NOTAMs & CANP
A Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) is a time critical alert issued by the aviation authorities to warn of temporary hazards or other changes that would affect a section of airspace or a ground facility. Whenever possible you should request a NOTAM for a site you intend to fly. NOTAMs can be raised on the day of flying but you should try to request them 24 to 48 hours ahead to ensure that other aircraft can incorporate them into their flight plans.
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The procedure for obtaining a NOTAM and distributing it, in a bulletin that is issued multiple times a day, is handled by NATS on behalf of the CAA. The procedure for obtaining a NOTAM through NATS requires a minimum of 48 hours notice and an Excel form to be filled in.
Fortunately there is a second, much easier way, to obtain a NOTAM through the Civil Aircraft Notification Procedure (CANP) which is administered by the Low Flying Cell of the 78th Air Squadron based at Swanick. This group are involved with co-ordinating the low flying activities of the military and are able to raise NOTAMs on our behalf to warn their aircraft and other air users of our presence around flying sites.
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​Chris Williams has created an excellent site, CANP for Free Fliers, that allows us to send an automated email to the LFC after filling out a simple online form:-
NOTE:- selecting the Club name will automatically populate the Location dropdown with the clubs flying sites.
CANP for Free Fliers can be found here
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Submitting this form will generate a NOTAM that is added to the latest NATS bulletin. The LFC will email you to conform they have raised the NOTAM and provide its reference number. The process is usually relatively quick but it may take up to 4 hours to receive the email in busy periods. If you dont receive the email by this time then phone the LFC to confirm they have received the email on 0800 515544. You can also raise a NOTAM by phoning but you will need to supply the site location and other details yourself.
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Over the last couple of seasons there have been a number of instances where the NOTAM has been incorrectly issued either for the wrong location and/or with the incorrect phone number so you should check the details carefully once the NOTAM is in place. If incorrect phone or email the LFC to make corrections.​​
Viewing NOTAMs
Notam Info is the easiest way to view NOTAMs for the week ahead. Clicking on a NOTAM marker will open a popup containing the details.
You can remove some of the clutter by turning off "Show en-route info" and "Show obstacles" as these generally have no relevance to our flying. Bear in mind that the default view shows NOTAMs for the week ahead and you should use the dropdown to select the day you are interested in.
Notam Info does not update as frequently as the NATS bulletins so it may take some time to show NOTAMS that have been issued and on occasions can be 12 to 24 hours out of date. It is possible to access the NATS system but this requires a (free) account and the interface is not particularly friendly. More information can be found here.
IMPORTANT - NOTAMs are mostly warnings of potential danger. They are not "keep out zones" and any aircraft can fly though the NOTAM area that you have put in place. Hopefully they are aware of the NOTAM and will be keeping a heightened lookout for paragliders but do not assume this is the case and be prepared to take avoiding action/land if required. On occassions you will be phoned by pilots who intend to fly through your NOTAM to inform you of their intent and if this happens you should put this information on the relevant Telegram groups to make others aware of the fly through