Apparently FSS changed all ops and I am out of the loop

Cessnaflyer

Cessnaflyer

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Um yeah that was the most interesting call ever made to a FSS station...

I usually file the flightplans for the students that don't do their complete plan at home like they are supposed to before their night flights. I've done it in the past a 101 times and it always seems to work just fine.

So I make the call, wait the standard 10 minutes or more now and finally get a briefer. I tell him that I have to file two flightplans, he didn't sound to enthused with this idea but he let me continue. So I tell him the information for the flight plan and I guess I've been using the wrong aircraft type because I told him it was a PA28. He promptly corrected me on the differences between the Piper 28 types. Thanks but I know the differences between a Cherokee and a Warrior. Then I went through the rest of the stuff and got to the names and I spelled them out. Then after I spell out the name he said, "How many people know how to spell out that name? Next time just give me his initials we don't take full names like that." Well I assumed you take the full name because box 14 says Pilot's Name not initials. So I go through with the second one with corrective measures and he still had somethings to lecture me on.

Was I in the wrong all this time or were rules changed recently and I haven't read about them.
 
Cessnaflyer said:
Um yeah that was the most interesting call ever made to a FSS station...

I usually file the flightplans for the students that don't do their complete plan at home like they are supposed to before their night flights. I've done it in the past a 101 times and it always seems to work just fine.

So I make the call, wait the standard 10 minutes or more now and finally get a briefer. I tell him that I have to file two flightplans, he didn't sound to enthused with this idea but he let me continue. So I tell him the information for the flight plan and I guess I've been using the wrong aircraft type because I told him it was a PA28. He promptly corrected me on the differences between the Piper 28 types. Thanks but I know the differences between a Cherokee and a Warrior. Then I went through the rest of the stuff and got to the names and I spelled them out. Then after I spell out the name he said, "How many people know how to spell out that name? Next time just give me his initials we don't take full names like that." Well I assumed you take the full name because box 14 says Pilot's Name not initials. So I go through with the second one with corrective measures and he still had somethings to lecture me on.

Was I in the wrong all this time or were rules changed recently and I haven't read about them.
Click to expand...

NOPE! You are right. However they have gotten more WITCHY about things. Although that was weird.... No worries man!
 
Lockheed Martin is stupid. Complain, complain, complain. We have to.

One day last week, I was on the ground at MKL, and called Jackson Radio on 122.65 (On the field, mind you . . . ) to check some weather. It went something like this:

Me: Yes, Sir, FLX 305 is just about to depart MKL IFR to memphis, and just wanted to get an update on this area of precip that's in the vicinity right now" (I got drenched loading the airplane . . . )

FSS: [Proceeds to give me a standard briefing . . . ]

Me: "Ummm, thanks. I was wondering about this area of precipitation that's in the area right now . . . "

FSS: (Laughing, with an attitude) "Well, I'm not sure if you just heard me, but I didn't say anything about precip in the area. There's none out there"

Me: "Well, I'm not sure if you guys still have radar or windows, but it's pouring down rain right now . . . thanks anyway".

AND THEY WANT ME TO PAY FOR THIS???:banghead:
 
I took an impromptu tour with my instructor a few years ago, late at night in Bangor FSS.

The window you ask of? It was like a port-hole on a ship! No, even smaller -- more like the little CD sized window on the door of an airliner.

At the time what they had was exactly what I had seen at my flight school's WX room a few hours prior: WSI computer. They just had a lot of them. Same exact data though.
 
mtsu_av8er said:
Lockheed Martin is stupid. Complain, complain, complain. We have to.

One day last week, I was on the ground at MKL, and called Jackson Radio on 122.65 (On the field, mind you . . . ) to check some weather. It went something like this:

Me: Yes, Sir, FLX 305 is just about to depart MKL IFR to memphis, and just wanted to get an update on this area of precip that's in the vicinity right now" (I got drenched loading the airplane . . . )

FSS: [Proceeds to give me a standard briefing . . . ]

Me: "Ummm, thanks. I was wondering about this area of precipitation that's in the area right now . . . "

FSS: (Laughing, with an attitude) "Well, I'm not sure if you just heard me, but I didn't say anything about precip in the area. There's none out there"

Me: "Well, I'm not sure if you guys still have radar or windows, but it's pouring down rain right now . . . thanks anyway".

AND THEY WANT ME TO PAY FOR THIS???:banghead:
Click to expand...

Sounds like the really grumpy guy with a deep voice from Jackson FSS.....If its the same guy, ive had a few lovely converstations with him before...
 
Nick said:
I took an impromptu tour with my instructor a few years ago, late at night in Bangor FSS.

The window you ask of? It was like a port-hole on a ship! No, even smaller -- more like the little CD sized window on the door of an airliner.

At the time what they had was exactly what I had seen at my flight school's WX room a few hours prior: WSI computer. They just had a lot of them. Same exact data though.
Click to expand...


Yeah, they pretty much just read out whats on DUAT.


I only use them (FSS) for filing flight plans and ask them about any pertinent NOTAMS.
 
The waits definatly longer...but the lady who i called tonight knew my name from my N number!

She just needed alt, route, fuel, and pax and i was done!
 
Yeah calling FSS seems about worthless anymore. I have called 5 times in the last two weeks for different briefings. Never less than a 10 minute wait. Always someone on the other end reading verbatim from DUATS. Usually the other person is grumpy.

I don't see why anyone would even bother using FSS anymore. I get more info from DUATS and the AviationSentry WX at the airport than I'll ever get from them anymore. Pretty soon it will be some guy in India reading broken english from a DUAT cue card.
 
Since the switch happened, the service is awful. I keep getting FSSs all over the country when I dial 1800wxbrief. The wait times are horrible, and a briefer told me their new computer system had tons of gliches as I waited five minutes for him to pull up the weather.

I only deal with them on the phone to teach students how to do it - then I tell them to use DUATs from then on.

Lloyd, you mentioned complaining about it - and I'm all about it. Any idea where the best venue to complain is?

Edit: On a side note, I was doing a night XC with a student the other night and approach called and said the FSS wanted to talk with us. So I switched over and the FSS guy said he saw we got a weather brief via DUATs to buffalo, but wanted to make sure we got the notams for unlit towers near Niagara. I said we did, and thanks! Thought that was pretty nice of the guy.
 
I can't call the 800-WX-BRIEF number anymore. I get routed to random places and they're like, uh, ADIZ plan? What's that?

You know, for the DC ADIZ.

Oh, uh, you better call Leesburg.

So I just call Leesburg directly now.

Even there, the service is spotty. I called one time, asked for a standard brief, and asked for any NOTAMs. He said there were none.

Except the frequency that I normally use to contact Potomac to get a squawk was out of service. Kind of an important thing to know.
 
Try using the GoldenEagle flightprep software if you havent, there is a free version on their website, and it has duats built in to get wx briefs, also has nexrad overlay, and you can file flight plans. Flightprep.com
 
meritflyer said:
I waited 22 minutes yesterday on HOLD to get a briefing and file an IFR plan.

Man was I pissed.
Click to expand...

Sounds like my last Friday. I did talk to the guy though and he assured me that by late June/early July the wait should be as advertised (sure;) ). He said they were going through a lot of growing pains and they were busy updating their system. I think its a lot of BS. Like eveybody in corporate American, they came in, cut the labor force and try to make due AS THE LOWEST BIDDER! Ah...the joys of Capitalism!
 
I've had good and bad experiences. Today our internet was down, and I had to get a standard briefing with Miami FSS. The lady that helped me was very nice, I filed with her too.

I've had other experiences of extended wait times, very sarcastic grumps too. DUAT is a wonderful thing :)
 
Anthony said:
Try using the GoldenEagle flightprep software if you havent, there is a free version on their website, and it has duats built in to get wx briefs, also has nexrad overlay, and you can file flight plans. Flightprep.com
Click to expand...

I am sure that software is great but its not really the point here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top