Guy Prevost
Well Known Member
Some discussion in this thread for Dan's Weathermeister special offer http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=49042&highlight=weathermeister made me wonder what others are doing on this front. I'm interested in both peoples opinions as to the quality of service and the legality aspects.
Personally I find DUAT AND DUATS nearly useless. Several times I've logged in and spend 15 minutes trying to enter my flight information in the proper format. Arghh. I also don't get a lot of good from a briefer on the phone. It's better than nothing, but I don't retain nearly as much information as I do when I look at the information on a computer.
I'll probably take a beating for admitting this, but I basically use weathermester.com and runwayfinder.com to plan my flights. The information is clearly presented and easy to use. Sure they're not official sources, but the quality of information and its presentation are clearly superior. I do carry and use current sectionals. Sometimes I call a briefer ask a couple of pointed questions and then tune him out while I peruse the other information I need online. I do this primarily to get the call logged on the official system.
Here are my questions:
1. Do you use quality easy to understand sources (such as WeatherMeister.com) almost exclusively for your briefings?
2. Do you believe you are meeting the requirement to obtain all relevant information when you do this?
I believe that by using sources that transfer information to me effectively I am more adequately prepared for my flight than if I use an official source that is presented with less clarity. I am not advocating in any way flying without a briefing. That said, I seldom use an official briefing. Anyone else willing to admit this?
Personally I find DUAT AND DUATS nearly useless. Several times I've logged in and spend 15 minutes trying to enter my flight information in the proper format. Arghh. I also don't get a lot of good from a briefer on the phone. It's better than nothing, but I don't retain nearly as much information as I do when I look at the information on a computer.
I'll probably take a beating for admitting this, but I basically use weathermester.com and runwayfinder.com to plan my flights. The information is clearly presented and easy to use. Sure they're not official sources, but the quality of information and its presentation are clearly superior. I do carry and use current sectionals. Sometimes I call a briefer ask a couple of pointed questions and then tune him out while I peruse the other information I need online. I do this primarily to get the call logged on the official system.
Here are my questions:
1. Do you use quality easy to understand sources (such as WeatherMeister.com) almost exclusively for your briefings?
2. Do you believe you are meeting the requirement to obtain all relevant information when you do this?
I believe that by using sources that transfer information to me effectively I am more adequately prepared for my flight than if I use an official source that is presented with less clarity. I am not advocating in any way flying without a briefing. That said, I seldom use an official briefing. Anyone else willing to admit this?