QuickSpotTrust

Behind the Scenes: The Decision Engine

You shouldn't have to guess how your flight tools make decisions. Click any zone on the map to expose our logic path, showing exactly how we interpret raw aviation data to generate your flight briefs.

Important Note

This map only visualises CAA airspace and NOTAM logic. For complete flight planning (including council byelaws, SSSIs, and weather), you must use the QuickSpotCheck app.

What is a NOTAM? Think of this as a temporary pop-up rule. It's a quick alert issued to warn of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect safety.

Understanding Our Decision Steps

Airspace Geometry

  • Type Check: Identifies if the area is a permanent restriction (like a Danger Area or FRZ).
  • Base Above Surface (SFC): If an airspace restriction begins higher up (e.g., above 1,500ft) and doesn't reach the ground, we mark it as a Caution rather than a hard Restriction, since most FPV flights occur near the surface.
  • Has Schedule: Many Danger Areas only operate during specific hours. We evaluate these schedules and return YES (schedule active) if the restriction is currently in effect, ensuring you aren't needlessly restricted when the airspace is inactive.
  • Is Dynamic / NOTAM Triggered: Some areas are only active when specifically triggered by a temporary NOTAM. If triggered by NOTAM, we scan the live feeds to match it.

NOTAMs

  • Type Check: Identifies the data as a dynamic Notice to Airmen (NOTAM).
  • Restricted Q-Code: NOTAMs use a standardised Q-Code system. We analyse the Q-Code to determine if the activity inherently restricts drone flights (e.g., navigational warnings vs. airspace closures).
  • Is Administrative/Trigger: Some Q-Codes (ending in XX or TT) are strictly administrative, informational, or act as document triggers. We flag these to ensure they don't cause unnecessary restrictions.
  • Keyword Override: Even if a Q-Code seems safe, we scan the entire NOTAM message for critical keywords to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.
  • Multi-Zone Range: Our system performs analysis on the content of the NOTAM looking for multi-zone activations (like EGD790B-H) to ensure large overlapping restrictions are accurately mapped across all affected areas.

Data Sources & Filtering

Raw Data Sources

NATS UAS Restriction Zones

Official KML source for permanent UK restrictions

Authoritative NOTAM Feeds

Live API feeds capturing temporary airspace closures

AIRAC Cycle (28-day sync)

Current Cycle

06 AUG 2026

Next Cycle

03 SEP 2026

How We Filter NOTAMs

Hundreds of NOTAMs are active at any given time, but most only affect commercial airlines. Here is how we filter the noise to keep you safe:

  • Altitude CapWe only process NOTAMs with a floor of 5,000ft AMSL or lower to protect high-terrain launches while purging commercial noise.
  • Administrative & Trigger FiltersSome Q-Codes (ending in XX or TT) are strictly administrative, informational, or act as document triggers. Unlike other platforms that blindly plot these as massive red zones on your map, we actively flag and suppress them to ensure they don't cause unnecessary map clutter or false restrictions.
  • GNSS / GPS Jamming FiltersWe deliberately suppress wide-area "GNSS (GPS) Signal and Radio Frequency Jamming" exercises. While these military tests generate massive NOTAM polygons intended for high-altitude commercial airliners, the actual risk to drones flying sub-400ft is virtually zero due to terrain masking. We filter these to prevent "warning fatigue" and ensure that massive, irrelevant red zones don't obscure genuine, localised flight risks.
  • Core Principle
    Emergency LocksAny NOTAM containing emergency service phrases (e.g., SAR, HEMS, or POLICE) triggers an unbreakable Legal Restriction, prioritizing the safety of critical operations above all else.
  • Permissive OverridesWe utilize enhanced structural analysis to identify explicit permissions (e.g., "VLOS DRONE PERMITTED"), safely overriding the restriction if the activity is cleared for drones.
  • Base Above Surface (SFC)If an airspace restriction begins higher up (e.g., above 1,500ft) and doesn't reach the ground, we mark it as a Caution rather than a hard Restriction, since most FPV flights occur near the surface. We perform dynamic altitude checks using high-resolution terrain elevation data from our database to ensure restrictions accurately reflect your true height above ground level.
  • Advanced Schedule MatrixWe utilize a custom-built schedule matrix to calculate the exact active hours of complex restrictions, ensuring you aren't needlessly blocked by inactive danger areas outside of their operational hours.
  • Core Principle
    Fail-RestrictiveIf our risk-agent encounters an unknown, overly complex, or unclassifiable NOTAM, it defaults to a High Risk Legal Restriction to guarantee your safety. We never guess with your legal compliance.
  • Ignored Q-Codes
    To keep you focused on the things that matter, we automatically filter out the following commercial and administrative Q-Codes that are irrelevant to drone pilots:

    QAECA, QAECD, QAFXX, QAZAH, QAZCA, QAZCD, QCAAS, QCACF, QCACS, QCAXX, QCPAS, QCSAS, QCSXX, QFAAH, QFAHG, QFAHW, QFAHX, QFALC, QFALT, QFATT, QFAXX, QFFCG, QFFCH, QFFXX, QFIXX, QFMLT, QFMXX, QFPLC, QFPXX, QFTAS, QFUAU, QFULT, QFUXX, QFWAS, QICAS, QICXX, QIGAS, QIGXX, QILXX, QINAW, QINXX, QIUCG, QLBAS, QLEAS, QLPAS, QLPXX, QLRAS, QLXAS, QLYAS, QLZXX, QMDCH, QMHAS, QMHXX, QMKHW, QMKLC, QMKLT, QMNLC, QMNLT, QMOXX, QMPLC, QMPLT, QMPTT, QMPXX, QMRLC, QMRLT, QMRXX, QMTXX, QMXHW, QMXLC, QMXLT, QMXXX, QNBAS, QNDAW, QNLAS, QNMXX, QNNAS, QNNXX, QNVAS, QNVXX, QNXAS, QOAXX, QOLAS, QPBXX, QPDAU, QPDXX, QPIAU, QPICH, QPILT, QPMCH, QPOCH, QPUXX, QRTTT, QSEAH, QSEAU, QSEAW, QSELC, QSELT, QSFLT, QSFXX, QSPAH, QSPLT, QSPXX, QSTLT, QSTXX, QWFLW