This is about the most pointless NOTAM I've seen

I envision a huge traffic jam of GA aircraft on the taxiway leading up to that sign, with confused, hungry pilots intensely focused on their kneeboard printouts of the airport diagrams.
 
flyingron said:
They broke the old bulb off in the socket.
Click to expand...
Zeldman said:
And no one has a pair of needle nose pliers.??
Click to expand...
Our airport did a major upgrade this summer. They removed all the signage and runway lights, put them in a pile, and invited airport residents to grab what they wanted.

I picked up a taxiway light, with the thought of making it a rather odd desk lamp. Disassembling it, I found that the bulb was locked in its socket. The glass portion was an early casualty. However, the base was rusted solid to the socket. Didn't want to come out without damage to the socket. Since I hadn't planned on re-using the socket anyway, I eventually just tore it out of there. I've replaced it with a small LED candelabra bulb and socket.

But... I can see the FBO sign in a similar state, and the people who work there are leery about damaging the socket and causing much more damage.

Ron Wanttaja
 
Last edited:
Back in the olden days the townspeople would park their cars along the runway and use their headlights and bonfires. No NOTAMs back then, no sir. Times were hard, but so were the people.
 
Matthew said:
Back in the olden days the townspeople would park their cars along the runway and use their headlights and bonfires. No NOTAMs back then, no sir. Times were hard, but so were the people.
Click to expand...
I did that in Alaska a few times. Except there were no cars so the villagers used snow machines. All I needed was the Okey dokey from the chief pilot.
 
Matthew said:
Back in the olden days the townspeople would park their cars along the runway and use their headlights and bonfires. No NOTAMs back then, no sir. Times were hard, but so were the people.
Click to expand...
I saw that done one night back in the very early 50s at my dad's airport in TN. Plane buzzed the town, and people started calling and rounding up cars to go out. Amazing thing to witness as a child.
 
Last edited:
People have discovered it can be lazy, I mean easier, to call in / write up a NOTAM than to actually fix things.
No rush to re-bulb those hundreds of towers, put the liability on the pilot / buy limitless time with a notam.
 
If that's the most pointless NOTAM you've ever seen, I question how many NOTAMs you've seen.
 
Lindberg said:
If that's the most pointless NOTAM you've ever seen, I question how many NOTAMs you've seen.
Click to expand...
That’s going to be the most pointless post in this thread, I don’t get the constant, juvenile attempt to put others down on POA, is it to pump oneself up?
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
That’s going to be the most pointless post in this thread, I don’t get the constant, juvenile attempt to put others down on POA, is it to pump oneself up?
Click to expand...
Not sure that was a put down of POA, but rather the NOTAM system itself. A NOTAM for a 201 ft AGL tower, 10 miles from an airport, that doesn't have a working light is in the running for more pointless, and there's way more of them.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
That’s going to be the most pointless post in this thread, I don’t get the constant, juvenile attempt to put others down on POA, is it to pump oneself up?
Click to expand...

you call that a "juvenile attempt to put others down"?

;-)
 
Re the light bulb, maybe the sign is run by the municipality, and they don't have the budget for a new bulb. I kinda kid, but I've seen similar in real life.
 
Personally my favorite NOTAMs are at KARR. When I was training in 2019 I'd hear this boilerplate on every ATIS recording:
"Joliet VOR out of service"
"Runway 18/36 closed"
"Taxiway charlie closed north of runway 27 and south of taxiway papa"

Fast forward >5 years later and every single hour of operation a new ATIS is cut a human being is still recording those exact same lines.
You'd think a more permanent solution could be implemented so that it's not a perpetual-NOTAM!
 
Most pointless NOTAM? I'll take that challenge. I think I get extra points on this one, because I issued it.

!ASE 08/103 ASE NAV PKN LOC BC UNUSABLE BEYOND 17DEG LEFT OF COURSE 2408152248-2502152359

Now, you need to study the KASE LOC/DME-E missed approach procedure to understand this one, but the missed approach is famous in that it uses a localizer (PKN) situated on a peak in the Aspen Highlands ski resort to guide airplanes on the missed approach. And on our inspection of it on Thursday, it did not pass the tolerances greater than 17 deg left of course. Hence the NOTAM. But to get to that side, 17 deg off course, you would have to fly through the whole LOC course. If you haven't corrected by 17 deg through the course, you have other problems. Let alone I'm sure there aren't many operators going into ASE using raw data instead of a GPS of FMS course anyway.
 
I’m guessing they have to publish that…. If someone hits the sign at night, it’s a CYA.
 
flyingron said:
Taxiway A Fixed Base Operate/Operator/Operative Sign East Side Between Taxiway A2 and Taxiway A3 Light Unserviceable​
The light is burned out in the FBO sign.
Click to expand...
At night in heavy rain you taxi by the ramp leading to the FBO and the ground controller is inquiring why the hell you are on B3, don’t say you weren’t informed.
 
Albany Tom said:
Re the light bulb, maybe the sign is run by the municipality, and they don't have the budget for a new bulb. I kinda kid, but I've seen similar in real life.
Click to expand...

One of my job duties years ago was maintaining a bunch of outdoor lights. I bet 50% of the time it wasn't just the bulb...
 
Zeldman said:
I did that in Alaska a few times. Except there were no cars so the villagers used snow machines. All I needed was the Okey dokey from the chief pilot.
Click to expand...
I fly in SW Alaska and always wondered why our GOM specifically prohibits use of vehicle headlights.
 
Jim K said:
I don't know, that might be more useful than "BIRDS INVOF APT"
Click to expand...
You mean, you fly to those OUTDOOR airports I've heard of? !!!
Albany Tom said:
Re the light bulb, maybe the sign is run by the municipality, and they don't have the budget for a new bulb. I kinda kid, but I've seen similar in real life.
Click to expand...
Or, they don't want to use any of that budget when they don't have to, so they don't stock the bulbs. Issue NOTAM, order bulb, replace bulb after it arrives, rescind NOTAM.

Also, this is almost certainly not for the "AVFUEL" sign, but for a taxiway sign that says "FBO" or "RAMP" or somesuch. Also, it could possible be a non-movement area and/or may not be lit with taxiway lights.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Also, this is almost certainly not for the "AVFUEL" sign, but for a taxiway sign that says "FBO" or "RAMP" or somesuch. Also, it could possible be a non-movement area and/or may not be lit with taxiway lights.
Click to expand...
It is the latter, but completely pointless as this is a controlled field and they're going to give you a "turn right on BRAVO" so the fact that the FBO sign on A is not lit up is not of much consequence. The FBO isn't open later than the tower. The self serve fuel pump in on the old terminal ramp at A2.
 
aftCG said:
I fly in SW Alaska and always wondered why our GOM specifically prohibits use of vehicle headlights.
Click to expand...
Because there are no cars in the villages.??

Possibly because 4 wheeler lights are a little easier on the pilots eyes.

Or lawyers.
 
All you really need is one vehicle at the approach end with headlights pointed down the strip…once you’re past the car, the airplane’s landing light works fine.
 
Personally for me on 1500 ft or less strips I wanted a light on both ends, and usually 2 on the approach end in case one light went out.

If both lights go out at the same time then time to get the heck outta there.

I did the smudge pots a couple times, both at the same airport. The village understood the importance of the runway and set up a pot at every runway light. Having the line of lights helped with the depth perception.
 
ArrowFlyer86 said:
Personally my favorite NOTAMs are at KARR. When I was training in 2019 I'd hear this boilerplate on every ATIS recording:
"Joliet VOR out of service"
"Runway 18/36 closed"
"Taxiway charlie closed north of runway 27 and south of taxiway papa"

Fast forward >5 years later and every single hour of operation a new ATIS is cut a human being is still recording those exact same lines.
You'd think a more permanent solution could be implemented so that it's not a perpetual-NOTAM!
Click to expand...
I think they very recently stopped this. I flew into KARR a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised when I didn’t hear about the Joliet VOR or 18/36.
 
Dulles ATIS used to advise you to read back all runway crossing instructions. This was back before it was possible to even cross a ruwnay. All the taxiways were on one side of each of the runway (closest to the ramps). If you crossed a runway, you'd be taxiing around in the weeds.
 
flyingron said:
It is the latter, but completely pointless as this is a controlled field and they're going to give you a "turn right on BRAVO" so the fact that the FBO sign on A is not lit up is not of much consequence. The FBO isn't open later than the tower.
Click to expand...
Does the airport close when the tower closes?

I've flown into places where everything was closed. I mean, the NOTAM is still mostly pointless, but there's a reason it exists. It's less pointless than the unlit obstacle at 200 AGL 18 miles northwest of the airport.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Does the airport close when the tower closes?

I've flown into places where everything was closed. I mean, the NOTAM is still mostly pointless, but there's a reason it exists. It's less pointless than the unlit obstacle at 200 AGL 18 miles northwest of the airport.
Click to expand...
The airport doesn't, but the FBO isn't open past the tower hours. The 24 hour self-serve fuel is in a completely different location than the FBO sign directs you to.
 
flyingron said:
The airport doesn't, but the FBO isn't open past the tower hours. The 24 hour self-serve fuel is in a completely different location than the FBO sign directs you to.
Click to expand...
Just because the FBO is closed doesn't mean that the ramp won't be used. I've dropped off and picked up passengers at airports after the FBO was closed. One time we even secured the airplane for the night and got the rental car (the FBO told us where the would hide the keys) all well after the FBO had closed.
 
Most pointless NOTAM applies to just about every airstrip in Alaska during winter: RNWY CNDTN PCKD SNW AND ICE.

No way, snow and ice covered runways in Alaska during winter.?? Who woulda thunk.??
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top