 ENROUTE WEATHER SERVICES
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ATIS - 60 nm range
ASOS - 25 nm range
AWOS - 25 nm range |
One of the easiest ways to monitor conditions en route is to
listen to ATIS and ASOS/AWOS broadcasts along your route. These broadcasts can help you update and validate preflight weather information about conditions along your route of flight.
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EFAS
En route Flight
Advisory Service
122.0 -- "Flight Watch" |
En route Flight Advisory Service (EFAS, or Flight Watch).
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Available on 122.0 in the continental United States
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5,000 AGL to 17,500 MSL
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designed to provide en route aircraft with timely and meaningful weather advisories pertinent to the type of flight intended, route of flight, and altitude.
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If you are in contact with ATC, request permission to leave the frequency to contact EFAS. Provide your aircraft identification and the name of the VOR nearest to your position.
http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/media/ga_weather_decision_making.pdf |
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ATC
Air Traffice Control |
Simply monitoring ATC frequencies along the way is one way to keep abreast of changing weather conditions. For example, are other GA aircraft along your route requesting diversions? You can also request information on the present location of weather, which the controller will try to provide if workload permits.
When you ask ATC for weather information, though, you need to be aware that radar – the controller’s primary tool – has limitations, and that operational considerations (e.g., use of settings that reduce the magnitude of precipitation returns) will affect what the controller can see on radar.
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DATALINK |
Datalink does not provide real-time information. Although weather and other navigation displays can give pilots an unprecedented quantity of high quality weather data, their use is safe and appropriate only for strategic decision making (attempting to avoid the hazard altogether).
Datalink is not accurate enough or current enough to be safely used for tactical decision making (negotiating a path through a weather hazard area, such as a broken line of thunderstorms).
Be aware that onboard weather equipment can inappropriately influence your decision to continue a flight. No matter how “thin” a line of storms appears to be, or how many “holes” you think you see on the display, it is not safe to fly through them.
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------------ Wanda Zuege, ATP, CFII, Master CFI ------------
----- John Thompson, Master CFI, CSIP Instructor -----
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