On Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:37:58 -0800, Jay Honeck wrote
(in article . com):

Because lets face it, METAR code is a foreign language which originated
from aliens from a another planet

For sure!

What I find hilarious is when the FAA says they use these
abbreviations because of "limited computer capacity"...

Originally, it was limited bandwidth. The system was developed for ancient
Teletype machines working at 400 baud. That is no excuse for not fixing it,
of course, and you can now get plain language weather reports if you want
them. But they can't get rid of the old ones because too many of us
old-timers find reading the abbreviations is actually faster. So, they have
to keep the decrepit old system around as long as there are decrepit old
flyers. :-)

--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor