BACKGROUND

NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen) are short pieces of temporarily valid information about aircraft operation which may be provided by an aviation regulation administration such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States of America or the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in Europe. Some jurisdictions may use one or more different organizations for issuing NOTAMs.

The aviation regulation administration may gather the information for NOTAMs from a wide variety of sources. NOTAMs may contain weather information, ground condition information, air traffic information, and a wide variety of other types of information useful for operating an aircraft.

Aircraft operators, such as dispatchers, pilots, managers, etc., may review an extensive list of NOTAMs, even for a single flight, which consumes valuable time. However, often, most of the NOTAMs are not relevant for a particular flight. Nevertheless, the whole list of NOTAMs is provided and reviewed. Furthermore, NOTAMs may be homogenous, i.e., appearing similar to each other. Yet further, NOTAMs may be time-sensitive, and issued in an on-going manner. Thus, aircraft operators may consume an undesirable amount of time reviewing all NOTAMs to ensure that relevant NOTAMs are reviewed properly.

When issued, NOTAMs may be disorganized or sorted solely by time of issue. NOTAMs may be continuously updated, sometimes even during a flight. As there is no prioritization by relevance to a particular user or user group, the lack of organization can result in increased undesirable time consumption to ensure that relevant information contained in the NOTAMs will not be overlooked.

SUMMARY

The one or more embodiments provide for a method. The method includes receiving, by a computer processor, a data structure being a network having nodes linked by links. The nodes have corresponding classes representing corresponding distinct notices to airmen (NOTAMs) among at least two NOTAMs. The nodes are linked such that any given node is linked to at least one other node. The links represent corresponding pre-determined mathematical degrees of relevance between pairs of linked nodes in the nodes. The links point from a corresponding less relevant node to a corresponding more relevant node with respect to the pairs of linked nodes. The nodes are pre-ranked in a prioritized order according to the pre-determined mathematical degree of relevance. The method also includes receiving, by the computer processor, a request to display the NOTAMs on a display device. The method also includes retrieving, by the computer processor, the NOTAMs associated with the nodes in the prioritized order. The method also includes commanding, by the computer processor, the NOTAMS to be displayed on the display device in the prioritized order.

The one or more embodiments also provide for a method. The method includes receiving, at a computer processor, notices to airmen (NOTAMs). The method also includes assigning ones of NOTAMs to a corresponding class to form classes. The method also includes arranging the classes into a data structure being a network. Arranging the classes also includes arranging the classes as nodes. Arranging the classes also includes forming links by connecting ones of the nodes to at least one other node in the network via at least one link. Arranging the classes also includes determining corresponding mathematical degrees of relevance between pairs of linked nodes among the nodes. Arranging the classes also includes assigning the corresponding mathematical degrees of relevance to corresponding links between ones of the pairs of linked nodes. Arranging the classes also includes arranging the links to point from a corresponding less relevant node to a corresponding more relevant node with respect to the pairs of linked nodes. The method also includes ranking the nodes in a prioritized order according to the mathematical degrees of relevance.

The one or more embodiments also provide for a system for organizing notices to airmen (NOTAMs). The system includes a computer processor and a data repository in communication with the computer processor. The data repository stores NOTAMs. The data repository also stores a network of nodes being classes to which are assigned the NOTAMs. The data repository also stores links linking the nodes. Ones of the links connect at least two nodes. The data repository also stores mathematical degrees of relevance assigned to ones of the links. The data repository also stores a ranking that establishes the nodes in a prioritized order according to the mathematical degrees of relevance. The system also includes a data structure construction engine executable by the computer processor and configured to assign the NOTAMs to the classes. The data structure construction engine also is configured to arrange the nodes into the network. The data structure construction engine also is configured to determine the mathematical degrees of relevance. The data structure construction engine also is configured to assign the links to corresponding ones of the nodes such that corresponding ones of the links point from a corresponding less relevant node to a corresponding more relevant node with respect to any two selected linked nodes in the nodes. The data structure construction engine also is configured to rank the nodes into the ranking. The system also includes a NOTAM presentation engine executable by the computer processor and configured to receive a request to display the NOTAMs on a display device. The NOTAMs presentation engine also is configured to retrieve the NOTAMs associated with the nodes in the prioritized order. The NOTAMs presentation engine also is configured to command the NOTAMS to be displayed on the display device in the prioritized order. The system also includes the display device for displaying the NOTAMS according to the ranking.

Other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

