dynamic data for EFB
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
On board – dynamic data for EFB
Aircraft passing activated Temporary Segregated Area (TSA), from D-AIM test flight, autumn 2008
Aircraft landing on RWY 09/27 at Norrköping Airport, EFB showing RWY 11/29 Closure, from D-AIM test flight, autumn 2008
See for an example
The digital NOTAM idea was also tested in a live environment during the D-AIM Trial run by EUROCONTROL and LFV Sweden, in 2008.
Graphical presentation of temporary aeronautical information on an EFB device:
Temporary Segregated Area (TSA) Status
Taxiway or Runway Closure
Digital Meteorological Information, geo-spatially displayed
Notes:
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11. Supported by AIXM version 5.1
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
Supported by AIXM version 5.1
XSD
UML
Temporality Concept
From a previous presentation, you have seen that AIXM 5 supports the implementation of the digital NOTAM concept.
The main difference between AIXM 4.5 and AIXM 5.1 is the introduction of:
A temporality concept
Feature properties that are necessary to model conditions that are announced by NOTAM; typically, this means ‘operational status’ attributes and associated schedules.
These are two essential pre-requisites for Digital NOTAM encoding.
The challenge for AIXM version 5 is to model all these features and situations, knowing that the potential scope of NOTAM information is very wide.
Notes:
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12. Digital NOTAM Event Specification - Purpose
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
Digital NOTAM Event Specification - Purpose
Event data
Target: application developers !
Restricted area North of Sjaellands Odde TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA IS ESTABLISHED daily from 08:00-17:00 between 07 NOV and 17 NOV AS FOLLOWS NORTH OF SJAELLANDS ODDE: N E N E N E N E N E N E N E. between SFC and FT AMSL RELEVANT ATS UNITS REF. AIP DENMARK ENR 5.1 ITEM 3: AARHUS APP/TWR, ACC KOEBENHAVN
Rules
Rules
Rules
Data encoding rules
Data validation rules
NOTAM production rules
Digital NOTAM
AIXM 5.1 encoded data output
Text NOTAM
ICAO Format
(Snnnn/yy NOTAMN
Q) EKDK/QRRCA/IV/BO /W /000/600/5606N01130E012
A) EKDK B) C)
E) TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED
AS FOLLOWS (NORTH OF SJAELLANDS ODDE):
560028N E N E N E -
561500N E N E N E -
560028N E.
RELEVANT ATS UNITS REF. AIP DENMARK ENR 5.1 ITEM 3:
AARHUS APP/TWR, ACC KOEBENHAVN.
DANGER AREA WITHIN THE PORTION OF AIRSPACE OVER THE HIGH SEA.
F) SFC G) 60000FT AMSL)
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13. Digital NOTAM Event Specification
Incremental approach
Version 1.0
Published June 2011
Reviewed / tested by industry in prototypes
Version 1.1 – in preparation
Modifications based on feed-back from industry
Include “missing” events (surface contamination, TWY closure)
Include additional events
Working version available on line (see link in the document)

14. Version 1.1 (tentative) Increment 1 scenarios Increment 2 scenarios
Published special activity area – activation
Displaced threshold
Published ATS airspace - activation or deactivation
Declared distances changes
Ad-hoc special activity area – creation
Runway portion closure
Ad-hoc ATS airspace – creation
Airport Usage limitation
Route portion closure
Runway usage limitation
Route portion opening
Taxiway usage limitation
Aerodrome closure
Approach lights unserviceable
Runway closure
Approach lights downgraded
Navaid unserviceable
Runway lights unserviceable
New obstacle
Obstacle lights unserviceable
Taxiway closure
Visual Approach slope indicator unserviceable
Surface contamination (SNOWTAM)
Taxiway lights unserviceable
Other Event (any other situation that does not have a dedicated scenario)

15. First implementations
SESAR P
Thales prototype – Airport closure
Frequentis prototype – New obstacle
Other implementations by industry
IDS (cooperation with ENAV) prototype – All increment 1
Comsoft prototype – Runway closure, etc.
Eurocontrol
DiNO prototype – airspace warnings / reservations
FAA
Digital NOTAM submission – operational system
System deployed at more than 100 airports already

16. FAA Digital NOTAM implementation
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
FAA Digital NOTAM implementation
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17. Digital SNOWTAM Trial 2009-2012
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
Digital SNOWTAM Trial
The Digital SNOWTAM Trial was launched in November 2009 and is still available at present.
Objectives:
Demonstrate xNOTAM benefits to end users -> Airlines
Verification of the AIXM 5.1 Surface Contamination model
Continue the testing of Web service standards
REST architecture
Start work on algorithms and open source code
structured SNOWTAM text to AIXM 5.1
AIXM 5.1 to SNOWTAM text
Notes:
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18. Trial – Application architecture
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
Trial – Application architecture
Users can access the data :
through REST interface
through WFS
Notes:
AIXM 5.1 data
WFS
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19. Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
Icon
Meaning
No contamination information on the airport
Contamination information exists– breaking action GOOD
Contamination information exists– breaking action POOR or
UNRELIABLE
All other situations, including airport/heliport closed
The latest SNOWTAM received could not be parsed due to syntax error.
Available via the Manage Rejected SNOWTAM menu
-- Live demo --
Notes:
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20. Electronic Input Forms - Digital NOTAM

21. Electronic Input Forms - Digital NOTAM

22. Digital NOTAM in EAD (project)
New Digital NOTAM Application (DNA)
Progressive development
Airspace
Obstacle
… Increment 1
… Increment 2 …
Pre-operational phase
NOTAM data providers may use DNA (via ECIT)
Support post-digitisation of NOTAM

23. DNA – intended functions

24. Digital Briefing System
Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
Digital Briefing System
Notes:
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25. Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
ePIB Prototype
Notes:
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26. Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
ePIB Prototype
Notes:
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27. Digital AIM Training - Digital NOTAM
Questions?
Notes:
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