Civilian Airports / Field Conditions
Field Conditions
TALPA field-condition reporting scored per runway third, with FICON NOTAM text ready the moment it's filed.
The problem
A runway condition call has to survive being read by someone who wasn't there
TALPA asks for more than one word. A real field-condition report is three separate calls, one for each third of the runway, each scored on the same 0-to-6 scale, plus whatever contaminant is actually sitting on the pavement and how deep it is. Getting all of that right over the radio, then writing it up afterward from memory, is exactly where a precise scale turns into an approximate guess.
And a report only matters once it becomes a FICON NOTAM in the exact format a pilot expects, not a paraphrase of what got called in. Two people separately writing down the same condition is also two chances for the numbers to stop agreeing with each other.
How it works
Every runway carries its own current call
- 01
Presumed dry until told otherwise
A runway with nothing filed against it reads as its default, best-case condition rather than a blank nobody can act on, so silence never gets mistaken for missing data.
- 02
Scored per third, not as one number
A report grades the touchdown, midpoint, and rollout thirds separately on the Runway Condition Code scale, with the contaminant and its depth captured alongside each one.
- 03
The FICON NOTAM text is ready when the report is
Filing the report produces the NOTAM text in the format it has to go out in, so nobody retypes the same three numbers a second time to get the word out.
- 04
A new report replaces the old one immediately
Issuing a report updates that runway's current status right away, so anyone checking sees the report actually in effect, not an earlier shift's call.
Built on the regulation
The citation, implemented
- 14 CFR §139.313 · AC 150/5200-30D
§139.313 requires notifying users when a runway condition could affect safe operation. AC 150/5200-30D is the source for the TALPA method behind that call: a Runway Condition Code from 0 to 6 for each third of the runway, driven by the contaminant actually present. Filing that report here is how the requirement gets met, and the FICON NOTAM text is a direct byproduct of it.
The benefit
What it automates
One scale, agreed to mean the same thing every time
Every report uses the same 0-to-6 Runway Condition Code per third, so a low score on one report means exactly what a low score means on the next.
No report doesn't mean no answer
A runway with nothing filed reads as presumed dry at the best code, an honest default instead of a blank spot nobody can act on.
The NOTAM text isn't a second draft
FICON NOTAM text comes straight out of the report someone already filed, not retyped from a radio call after the fact.
Related
Works alongside
FAQ
Straight answers
What is RwyCC, and how is it captured?
The Runway Condition Code, scored 0 to 6 for each third of the runway (touchdown, midpoint, rollout), along with the contaminant present and its depth, all captured together in the same report.
What shows for a runway with nothing reported?
Presumed dry at RwyCC 6/6/6, the best code across all three thirds, until someone issues a report that says otherwise.
Does this generate the FICON NOTAM?
Yes. Filing a field condition report produces the FICON NOTAM text in the format it needs to go out in, ready alongside the report itself.
What happens when conditions change again?
Issuing a new report replaces the current one immediately, so whoever checks next sees the report actually in effect, not an earlier call.