NOTAMs & TFRs
~10 min read · Check NOTAMs and TFRs preflight and know the consequences of busting one.
A perfect sectional-chart briefing can still be fatally out of date: airspace changes daily through NOTAMs and TFRs. The exam checks that you treat them as mandatory preflight material and know the classic TFR triggers.
NOTAMs: the living layer of the chart
Notices to Air Missions publish time-critical information that charts and databases cannot keep current: runway closures, tower outages, restricted-area activations, laser events, rocket launches, UAS operations, and TFRs. Check them through 1800wxbrief.com, the FAA NOTAM search, or your flight-planning app for both the departure area and any airports whose airspace you touch. For drone crews, NOTAMs are also how you learn a Class D tower is temporarily non-operational or a LAANC grid is suspended.
- Sources: Flight Service (1800wxbrief), FAA NOTAM Search, EFB apps
- D-NOTAMs (local), FDC NOTAMs (regulatory — includes TFRs)
- Checking NOTAMs is part of the required 107.49 preflight familiarization
TFRs: temporary flight restrictions
TFRs carve out temporary no-fly or restricted zones, published as FDC NOTAMs and mapped on tfr.faa.gov. Classic triggers: Presidential/VIP movement (30-NM rings), wildfires and disaster response (firefighting aircraft own the airspace), major sporting events (a standing TFR covers stadiums seating 30,000+ from 1 hour before to 1 hour after the event, within 3 NM up to 3,000 ft AGL), space launches, and airshows. Flying a drone inside a wildfire TFR is the FAA's poster-child enforcement case — it grounds firefighting aircraft.
- VIP TFRs: often 10-NM inner / 30-NM outer rings
- Stadium TFR: 30,000+ seats, 3 NM, 3,000 AGL, ±1 hour of the event
- Fire TFRs: entry can bring severe penalties and interferes with suppression
The discipline
TFRs pop up mid-day; a morning brief does not immunize an afternoon flight. Best practice — and the exam's expected answer — is to check NOTAMs/TFRs immediately before every operation, and monitor during extended operations. LAANC apps overlay many TFRs, but the authoritative source is the FAA's NOTAM system.
Worked example
You briefed at 8 a.m. for a 2 p.m. real-estate shoot 2.5 NM from an NFL stadium. Kickoff is 3:25 p.m. Anything wrong with launching at 2 p.m.?
The standing stadium TFR activates one hour before scheduled game time: 2:25 p.m. Your launch at 2:00 is legal, but the TFR boundary is 3 NM — you are inside it — and it extends to 3,000 ft AGL. At 2:25 the airspace closes to you; a 40-minute shoot started at 2:00 runs past activation. Correct plan: finish and land before 2:25, or move beyond 3 NM, or shoot another day. The 8 a.m. briefing is irrelevant — event TFRs are predictable by schedule, and rechecking NOTAMs before launch is the required habit.
Common exam pitfalls
Relying on a morning briefing all day.
TFRs activate on event schedules and emergencies. Re-check immediately before launch, every time.
Assuming small drones are exempt from stadium TFRs.
The stadium TFR applies to sUAS explicitly — 3 NM, 3,000 ft AGL, one hour before to one hour after.
Treating a chart as current airspace truth.
Charts update on a 56-day cycle; NOTAMs carry everything newer — including activations of charted areas.
Brief it, then re-brief it: charts age in weeks, airspace changes in minutes.
Recap
- NOTAMs deliver time-critical airspace changes; checking them is part of 107.49
- Sources: 1800wxbrief, FAA NOTAM Search, tfr.faa.gov, EFB/LAANC apps
- Stadium TFR: 30,000+ seats, 3 NM radius, 3,000 ft AGL, ±1 hour
- VIP and wildfire TFRs are the other classic triggers
- Fire-TFR intrusions ground firefighting aircraft and draw heavy penalties
- Check immediately before each flight, not just at the morning brief
Prove it: 10 questions on this topic
Every lesson ends with a ten-question check in the free course — your progress syncs between the web and the EstatePass app.
Studying for the FAA Part 107 knowledge test? Track every lesson free — progress syncs with the app.
Start freeMore in Airspace & Charts
Study smarter in the free dashboard
- Every lesson tracked, synced with the iOS app
- Ten-question checks after each lesson
- Lesson videos, flashcards and mock exams
No credit card required.