What does the NOTAM contraction PAEW mean?
We have heard it before, “A good pilot is always learning.” Well, I learned something this morning and I wanted to share it with you.
I was doing some preflight planning and I ran across this NOTAM:
Rwy 3/21 PAEW ADJ
I did a little research and learned that PAEW ADJ stands for:
Personnel and equipment on or adjacent to runway
So what that probably means is that people are most likely mowing the airport and might be in the vicinity of the runway so I better do my best to keep it on the centerline.
Here is the link where I learned this information:
http://www.faa.gov/airports_airtraffic/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/ntm/not0501.html
Fly Safe.
Anthony Calabrese on Aug 04, 2008
Someone needs to tell these people that the they ways of the telegraph are dead! I get so tired trying to decipher some of these Notams. Thanks for the info!
instructor on Aug 08, 2008
No problem. I’ll try and post some more contractions as I come across them. I’m finding new ones all the time and a google search usually comes up empty.
Jerry Miller on Aug 20, 2008
Bookmark the NOTAM and METAR & TAF decoders on my website and you’ll never again wonder what a contraction means.
Best regards,
Jerry Miller
Stoterau on Mar 26, 2009
Anthony,
I know it seems archaic, but for the professionals out there, we do not want to wade through pages of “plain language” fluff. We just want to get the information and go, and the undecoded works great for us.
Sam.
Brad on Nov 09, 2010
Stoterau has a good point. When calling FSS this isnt a problem anyway.
Rod Murray on Apr 12, 2011
PAEW = Personnel and Equipment Working
New link by the way:
http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/notices/2011-03-10/Contractions.cfm
Vincent K. Dunn on Sep 22, 2011
I also found the link didn’t work but I did find a link to the FAA’s official 505 page Guide to Contractions (in .pdf format) at:
http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/Basic7340.2B.pdf
Rich Clear on Nov 02, 2015
I heard both sides of the argum…. anyway, as an amateur pilot; former flight school mgr, I’m inclined to agree with erring on the side of Best Info, short-form! We wade through bleep-tons of info for even the remote fields, so why not just shorten the strokes, and those pilots not quite up to speed might learn a bit along the way. We are the greatest nation in the world, with by far the best aviation system. Literally every time I use an airport diagram I learn something brand new (confusing), but learning is just part of flying! Any safe flight is a great flight. Enjoy, everyone!
Victor Clarence on Aug 23, 2021
Does reading a few more letters actually slow you down? Mst ppl cn rd wth fwr lttrs, but I’d argue that the time to read doesn’t actually change. It’s a holdover from the telegraph/morse code days and data transfer rate was the issue, not human comprehension and reading rate.
I certainly don’t want to see METARs made any longer than they already are, but those follow a very consistent format. Remarks on the airport… not so much.