Local pilot reports that 9i0 ocasionally hosts military uav operations; but the notams that are issu...

Narrative:

I wish to point out an extremely dangerous situation that has developed at 9i0 (havana; il) during military uav operations. Twice this year we (9i0) hosted a military uav operation. All is ok except for the NOTAM that goes out to the aviation public. Following are the notams available on duats for the operation :9i0 havana rgnl !ikk 09/058 9i0 runway work in progress unmanned aircraft operations see ZAU 09/056 !ikk 09/057 9i0 airspace see ZAU 09/056 unmanned aircraft. Pilots are taught to access duats for official information and data critical to flight. The above looks benign enough except that one has no idea what 'ZAU 09/056' is! If you do a search on duats it says 'unknown.' so what does this mean; can I fly there or not? Looks ok just need to be a little more alert. I called FSS and got the following from the briefer: 'you need to access the chicago airspace NOTAM's on the FAA web site.' ok. What does that say? It says: ZAU chicago (ARTCC);il. !Ikk 09/056 ZAU airspace unmanned aircraft 3 nmr 9i0 3500/blw. Briefer says; 'looks advisory to me.' the military erects two barrier fences to 'capture' the uavs; if necessary; on the 2;500 ft grass strip during the entire operation. The runway is definitely unusable. I have two issues with the above. One; all the information should be in duats. That is the hallmark of duats. Two; the runway and indeed the airspace was unusable to the aviation public. Why is this not emphatically conveyed in the NOTAM? As a footnote I wish to point out that the local airport users and the military have worked together to provide a valuable activity for our national interests. The operation is very valuable; and was a success. I think the fact that two of the local pilots took it upon themselves to call the surrounding small airports and advise them of the runway status has prevented any incidents.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Local pilot reports that 9I0 ocasionally hosts military UAV operations; but the NOTAMs that are issued are very obtuse and do not convey the fact that the airport is closed along with the airspace above.

Narrative: I wish to point out an extremely dangerous situation that has developed at 9I0 (Havana; IL) during military UAV operations. Twice this year we (9I0) hosted a military UAV operation. All is OK except for the NOTAM that goes out to the aviation public. Following are the NOTAMs available on DUATS for the operation :9I0 HAVANA RGNL !IKK 09/058 9I0 RWY WORK IN PROGRESS UNMANNED ACFT OPERATIONS SEE ZAU 09/056 !IKK 09/057 9I0 AIRSPACE SEE ZAU 09/056 UNMANNED ACFT. Pilots are taught to access DUATS for official information and data critical to flight. The above looks benign enough except that one has no idea what 'ZAU 09/056' is! If you do a search on DUATS it says 'Unknown.' So what does this mean; can I fly there or not? Looks OK just need to be a little more alert. I called FSS and got the following from the Briefer: 'You need to access the Chicago Airspace NOTAM's on the FAA web site.' OK. What does that say? It says: ZAU CHICAGO (ARTCC);IL. !IKK 09/056 ZAU AIRSPACE UNMANNED ACFT 3 NMR 9I0 3500/BLW. Briefer says; 'Looks advisory to me.' The military erects two barrier fences to 'capture' the UAVs; if necessary; on the 2;500 FT grass strip during the entire operation. The runway is definitely UNUSABLE. I have two issues with the above. One; all the information should be in DUATS. That is the hallmark of DUATS. Two; the runway and indeed the airspace was unusable to the aviation public. Why is this not emphatically conveyed in the NOTAM? As a footnote I wish to point out that the local airport users and the military have worked together to provide a valuable activity for our national interests. The operation is very valuable; and was a success. I think the fact that two of the local pilots took it upon themselves to call the surrounding small airports and advise them of the runway status has prevented any incidents.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1115974
Time
Date	201309
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	9I0.Airport
State Reference	IL
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	UAV - Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 55 Flight Crew Total 22000
Events
Anomaly	No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types

Local pilot reports that 9i0 ocasionally hosts military uav operations; but the notams that are issued are very obtuse and do not convey the fact that the airport is closed along with the airspace above.