High-Performance Briefing

The year is 1917. Take a moment and transport yourself back to a time when World War I aces Baron Manfred von Richthofen and Eddie Rickenbacker peered into the early morning sky to evaluate conditions at the aerodrome before commencing the dawn patrol. In the fine book by Norman Franks, Under the Guns of the Red Baron (copyright 1995, Grub Street, London), we read a daily account of weather conditions documented in the Red Baron's combat reports: March 17, 1917, Victory No. 28 - "Weather: Fine all day; ground mist early morning." Or from April 2, 1917 - "Weather: Wind, rain, snow flurries and low clouds." Simple and to the point, these are the weather reports that would form the basis of subsequent weather preflight briefings for later flights by the squadron aviators.

As we look back, two amazing facts come to mind: first, that the aviators of WWI were able to safely complete any number of flights with just sketchy weather reports (icing conditions doomed many a winter aviator in World War I), and second, how far we have come in producing preflight weather briefings that are of such precision and detail for aviators, the Red Baron himself would be astounded by the amount of information available today right at our fingertips.

Basically, there are two types of weather information gathering that are used by all aviators: preflight and in-flight. Let's take a look at what is available as sources of weather information for today's pilots.

Preflight

Preflight weather sources range from your own observations using the basic senses of sight and touch to all of the technical resources available through briefings from trained meteorologists. Whether we realize it or not, we are all initially using this most basic form of weather analysis, like our World War I pathfinders, before determining to expand this sensory information to the level that is required to operate aircraft safely in today's environment. The atmospheric environment has not changed for millions of years, but our approach to understanding this environment has evolved into an intricate science, progressing to spacecraft in geostationary orbit (satellites stationed in a "parking orbit" about 22,500 miles high to stay above a point on earth to coincide with the earth's rotation) monitoring and gathering up-to-the-minute numeric and pictorial data.

Remember, crew resource management (CRM) means using all available resources when preparing for and conducting a flight. In the weather arena, this would include basic sources for the overall weather picture such as:

• Local newspaper or USA Today, which depicts basic weather maps showing fronts, pressure systems, and general outlook.
• AM/FM radio weather reports, which are usually affiliated with television station meteorologists who receive their information from the National Weather Service (NWS).
• Cable television weather services or The Weather Channel, which is particularly helpful for viewing real-time weather radar images.

These "initial looks" at the weather will enhance the weather briefing you receive from the flight service station briefer (more on FSS services later), in that you already will have a general mental picture of what is out there as your FSS briefer presents all of the basic and detailed information during your briefing.

If you have Internet access, there is a wealth of information available to all pilots before you receive an FSS briefing and leave for the airport. Because there is so much weather information out there on the World Wide Web, I sought the advice of a couple of airline professionals whose job it is to brief airline crews before each flight, as they focus on the ever-changing weather conditions experienced by airline crews.

Which Web sites would be valuable to pilots for weather information when preparing for a flight? Geri Pulera and Ron Swenson have been air carrier dispatchers for 12 years at Midwest Express Airlines, a DC-9/MD-80 air carrier that flies coast to coast. As dispatchers, they know weather! "Our primary source of weather comes from the National Weather Service. The airline has a contract with Kavouras in Minneapolis. They provide our weather maps, graphics, and satellite images. The Airline Dispatchers Federation provides a Web site with graphics, weather maps, and satellite images as well," said Swenson.

"The ADF Web site ( www.dispatcher.org ) is the one used most, and we also use the NWS Web site (www.nws.noaa.gov)," added Pulera. "Weather for any city, state, or country can be accessed at www.wunderground.com."

I asked Pulera to name the three most important weather system maps she would use or suggest a pilot review via Internet access, if she were briefing a student or private pilot for a VFR cross-country trip from, say, Milwaukee to Indianapolis. "I would recommend the U.S. Significant Weather Prognostic Chart, the Constant Pressure Analysis Chart (850 mb and 700 mb or about 5,000 feet and 10,000 feet), and the Radar Summary Chart."

Swenson added, "The pilot briefing for a VFR flight would include a Surface Analysis Chart with radar images; a Weather Depiction Chart that includes frontal activity, forecast IFR locations, and forecast precipitation areas; and a map that provides current winds (Constant Pressure Analysis Chart) and forecast upper winds."

What about that same route in instrument meteorological conditions being flown by an instrument-rated pilot? "An IFR briefing would include all of the above, with the addition of low-level icing forecasts, low-level 12-hour significant weather forecasts (Significant Weather Prognostic Chart), and a Radar Summary Chart with convective sigmets, depending on the time of year," explained Swenson.

Pulera added, "The IFR pilot would also want to look at any convection charts showing echo tops to determine the heights of cells. For a turbulence outlook, information on the ADF Web site ( www.dispatcher.org ) would be useful."

Other weather sources that have an Internet connection include DynCorp DUAT (Direct User Access Terminal System, previously known as GTE DUATS), which also can be accessed through your home computer's modem (Internet connection not necessary). Here you can receive free color weather graphics for off-line viewing when connecting through Cirrus for DynCorp DUATS Windows software. To receive a free copy of Cirrus electronically or on CD-ROM, send an e-mail to [email protected] . To download Cirrus DUATS from the Web, visit the site ( www.duats.com ). Call 800/767-9989 for more information. A similar service available is Jeppesen Weather Services JeppFax worldwide weather via fax. Call 800/621-JEPP for further information.

Weather and much other helpful news and services for pilots can also be accessed at AOPA Online. As the largest general aviation Web site on the Internet, AOPA Online has a huge database of information for pilots. You can register for all of these services at www.aopa.org/register.html or by calling 800/USA-AOPA.

Now that the prebriefing is complete, your call to the Flight Service Station at 800/WX-BRIEF (direct telephone numbers for each of the FSSs can be found in the Aeronautical Information Manual under "Meteorology") will be very much "visually enhanced" as you mentally put into pictures the briefer's descriptions and comments. FSSs are the primary source for obtaining preflight briefings.

Three basic types of preflight briefings are available: the standard briefing, abbreviated briefing, and outlook briefing. You should specify to the briefer the type of briefing you want along with the appropriate background information. Request a standard briefing any time you are planning a flight and you have not received a previous briefing. Ask for an abbreviated briefing when you want to update a previous briefing, and need only one or two specific items. Request an outlook briefing whenever your proposed time of departure is six or more hours from the time of the briefing. This type of briefing is provided for planning purposes only. You should always follow up with a standard or abbreviated briefing before your departure to obtain such items as adverse weather conditions, updated forecasts, winds aloft, and notices to airmen (notams).

The telephone information briefing service, or TIBS, provided by Automated Flight Service Stations (AFSSs), is a continuous recording of meteorological and aeronautical information, available by telephone. Each AFSS provides at least four route or area briefings, and other items may be included such as METARS and TAFs, or wind/temperature aloft forecasts (valuable for determining freezing levels, etc.). TIBS locations are found at AFSS sites and can be accessed at 800/WX-BRIEF.

In-flight

Now let's take a look at all of the weather resources available to pilots once airborne. Weather is a dynamic, ever-changing phenomenon that has to be continuously evaluated and monitored for the duration of each flight, from takeoff to landing.

En route flight advisory service (EFAS) is available to pilots flying at 5,000 feet above ground level or higher on frequency 122.0 MHz, using the call designation Flight Watch. Contacting flight watch is done by using the name of the flight service facility serving the area of your flight position, followed by your aircraft identification and the name of the nearest VOR to your position. (The flight service specialist can now select his or her most appropriate transmitter/receiver outlet for communications coverage.) Immediate destination weather and terminal forecasts (METARS and TAFs) will be provided on request. This is your best up-to-the-minute source of weather while airborne, and it may also include recent pilot reports along your route of flight.

The NWS, when necessary, issues in-flight weather advisories that are announced over air route traffic control center frequencies, followed by the recommendation to "contact flight watch for further information." These may include severe weather forecast alerts, convective sigmets, airmets, and center weather advisories. These serve to notify you of the possibility of encountering hazardous flying conditions that may not have been forecast at the time of your FSS preflight briefing.

Many airports now have the automated weather observing system (AWOS) or automated surface observing system (ASOS) installed, transmitted over a discreet VHF radio frequency or the voice portion of a local navaid. The computer-generated voice transmits minute-by-minute weather observations and will be found at many nontowered airports. The report will include location and time, visibility, ceiling and sky cover, temperature and dew point, wind, altimeter setting, and density altitude. AWOS or ASOS locations and frequencies are also noted on sectional charts.

The year is 2002. Take a moment now and transport yourself ahead to a time when weather data is even more detailed and readily accessible. With real-time weather data and graphics continuously available for display in the cockpit of your single-engine airplane, you can't help but notice that the view outside the airplane is phenomenal, just as it was for the Red Baron.