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Warning about formation flight


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Ian
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While flying today, we kept getting a warning flash up on SD.
It said something like “Warning formation flight up to 3000ft. Active now and for next 50 minutes”,
It pointed to a location about 3-5 miles ahead of our route. We changed direction a couple of times, but it popped up about 5 times, always a similar distance ahead, with the time reducing in real time.
We were above 3000ft so presumably no issue, bur there was nothing notamed in the area.
Is this an error of some sort?

Tim Dawson
Tim Dawson
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It was definitely a NOTAM.
Ian
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There were definitely no NOTAMS within the area. None shown on the SD chart and none listed in the NOTAM tab for our route (other than the one noted below)..
This was Saturday, between about 2 and 4 pm. 
For information - we flew up the coast from Skegness to the Humber, then turned towards York.
There was a NOTAM about a formation flight over North Coates, about a 3 mile radius (which we avoided) but the warning messages appeared further up the coast from there, then again at Immingham, then again over the Humber Bridge. I think about 5 warnings in total.

Ian
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I've checked the NATS web sites and there were no relevant NOTAMS.
Tim Dawson
Tim Dawson
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Sorry, but it was a NOTAM. I don't know what else to say. SkyDemon doesn't just make this stuff up. I'll see if I can find it on our server but it may well have expired.
Ian
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Thank you.
If there are several air displays by a formation flight on a day, would SD show their route between display areas as a warning?
Clutching at straws I know, but I scrupulously checked NOTAMS before the flight (as did the guy flying with me, using different software) and there were none in the area. As mentioned above, I've also checked the historic records on the NATS web site.
Given that I was connected to the internet when planning the flight, wouldn't all the NOTAMS on our route be shown shaded? There were no shaded areas in the areas that the warning message was pointing at.


Tim Dawson
Tim Dawson
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Tactical NOTAM warnings in flight are always triggered by the outer circle of influence of the NOTAM, not the actual route (in this case) or other more specific geometry which we may have created for a better visual presentation. This is for safety reasons. So it might be you were just touching the edge of a large NOTAM that you had already determined didn't affect your route, because the route described by the NOTAM was actually nowhere near.
Ian
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Thank you for coming back on this.
I don’t recall such a NOTAM but that may have been it.
I will take note of any further recurrances and check if what you say applies.
Will let you know via this forum, if that’s ok.
GO

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