Calculated NOTAM Elements: Map Context for Indirect References

Some NOTAMs give coordinates. Some do not.

They describe a place relative to something else: a runway threshold, a runway end, or the airport. That is enough for a human to understand the sentence. It is not enough for a map unless the system can calculate the point.

Notamify uses calculated NOTAM elements for these cases.

What this means in the app

When a NOTAM gives a relative location rather than direct coordinates, Notamify can show a computed map element with context about the reference used. The goal is to help users understand where the published object appears on the map, while keeping the original NOTAM language available for verification.

Indirect references

This Bahrain NOTAM does not publish the crane coordinates:

OBST CRANE WILL BE ERECTED AT HEIGHT 50M, POSITIONS AT APPROX DIST
353M MAG BRG 72 DEG FM RWY 30R THR.

It names a distance, a bearing, and a runway threshold reference. The OBBI example in Notamify places the crane near runway 30R threshold.

Runway and airport references

The important product behavior is reference awareness. A runway threshold, runway end, and airport reference point are not interchangeable. When the NOTAM names a specific reference, the map context should respect that reference instead of showing a generic airport marker.

That distinction matters most for displaced thresholds, obstacles near runways, and airport-relative areas where a small visual error can make the map misleading.

Computed geometry

Calculated elements appear alongside other map elements in Notam Globe. When geometry is derived from the NOTAM wording rather than copied from published coordinates, Notamify marks that context so users can tell the difference.

For API users, computed geometry is represented with the rest of the NOTAM map elements. Use the public API documentation for the current response contract, because fields may evolve as we improve the product.

The practical result is simple: a NOTAM without direct coordinates can still carry useful map context, and users can see when that context was computed from the published notice.