METAR notation as a foreign language. Was: Iowa Aviation Weather...en Espanol

However, it is useful to do so. Notwithstanding that GPRS has plenty of
bandwidth for 'text only' applications, a raw undecoded TAF for even the
filthiest weather forecast will fit on one screen on my cell phone.

This is true. Once you've learned the lingo, "METAR" is a very handy
language to know. (I get it on Pilot MyCast, too...)

Unfortunately, IMHO it's just another stupid thing that needlessly
weeds out potential pilots. Newbies look at the gibberish on the
screen, are told they must learn to understand it, and find somewhere
else to spend their disposable income.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Newbies look at the gibberish on the
screen, are told they must learn to understand it, and find somewhere
else to spend their disposable income.

Maybe that's not a bad thing. Remember, you'd be sharing the sky with
people for whom a little study is too much.

Jose
--
Humans are pack animals. Above all things, they have a deep need to
follow something, be it a leader, a creed, or a mob. Whosoever fully
understands this holds the world in his hands.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Recently, Jay Honeck posted:

However, it is useful to do so. Notwithstanding that GPRS has plenty
of bandwidth for 'text only' applications, a raw undecoded TAF for
even the filthiest weather forecast will fit on one screen on my
cell phone.

This is true. Once you've learned the lingo, "METAR" is a very handy
language to know. (I get it on Pilot MyCast, too...)

Unfortunately, IMHO it's just another stupid thing that needlessly
weeds out potential pilots. Newbies look at the gibberish on the
screen, are told they must learn to understand it, and find somewhere
else to spend their disposable income.

Perhaps you underestimate the amount of time and attention to such details
that you have spent in pursuit of your interest in flying? The information
is not incidental to flying, and I'm glad that regulations related flying
aren't taken as casually those for driving an auto. It weeds out a lot of
folks that really have no business in the air space.

I agree with the other point of view that METAR is a much more efficient
communication than native languages. Perhaps because of decades of
computer programming, I even find it to be a logical and (for the most
part) predictable language. You can guess the meaning of an abbreviation
and much of the time be right. However, the most compelling reason to
learn METAR is that native language translations that I've seen have
sometimes been incomplete (I use ADDS).

Neil

"Neil Gould" wrote in message
et...
I agree with the other point of view that METAR is a much more efficient
communication than native languages. Perhaps because of decades of
computer programming, I even find it to be a logical and (for the most
part) predictable language. You can guess the meaning of an abbreviation
and much of the time be right.

With the exception of BR, unless that has some historical that I'm not aware
of.

In article ,
"Mike Young" wrote:

With the exception of BR, unless that has some historical that I'm not aware
of.

As I understand it, the UK folks wanted Fog to mean real fog (i.e., you can't
see ANYTHING) not the wimpy fog us in the USA call fog.

wrt non-obvious abbreviations for us Americans, remember that these
abbreviations came from a committee of people from a variety of
countries.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

Mike Young wrote:

With the exception of BR, unless that has some historical that I'm not
aware of.

BR for 'brume' -- it's French. At least that's how I
remember it, may be I just made it up.

--Sylvain

Perhaps you underestimate the amount of time and attention to such details
that you have spent in pursuit of your interest in flying? The information
is not incidental to flying, and I'm glad that regulations related flying
aren't taken as casually those for driving an auto. It weeds out a lot of
folks that really have no business in the air space.

Although philosophically I agree with you, there comes a point in time
where keeping the airspace clear of people we deem less than worthy
becomes counter-productive. Take a look at the vast majority of GA
airports in America today, and you can count the number of active
aircraft on one hand. How long do you think local taxpayers are going
to support unused airports?

I would prefer to remove as many superfluous obstacles (and these
weather abbreviations are just one example of the ways we have made
flying needlessly intimidating to the uninitiated) from new pilots,
and let the CFIs weed out the unworthy ones. We do not benefit by
weeding newbies out before that point.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"