On 30 Nov 2004 11:14:32 -0800,
(Michael) wrote:

Roy Smith wrote
I suspect this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but...

The idea that my tax dollars are going to pay for somebody to read a
computer printout to a pilot when he could read it himself just as
easily is absurd. Or for that matter, to play data entry clerk with
flight plans.

I'm going to reluctantly agree with Roy.

Reluctantly because there is one thing a personal briefing can do that
is very valuable and requires an actual human being - weather
interpretation. As a novice pilot, I learned a lot about weather from
those FSS specialists who took the time to explain what was going on
and suggest ways of dealing with it. It allowed me to make a lot of
trips that I would have cancelled otherwise, and caused me to
(correctly) cancel a couple that I would have made. There really is
no substitute for depth of experience when it comes to understanding
what the weather is likely to do, and how it can be handled.

The problem is that such briefings have been getting more and more
rare over the years. More and more briefers simply read you the
computer printout, and those who do attempt to make suggestions are
less and less knowledgeable. The old guys are retiring, and the new
guys are just don't have the same depth and breadth of knowledge.

Michael

I'm a Duat guy myself. I was, unfortunately, one of those that
continually got briefings that were "reading sessions". There is
another issue, also. Where I live (outside of Philly), the summers
are typically very hazy. The degree of haze varies significantly from
area to area. Everytime I would call, I would get a "VFR not
recommended". When I was a student, I scrubbed a number of flights
before my instructor explained to me that yes, weather is very
important, but if you stay on the ground every time these guys say VFR
not recommended, you'll never fly. If anything happens, I would
rather hang my hat on a Duat briefing that shows acceptable weather
than on an FSS breifing that contains that ominous warning.
Rich Russell