Pilot Weather Briefing Services

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Article

| May 5, 2025

Mobile calls now reach Alaska briefer directly

The FAA announced a new toll-free number to help pilots contact flight service in Alaska. Now, a call to 1-833-252-7433 (AK-BRIEF) will put you in contact with any one of the three hub facilities that serve Alaska on a 24-hour basis.

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Article

| April 22, 2025

Jeppesen, ForeFlight sold to private equity

Boeing Co. announced April 22 the sale of two giant names in general aviation—Jeppesen and ForeFlight—to a private equity firm that specializes in software and technology.

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Article

| April 8, 2025

AI airport weather stations may yet proliferate

On a wintry night in 1993, David Wartofsky departed Maryland’s Potomac Airfield (now inside the Washington, D.C., Special Flight Rules Area), flying under instrument flight rules in instrument meteorological conditions bound for General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport in Boston—without being able to conduct a radio check on the ground because Potomac had no unicom.

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In-Flight Accessories

| June 28, 2024

SiriusXM created content Pilot chooses SiriusXM aviation at any speed

Emmy Dillon got the aviation bug early and started flying gliders with the Civil Air Patrol at 14. Her mom likes to joke that she could fly a plane before she could drive a car. Since then, her general aviation flying, and professional career have really taken off.

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Advocacy

| May 23, 2024

Fly safe, smart in Idaho

Idaho is highlighting recently published reports and important resources that will benefit pilots across the state.

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Advocacy

| May 15, 2024

‘The Last Frontier’ state holds big GA gathering

Organized by the Alaska Airmen's Association—a nonprofit organization founded in 1951 with a mission to protect, preserve, and promote general aviation in Alaska—the Great Alaska Aviation Gathering is the largest annual aviation event held in the state.

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Article

| November 30, 2023

FAA expanding weather camera coverage

FAA weather cameras have been a popular source of weather information since they were first deployed in Alaska nearly a quarter-century ago.

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Advocacy

| July 20, 2023

More feedback sought on switch to online forecast

The half-hour television program that has let Alaska pilots look ahead over the next couple of days has moved off the television airwaves and is now only available online. The format of the program has changed as well. AOPA is interested in your reactions to these changes, and the impact they might have on your ability to plan flights in the state.

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Advocacy

| May 16, 2023

'Alaska Weather' broadcast ending, area forecast frequency reduced

The National Weather Service is looking for feedback on two planned changes to how aviation weather products are delivered in Alaska.

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Article

| January 18, 2023

FAA publishes 'Aviation Weather Handbook'

The FAA's Aviation Weather Handbook consolidates weather information from several advisory circulars into one place and operates as a technical reference for anyone flying in the national airspace system.

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Advocacy

| December 13, 2022

FAA Weather Camera Network extends across the country

The FAA is expanding its Weather Camera Program to more locations across the country.

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Advocacy

| October 6, 2022

Bringing self-briefing guidance to pilots' attention

An advisory provided by the FAA acts as an “educational roadmap” for pilots conducting self-briefings, but the majority of pilots remain unaware it exists.

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Advocacy

| September 8, 2022

FAA launches IFR Pilot Self-Briefing Course

As more pilots continue to rely on their devices over calling flight service for preflight weather briefings, the FAA has released another video course, focused on IFR, to round out its pilot self-briefing curriculum.

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Advocacy

| September 16, 2021

AOPA releases findings of annual weather survey

AOPA released the results of its annual survey of how pilots use aviation weather resources, noting new insights, trends, and some challenges in modernizing weather-information dissemination against a backdrop of rapidly evolving technology that is driving user behavior.

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Article

| April 28, 2021

Former flight service specialists settle claims against DOT, FAA

The U.S. Department of Transportation agreed on April 27 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed by hundreds of former FAA flight service specialists who lost their jobs and retirement benefits when the FAA hired a private contractor to provide those services in 2005.

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Article

| September 8, 2020

VFR Unleashed: Glad I called a briefer

One of the most enjoyable aspects of VFR flight is the freedom to fly wherever we want, whenever we want, without talking to anyone. While there are several obvious qualifiers of various airspace and weather limitations, the freedom to fly on our own and not engage the air traffic control system is something truly unique to U.S. aviation and VFR flight.

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Advocacy

| August 27, 2020

New weather product helps pinpoint icy clouds

Pilots flying in Alaska will have an opportunity starting September 1 to evaluate an experimental weather product from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that identifies the location of clouds and icing conditions along selected flight routes.

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Advocacy

| August 6, 2020

Colorado weather cams activated

Pilots flying over and between the peaks of the Colorado Rockies have new insight on current conditions, thanks to 52 weather cameras now active at 13 automated weather stations.

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Advocacy

| May 7, 2020

Connectivity, technology streamline flight service briefings

Imagine a world where you can request an initial briefing from Leidos Flight Service and then—prior to takeoff—receive an update briefing with the latest flight conditions without duplicating all of the data you already have. The option is now available, provided Leidos has your primary phone number and other pertinent pilot information.

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Advocacy

| February 6, 2020

Next generation of ADS-B should include pirep capability

For those pilots who wonder what will be new in an air traffic system in which controlled airspace is mostly an ADS-B environment, here’s a hint: Think “pireps.”

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Advocacy

| January 7, 2020

What Alaska pilots want as briefing technology evolves

Alaska is a unique aviation environment, and as the modernization of flight service nationwide moves into the digital age, meeting the needs of Alaska’s pilots must follow its own special path.

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Advocacy

| December 11, 2019

FAA sets January 8 end date for HIWAS broadcasts

The FAA announced that the Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service (HIWAS), which transmits weather advisories over some VORs, will be discontinued on January 8, 2020.

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Advocacy

| November 27, 2019

Leidos wins new flight service contract

The FAA has selected current flight service provider Leidos to receive a new five-year contract under its Future Flight Service Program with options to extend the agreement in one-year increments up to an additional 10 years.

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Advocacy

| October 7, 2019

PilotWeb phasing out in February

If you’re still in the habit of using the old PilotWeb portal, it’s about to be as obsolete as the dusty 8-track deck that might be lurking in your garage. Better to switch sooner, we say, because this anachronistic portal for preflight information will go dark in February.

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Training Tips

| August 19, 2019

Mandatory ICAO flight plan filing back on track

Attention pilots: Two years after the FAA placed a hold on plans to require all domestic and international flight plan filers to use the international flight plan form, the policy has been revived with a start date of Aug. 27.

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Training Tips

| July 1, 2019

Aviation Weather Center seeks pilots for summer experiment

A visit to Kansas City, Missouri, and a chance to weigh in on the online weather forecasting tools pilots rely on for flight planning await volunteers who participate in the Aviation Weather Center’s 2019 Aviation Weather Testbed Summer Experiment in August.

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Advocacy

| March 27, 2019

Pilots surveyed for Alaska flight service modernization

As the FAA prepares to launch a multiyear initiative to modernize flight service in Alaska, AOPA and the Alaska Airmen Association are surveying the state’s pilots on their priorities for flight service and service-delivery improvements far into the future.

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Advocacy

| December 6, 2018

Graphical forecasts expanding to Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean

The National Weather Service is soliciting pilot comments by Dec. 31 on a graphical weather forecasting product to cover the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and western North Atlantic Ocean that would eventually replace text-based area forecasts for the Gulf and the Caribbean.

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Pilot Weather Briefing Services

SiriusXM created content Pilot chooses SiriusXM aviation at any speed

Sponsored by Aircraft Spruce Training Tip: Flight plan mandate

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