who uses FSS?

I agree with you, Michael. It's much faster to phone FSS compared to Duats.
I usually do it on my cell while driving to the airport, so zero time added.
I usually check Intellicast Nexrad on the computer before I call to get the
big picture.
"Michael 182" wrote in message
. net...
I use them before every flight. I find a 5-7 minute phone call (including
filing IFR) faster than using the net. If there is significant weather
enroute I'll get on line to complete the picture. My only problem is the
hold time before I get to talk to a briefer.

Michael


"McGregor" wrote in message
link.net...

Then I call flight service and listen to the guy/girl give me this
wildly
generalized briefing that usually doesn't tell me very much.

Dan Thompson wrote:
I agree with you, Michael. It's much faster to phone FSS compared to Duats.
I usually do it on my cell while driving to the airport, so zero time added.
I usually check Intellicast Nexrad on the computer before I call to get the
big picture.

You must be better than I am at assimilating spoken data. I need pictures and
written text. It's hard enough trying to comprehend all that voice input when
I'm sitting down at a desk, let alone while driving.

Well, I guess it's no worse than trying to make sense of an airborne update
while flying, but I find that ineffective, too. At least in that case I already
have a background of understanding the general weather picture.

I also am immersed in a computer environment all day, so it's little to no extra
hassle to get an online briefing. There's no setup time. Phoning FSS, on the
other hand, I have to navigate voicemail-hell.

Dave

Remove SHIRT to reply directly.

The only time I find ii difficult is when they describe a weather pattern,
like a front as being "30 SE of Tyler to 40 N of Lubbock to 20 W of
Midland...." I do a fair amount of flying in areas I am not familiar with
the waypoints, so this is kind of useless.

When they are done with all that I usually just ask is that in my route of
flight? "Yes."

All right, how should I change my flight plan to avoid the weather? Good
briefers have always responded with a new flight plan option, which I then
have them modify in my filed plan. The advantage over maps for me is that
they are forecasting the movement of the front as they offer the new plan.
In this case, since there is obviously significant weather involved, I'll
take the new plan to a computer and look at what I'm getting into.

Michael


"Dave Butler" wrote in message
...
Dan Thompson wrote:

You must be better than I am at assimilating spoken data. I need pictures
and
written text. It's hard enough trying to comprehend all that voice input
when
I'm sitting down at a desk, let alone while driving.

"Michael 182" wrote in message
news:CYCeb.648570$Ho3.134457@sccrnsc03...
The only time I find ii difficult is when they describe a weather pattern,
like a front as being "30 SE of Tyler to 40 N of Lubbock to 20 W of
Midland...." I do a fair amount of flying in areas I am not familiar with
the waypoints, so this is kind of useless.

These are not waypoints, but towns. Plot them on any map if your don't have
a sat or radar picture.

Dave Butler wrote:

I also am immersed in a computer environment all day,
so it's little to no extra hassle to get an online briefing.

Yeah, me too. I go nuts with the online weather, computer flight planning,
and DUAT filing. I've got all this stuff set up on computers both at home
and at work, including a laptop that I often take with me if I'm so
inclined.

But that only works on the outbound leg or places along the way where I am
relatively well-connected. I'm hardly a bush pilot, but that just isn't all
that often. FSS has been my best source of information at places as urban
as El Monte CA (late night departure), Laughlin NV (lousy hotel phone
system), and Hillsboro OR (too many students ahead of me in line for DUAT).

In cases like that, which I dare say represent well over half of my flights,
I am more than happy to plan my flight on a pad of paper, phone it in to
FSS, and go by their briefing. The main thing I miss is the chance to look
at a radar loop.

A lot of my flying is overnighters and multi-day trips, so while I enjoy
having home field advantage and throwing several thousands of dollars of
technology at the problem, it just isn't always an option. Sometimes flight
planning is more like backpacking than hooking up the RV to cable TV.


There's no setup time. Phoning FSS, on the
other hand, I have to navigate voicemail-hell.

"Press ONE to speak to a specialist"?

The least convenient thing about calling FSS is when you have to look up the
discrete 866 number (in the A/FD) that actually connects you to your local
FSS rather than the closest FSS to your cellular phone's area code and
exchange. If you want to file a flight plan out of Tucson, it doesn't do
any good to be talking to Oakland AFSS.

Craig Prouse wrote:
There's no setup time. Phoning FSS, on the
other hand, I have to navigate voicemail-hell.

"Press ONE to speak to a specialist"?

One of the problems is that not every FSS has the same phone system.
Depending on where you get connected, you may have to press ONE, or STAR
ONE, or who knows what else to get connected to a human being.

The least convenient thing about calling FSS is when you have to look up the
discrete 866 number (in the A/FD) that actually connects you to your local
FSS rather than the closest FSS to your cellular phone's area code and
exchange. If you want to file a flight plan out of Tucson, it doesn't do
any good to be talking to Oakland AFSS.

You would think by now the FAA would have discovered this wonderthing
thing called a network. You know, that wonderful thing Al Gore invented
:-) For $19/month and a junky PC, anybody can sit in their own living
room and exchange email, netnews, IRC, web, etc with friends around the
world, but the FAA hasn't yet figured out how to get a flight plan from
Oakland to Tucson without manual intervention.

Craig Prouse wrote:
Dave Butler wrote:


I also am immersed in a computer environment all day,
so it's little to no extra hassle to get an online briefing.


Yeah, me too. I go nuts with the online weather, computer flight planning,
and DUAT filing. I've got all this stuff set up on computers both at home
and at work, including a laptop that I often take with me if I'm so
inclined.

But that only works on the outbound leg or places along the way where I am
relatively well-connected.

Good point. I carry a laptop with linux loaded with all the access phone numbers
for my ISP, but still it's usually less hassle to just make the phone call from
the away-from-home FBO.

Dave

Remove SHIRT to reply directly.

I thought Mitre was working to answer this very question....

If you want to fly into or out of the DC ADIZ, you have to talk to flight
service. DUATS CANNOT be used to file any flight plan (IFR/VFR) in or out
of the ADIZ.

Frankly, I like the discussion to validate what I think I know about the
weather, and then I ask for a complete list of TFRs and/or any new TFRs for
the route(s) of flight one last time.

"McGregor" wrote in message
link.net...

So... is FSS just there to a) cover your ass in case of an incident
("pilot
called FSS and got a full weather briefing prior to departing into known
icing/TFR/hurricane etc.") b) accept flight plans?

In article eFreb.28134$AH4.6479@lakeread06, "Robert Henry"
wrote:

I thought Mitre was working to answer this very question....

Really? Do you have a CAASD POC for this?




If you want to fly into or out of the DC ADIZ, you have to talk to flight
service. DUATS CANNOT be used to file any flight plan (IFR/VFR) in or
out
of the ADIZ.

Frankly, I like the discussion to validate what I think I know about the
weather, and then I ask for a complete list of TFRs and/or any new TFRs
for
the route(s) of flight one last time.

"McGregor" wrote in message
link.net...

So... is FSS just there to a) cover your ass in case of an incident
("pilot
called FSS and got a full weather briefing prior to departing into
known
icing/TFR/hurricane etc.") b) accept flight plans?




--
Bob Noel

"Bob Noel" wrote in message
...
In article eFreb.28134$AH4.6479@lakeread06, "Robert Henry"
wrote:

I thought Mitre was working to answer this very question....

Really? Do you have a CAASD POC for this?



Nope. Looks like the study just ended in August, though.

http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsite...03-3-055x.html