Drone Authority · Part 107 preflight
NOTAMs and TFRs for drone pilots
Sectional charts show the standing picture. NOTAMs show the changes that can turn an ordinary-looking flight into a delay, a reroute, or a no-go.
TEMPORARY AIRSPACE · PREFLIGHTThe mental model
Ask what changed, where it changed, and whether your flight meets it.
01 · Baseline
Read the standing chart
Identify normal airspace, airports, runways, special-use areas, and charted obstructions.
02 · Change
Find what is abnormal now
Search for temporary airspace, runway, service, navigation, and obstruction notices.
03 · Volume
Plot the place, height, and time
A notice matters only when your route and launch window intersect its lateral, vertical, and time limits.
04 · Decision
Separate warning from permission
A NOTAM informs the flight. It does not replace LAANC, DroneZone, site permission, or any required authorization.
Definition
A NOTAM reports abnormal National Airspace System status.
It can report something changed, unavailable, active, restricted, or hazardous before the information can be published another way.
For drone pilots, the practical task is to turn coded text into a place, altitude, time window, and go or no-go consequence.
Interactive NOTAM decoder
Read the volume, time, and consequence.
Switch examples, then select each coded fragment. The diagram and drone decision update with the notice.
Training-style notice
Surface restriction around an incident
FDC 6/1234 ZKC MO..AIRSPACE KANSAS CITY, MO..TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS. WI AN AREA DEFINED AS 3 NMR OF 390620N0943500W SFC-3000FT. EFF 2607161800 UTC UNTIL 2607162300 UTC.
Select a coded fragment
Regulatory notice
Flight Data Center notices include regulatory information. TFRs are issued as FDC NOTAMs.
For the drone: Treat the full notice as controlling text, not a weather-style advisory.
Area
3 NM radius
Window
1800 to 2300 UTC
Hard stop inside the active volume
A drone at 200 feet AGL is inside a surface-to-3,000-foot restriction. Stay out unless the controlling notice expressly permits the operation and every required condition is met.
Code dictionary
Recognize the notice family before decoding the details.
FDC / TFR
Regulatory notice. Read the controlling FDC NOTAM in full for boundaries, effective times, exceptions, and coordination instructions.
AIRSPACE
Temporary activity or restriction in a defined area. Read the coordinates, radius, floor, ceiling, and time window together.
OBST
A crane, tower, lighting outage, or construction hazard. Low-altitude work can meet these well below 400 feet AGL.
RWY / TWY / AD
Runway, taxiway, or aerodrome status. A closure can redirect crewed-aircraft traffic even when the drone never touches the airport.
COM / SVC
Communication or airport-service status such as tower, ATIS, lighting, or another local facility.
SAA / SUA
Special activity or special-use airspace status, including military activity outside a published schedule.
Preflight routine
Build a habit that survives real jobs.
- 01
Search the operation area, nearby airports, and the controlling center or ARTCC when the notice may not be tied to one airport.
- 02
Use the Graphic TFR map for orientation, then open the current notice. The map can lag and is not a sole preflight source.
- 03
Read effective times, lateral boundaries, altitude limits, exceptions, and required coordination instructions.
- 04
Convert UTC to the launch-site time zone. A correct notice read with the wrong clock is still a bad decision.
- 05
Check again shortly before launch near wildfire response, stadiums, major events, disasters, VIP movement, or airports.
- 06
Save the official source with the job notes when a restriction changes the location, schedule, or client plan.
FAA sources
Use official FAA data for live decisions.
Source check: July 21, 2026. This is educational Part 107 prep, not legal advice or a substitute for live FAA data and the controlling notice.