New FSS Policy

FSS has a new trick, calling the contact number on your flightplan at or
BEFORE your ETA...

Landed at Sedona this morning, called 800-WX-Brief to close VFR flight plan,
walked into the terminal building and the guy behind the FBO desk says
Prescott FSS just called looking for me. Huh!?!?! I filed for 0730MST
departure with an ETE of 50 minutes. Opened the flight plan with a wheels
up time of 0755MST and landed at 0850MST...five minutes off (probably
because we stayed under the PHX Class Bravo longer than usual so my buddy
could see his house.)

So, I called Precott and the gentleman to whom I spoke said he had no idea
why they called looking for me so quick. Excused himself for a moment to
ask around, then came back on the line to explain that this is now their
policy and they will be calling pilots instead of waiting for pilots to call
them. They will be calling At or BEFORE your ETA (his words...)

Same thing on the return trip. Filed for an ETE of 1H05M and landed at
1H06M ... as I'm on the phone with ABQ (phone system shunted me there) my
call waiting beeps and it's Prescott calling me to check and see if I'm on
the ground.

So, welcome to the new Lockheed/Martin world order...

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
AZ Cloudbusters
Chandler, AZ
(Now adding 10 minutes to all ETE calculations!)

Sounds good to me. Much easier for them to make a phone call than to
scramble a CAP flight for a pilot who simply forgot to close a VFR
flight plan. Seems like this private industry thing might actually be
able to control costs - who woulda thunk it!

--
Guy

This is not a good thing. If the contact number is your home number I can
just here the phone call.

MY WIFE: Hello
FSS: Yes has Mr Giacona arrived yet?
MY WIFE: No
FSS: OK Thanks

My wife then begins to think I've crashed & burned, meanwhile I'm taxiing
into my hanger 5 minutes behind schedule.



"Jay Beckman" wrote in message
newsU8af.564$bo.388@fed1read01...
FSS has a new trick, calling the contact number on your flightplan at or
BEFORE your ETA...

Landed at Sedona this morning, called 800-WX-Brief to close VFR flight
plan, walked into the terminal building and the guy behind the FBO desk
says Prescott FSS just called looking for me. Huh!?!?! I filed for
0730MST departure with an ETE of 50 minutes. Opened the flight plan with
a wheels up time of 0755MST and landed at 0850MST...five minutes off
(probably because we stayed under the PHX Class Bravo longer than usual so
my buddy could see his house.)

So, I called Precott and the gentleman to whom I spoke said he had no idea
why they called looking for me so quick. Excused himself for a moment to
ask around, then came back on the line to explain that this is now their
policy and they will be calling pilots instead of waiting for pilots to
call them. They will be calling At or BEFORE your ETA (his words...)

Same thing on the return trip. Filed for an ETE of 1H05M and landed at
1H06M ... as I'm on the phone with ABQ (phone system shunted me there) my
call waiting beeps and it's Prescott calling me to check and see if I'm on
the ground.

So, welcome to the new Lockheed/Martin world order...

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
AZ Cloudbusters
Chandler, AZ
(Now adding 10 minutes to all ETE calculations!)

So now you know--give them your cell phone number!


"Gig 601XL Builder" wr.giacona@coxDOTnet wrote in message
news:ly9af.2056$5N1.1831@dukeread08...
This is not a good thing. If the contact number is your home number I can
just here the phone call.

MY WIFE: Hello
FSS: Yes has Mr Giacona arrived yet?
MY WIFE: No
FSS: OK Thanks

My wife then begins to think I've crashed & burned, meanwhile I'm taxiing
into my hanger 5 minutes behind schedule.



"Jay Beckman" wrote in message
newsU8af.564$bo.388@fed1read01...
FSS has a new trick, calling the contact number on your flightplan at or
BEFORE your ETA...

Landed at Sedona this morning, called 800-WX-Brief to close VFR flight
plan, walked into the terminal building and the guy behind the FBO desk
says Prescott FSS just called looking for me. Huh!?!?! I filed for
0730MST departure with an ETE of 50 minutes. Opened the flight plan
with
a wheels up time of 0755MST and landed at 0850MST...five minutes off
(probably because we stayed under the PHX Class Bravo longer than usual
so
my buddy could see his house.)

So, I called Precott and the gentleman to whom I spoke said he had no
idea
why they called looking for me so quick. Excused himself for a moment
to
ask around, then came back on the line to explain that this is now their
policy and they will be calling pilots instead of waiting for pilots to
call them. They will be calling At or BEFORE your ETA (his words...)

Same thing on the return trip. Filed for an ETE of 1H05M and landed at
1H06M ... as I'm on the phone with ABQ (phone system shunted me there)
my
call waiting beeps and it's Prescott calling me to check and see if I'm
on
the ground.

So, welcome to the new Lockheed/Martin world order...

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
AZ Cloudbusters
Chandler, AZ
(Now adding 10 minutes to all ETE calculations!)

My wife got one of those calls once.

Younger brother arranged a 'training' flight from Pensacola to Schenectady.
He was in the navy, and a group of guys wanted to go to a wedding. His
training flight was their transportation. He took a bus to Central
Massachusetts, and I flew him back in a rented Cessna. The senior officer of
the group mis-understood the directions, and was waiting in the wrong place
at the airport. He ended up calling my house asking why we were an hour
late. I had already dropped off little brother and was on my way back home.

Wife was not happy.


"Jay Beckman" wrote in message
newsU8af.564$bo.388@fed1read01...
FSS has a new trick, calling the contact number on your flightplan at or
BEFORE your ETA...

Landed at Sedona this morning, called 800-WX-Brief to close VFR flight
plan,
walked into the terminal building and the guy behind the FBO desk says
Prescott FSS just called looking for me. Huh!?!?! I filed for 0730MST
departure with an ETE of 50 minutes. Opened the flight plan with a wheels
up time of 0755MST and landed at 0850MST...five minutes off (probably
because we stayed under the PHX Class Bravo longer than usual so my buddy
could see his house.)

So, I called Precott and the gentleman to whom I spoke said he had no idea
why they called looking for me so quick. Excused himself for a moment to
ask around, then came back on the line to explain that this is now their
policy and they will be calling pilots instead of waiting for pilots to
call
them. They will be calling At or BEFORE your ETA (his words...)

Same thing on the return trip. Filed for an ETE of 1H05M and landed at
1H06M ... as I'm on the phone with ABQ (phone system shunted me there) my
call waiting beeps and it's Prescott calling me to check and see if I'm on
the ground.

So, welcome to the new Lockheed/Martin world order...

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
AZ Cloudbusters
Chandler, AZ
(Now adding 10 minutes to all ETE calculations!)

"Guy Elden Jr" wrote in message
oups.com...

Sounds good to me. Much easier for them to make a phone call than to
scramble a CAP flight for a pilot who simply forgot to close a VFR
flight plan. Seems like this private industry thing might actually be
able to control costs - who woulda thunk it!


The new policy isn't making a phone call instead of scrambling a CAP flight,
it's calling at or before the ETA instead of beginning a search after the
ETA. The first step in the search was always a phone call.

In a previous article, "Jay Beckman" said:
FSS has a new trick, calling the contact number on your flightplan at or
BEFORE your ETA...

That happened to me once about 8 years ago. I was on a VFR flight plan to
Saranac Lake, but since it was a calm day I decided to take a circuit
around Whiteface Mountain before landing. I was about 10 minutes over ETA
when somebody called on Saranac Lake Unicom asking if I was on the
frequency, because Flight Service had called them to see if I'd arrived
yet.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Why is there only one Monopolies and Mergers Commission?
-- JNP

"Gig 601XL Builder" wr.giacona@coxDOTnet wrote in message
news:ly9af.2056$5N1.1831@dukeread08...
This is not a good thing. If the contact number is your home number I can
just here the phone call.

MY WIFE: Hello
FSS: Yes has Mr Giacona arrived yet?
MY WIFE: No
FSS: OK Thanks

My wife then begins to think I've crashed & burned, meanwhile I'm taxiing
into my hanger 5 minutes behind schedule.

Gig,

That's my take on this too. IMO, it's "uber efficient" when dealing with a
bug-smashing C172 just out for a breakfast run like I was this morning.

Kind of scared me at first.

Jay

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
In a previous article, "Jay Beckman" said:

FSS has a new trick, calling the contact number on your flightplan at or
BEFORE your ETA...


That happened to me once about 8 years ago. I was on a VFR flight plan to
Saranac Lake, but since it was a calm day I decided to take a circuit
around Whiteface Mountain before landing. I was about 10 minutes over ETA
when somebody called on Saranac Lake Unicom asking if I was on the
frequency, because Flight Service had called them to see if I'd arrived
yet.


If you were ten minutes over your ETA it didn't happen to you.

Steven P. McNicoll wrote:
"Guy Elden Jr" wrote in message
oups.com...
Sounds good to me. Much easier for them to make a phone call than to
scramble a CAP flight for a pilot who simply forgot to close a VFR
flight plan. Seems like this private industry thing might actually be
able to control costs - who woulda thunk it!


The new policy isn't making a phone call instead of scrambling a CAP flight,
it's calling at or before the ETA instead of beginning a search after the
ETA. The first step in the search was always a phone call.


Yep, it was 30 minutes of grace period and then 30 minutes of hunting
around and sending ALNOTs before you ever got anywhere near a real
SAR response.