A NOTAM is back to being a Notice to Airmen after the Trump administration issued an order today to reverse a Biden-era gender-neutrality move. In December of 2021, the FAA changed the term to Notice to Air Missions as part of what it termed a modernization of the NOTAM system and specifically making the flight hazard and airspace notifications "inclusive of all aviators and missions."
Notice to Airmen is fine with me. But the following is absolutely not:
"The FAA is not commenting on the change, instead referring inquiries to the notice itself, which does not include any rationale.â
Why not? Itâs imperative we always question everything and demand answers from our government - Unfortunately, political tribalism with short-term emotionally satisfying victories has distracted many to forgo the importance of government accountability. Hopfully, we can regain that very important action, but Iâm not holding my breath.
My light-sport aircraftâs plans use the term cabin for where the people sit, so do I and nearly everyone I know whether a Mooney or RV. Itâs not a competition - but itâs also not a culture war battle. Unless of course one wishes to make it one.
Iâm stuck here thinking about the FAAâs decision to ditch âNotice to Air Missionsâ and go back to âNotice to Airmen.â On paper, itâs just a name change, but beneath the surface, itâs a political gut punch. This isnât about aviation terminology, itâs a reminder that the fight over inclusivity, gender, and progress is alive and well, and right now, tradition is throwing punches.
For pilots, this debate has little to do with acronyms and everything to do with perception. The original change was a signal that Aviation is evolving, and everyone, regardless of gender or identity, has a place in the cockpit. Reversing it says something louder. To many, itâs a nod to the old boysâ club, a quiet way of saying, âDonât get too comfortable.â
Functionally, Iâm fine with it. The NOTAM system wonât miss a beat. But symbols matter, and this one sends a clear message. To some, itâs a win against what they see as bureaucratic nonsense. To others, itâs a reminder that progress in aviation, or anywhere, is never guaranteed.
The turbulence isnât over. Those who feel shut out will make noise. But for now, all they can do is bitch about it, because in this round, tradition got the upper hand. The only comfort? Winds shift, and the next round is never far off.
More interested in the same amount of effort being put into making NOTAM system actually useful.
Current output is like reading the 10 pages of a website small print user agreement. Also doesnât help that multiple ATC entities will post their own NOTAM of the same eventâŚhow about one NOTAM that instead has a listing of impacted entities.
Confidence in system is not helped by the FAA TFR webpage randomly deciding which DC associated airspaces should listed thereâŚsometimes FRZ, SFRA are depicted, sometimes not at all, other times SFRA or FRZ.
âŚand my EFB app doesnât help with the ridiculous number of NOTAMs refâd in a 50 nm VFR flt outside DC airspaces filling 5-10 pages of briefing, 90% of which are dupes.
How is this a âreturn to sensibilitiesâ? It seems like the opposite and when this change was made under Biden the complaint was about âgovernment meddling in day to day mattersâ how is this not the same?
Finally, what about the cost in the changes? Couldnât that money go towards making air safety better? Something the USA desperately needs given the recent crashes.
It was a typical communist m.o. to change it in the first place, equal to the whole latinx bs.
Revise history, destroy norms of culture, foment discord, then march in and implement a Marxist regime.
Want to change a language or a culture? Let it happen organically, from the bottom up.
How is this a âreturn to sensibilitiesâ? It seems like the opposite and when this change was made under the previous admin and the complaint was about âgovernment meddling in day to day mattersâ how is this not the same?
Finally, what about the cost in the changes? Couldnât that money go towards making air safety better? Something the USA desperately needs given the recent incidents.
Perhaps we should consider the progress already made in opening our doors to the âOle Boys Clubâ? Iâm not convinced that history is lauding Amelia Earhart as a pioneer or pacesetter for women in aviation. Instead, I think well meaning people - men and women - have slowly demonstrated the untenablity of gender bias, beginning with the involvement of women pilots delivering combat aircraft to the theater in WWII all the way up to women astronauts today.
Maybe we should glance back at the progress we have made and take pride. And in taking pride in what we have done, we can resolve that it is a good thing and should continue.
John Caulkins
What always confused me about the NOTAM name change is how the AIM, Airmans Info Manual, escaped the 2021 WOK hatchet.
My mother, a woman, was an airman. She learned to fly during WWII by using her auto gasoline ration stamps to by gas for a T-Craft. My mother built the first civilian airport, and FBO, in Alpena, MI. The airport was dedicated just weeks after the Japanese surrendered aboard the Missouri. She was one of the founders of the Michigan 99âs. My brother and I grew up surrounded by women pilots. All of them wonderful pilots. My first log-book entry is from a female CFI when I was 14. Women pilots make up 7% of the pilot population yet only cause 2% of the accidents. Let that stat sink in. The women pilots I knew were proud to be called Airman, Airmen.
Raf, the term "mankind " was always inclusive.
The term âairmenâ in our language was similarly inclusive.
Changing traditional language (like from semester to ovester) is not progress, itâs more the stuff of sillyness and a general lack of understanding of the history of language.
If it is a culture war, itâs hard, from your comment, to tell where you stand on it. My take is this. It became a culture war when they rename it to âmissionâ. There was no need, otherwise. On a larger plane, the differentiation between cabin and cockpit is obvious. âFlight attendants,(or Stews) please secure the cabin for landingâ doesnât result in the help running around making sure the pilotâs tray is up. On your tiny light sport, the two merge into the âplace where people go sitâ.
âmankindâ has only been inclusive in the sense that humans have typically been male-dominated, and the male-dominated societies say âmankindâ is âinclusiveâ. But from a logical point of view, shouldnât âwomankindâ be the âinclusiveâ form, since it literally includes âmankindâ in it?