RAE42SNB42

Why does the FAA persist in using a coded system for printed weather
reports and forecasts?

They act like kilobytes are expensive to transmit today... The last time I
saw a teletype machine was in 1974.

And the codes aren't even consistent, M for minus degrees in a METAR and -
for minus degrees in a PIREP. Am I wrong in thinking this old system is
confusing and therefore unsafe?

--
Dallas

On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 23:01:09 GMT, Dallas
wrote:


Why does the FAA persist in using a coded system for printed weather
reports and forecasts?

Your subject line is an easy one, and I get plain English DUATS
briefings. G

FWIW, there's cheapie whiz wheels and cheat sheets available for
checking the less common abbreviations.

"Dallas" wrote:

Why does the FAA persist in using a coded system for printed weather
reports and forecasts?

You're asking for a rational explanation for something the FAA does?

You might as well ask why Donald Duck doesn't wear pants.

--
Dan

"Don't make me nervous when I'm carryin' a baseball bat."
- Big Joe Turner

On Fri, 6 Jul 2007 18:33:44 -0500, Dan Luke wrote:

You might as well ask why Donald Duck doesn't wear pants.

Oh, that's easy... so he can swim whenever he wants to.

:-)

Maybe a better question would be why have we never seen Donald Duck swim?
Or fly?

--
Dallas

Dallas wrote:
On Fri, 6 Jul 2007 18:33:44 -0500, Dan Luke wrote:

You might as well ask why Donald Duck doesn't wear pants.

Oh, that's easy... so he can swim whenever he wants to.

:-)

Maybe a better question would be why have we never seen Donald Duck swim?
Or fly?


The bigger question is why he doesn't wear pants but when he
gets out of the shower he wraps a towel around his waist?

Dallas wrote:
Why does the FAA persist in using a coded system for printed weather
reports and forecasts?

Snow forecast in July in the U.S.?

Or did I decode that wrong?

;-)

On 7/6/2007 7:53:45 PM, Jim Logajan wrote:

Snow forecast in July in the U.S.?

Or did I decode that wrong?

Yes, you did decode that wrong. That is not from a forecast.

--
Peter

"Peter R." wrote:
On 7/6/2007 7:53:45 PM, Jim Logajan wrote:

Snow forecast in July in the U.S.?

Or did I decode that wrong?

Yes, you did decode that wrong. That is not from a forecast.

D'oh!

Dallas wrote:

Why does the FAA persist in using a coded system for printed weather
reports and forecasts?

They act like kilobytes are expensive to transmit today... The last time I
saw a teletype machine was in 1974.

And the codes aren't even consistent, M for minus degrees in a METAR and -
for minus degrees in a PIREP. Am I wrong in thinking this old system is
confusing and therefore unsafe?

Because it's an international standard and all the stuff is in place
to handle it.

Use DUAT or DUATS if you want plain English.

--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

wrote:

Use DUAT or DUATS if you want plain English.


DUAT does pretty good on the METARs but sometimes
it gets confused at odd contractions used in the
are forcast.

My favorites were always "Harrisburg, PA Turbulance"
(Harrisburg's identifier is MDT) and the decoding
of VSBYS as "Variable Snow Blowing Spray and Snow."