"John R. Copeland" wrote in
:

Well, yes, a balloon is cheaper than a ceilometer.
But I'd have guessed that over the life cycle of a ceilometer,
the controlling costs would involve the time a meteorologist spends
watching and timing the rising balloons.
But what do I know? I'm an engineer, not an accountant.

Then you know TANSTAAFL. For a heliport, which may be temporary or which
may be leased for a relatively short term, a ceilometer isn't always cost
effective. The weather observer (not a meterologist, which requires a
college degree) only uses the baloons when the ceiling is critical,
perhaps one day per month, and estimates it the rest of the time. When
not observing the weather (s)he does other work, usually dispatching or
working on aircraft. Not everyone flies from an airport with long paved
concrete runways, but they may still need accurate observations for
instrument approaches.

--
Regards,

Stan