NOTAM Upgrade Coming, Possibly In Your Lifetime
Pilots have long been frustrated by the FAA’s Notice-to-Airmensystem, which conveys vital safety-of-flight information formattedfor teletype machines, cluttered with archaic acronyms, distributedvia hard copy and lacking graphics. Now the FAA says that by 2009, NOTAMs will be reorganizedinto a single federal system that is compliant with internationalstandards. It will take another decade for the system to incorporatefull digital and graphic capabilities, the FAA said on Monday. Thosecapabilities will be required for the Next Generation AirTransportation System, according to FAA officials.

Pilots have long been frustrated by the FAA's Notice-to-Airmensystem, which conveys vital safety-of-flight information formattedfor teletype machines, cluttered with archaic acronyms, distributedvia hard copy and lacking graphics. Now the
