Moviegoers watching the latest big screen thriller are treated to an extra dose of realism courtesy of SkyVector. “Eye in the Sky,” starring Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, and the late Alan Rickman, explores the moral, political, and tactical dilemmas surrounding a drone missile strike with potential civilian casualties. SkyVector's worldwide aeronautical charts were chosen to serve as set dressing on various screens in the drone pilots' cockpit station. Though quiet until now, SkyVector signed an agreement in 2014 to permit the use of its charts in the movie. In honor of the new film, SkyVector has launched a new feature for its 400,000-plus monthly users: Drotams.
A clever merging of the words Drone and NOTAM, SkyVector’s new Drotams are depicted as a chart overlay, alerting pilots to airspace that they now share with unmanned aerial systems. The US Air Force, Customs and Border Protection, public operators with a Certificate of Authorization (COA) or private commercial operators granted a Section 333 exemption may issue NOTAMs to advise pilots of their activities in U.S. Airspace. A feature unique to SkyVector, Drotams are presented visually on the main landing page through a sortable filter.
SkyVector founder David Graves comments that while it is exciting to see SkyVector up on the big screen, “It's more important to bring awareness and safety to a rapidly growing component of the National Airspace System. The sheer number of UAS operations is becoming a real safety-of-flight concern for pilots of manned aircraft.” Adds Graves, “Checking Drotams on SkyVector is a fast and easy way for pilots to know when and where unmanned aircraft might be encountered.”
