PilotGeek
PilotGeek
Briefings
Get all your flight information along a great circle route. The PilotGEEK Route Briefer displays METAR, TAF, TFR, Winds Aloft, NOTAM and weather radar in a single, easy to use screen.
Just insert the origination and destination airport identifiers and specify a radius (route width) then click on the "Get Briefing" button.
If flying local, insert either the origination or destination airport identifier, select the radius around the airport and click on the "Get Briefing" button.
You will be presented with all decoded METAR data along the route, color coded so that you can easily identify VFR (green), MVFR (blue) and IFR (red) conditions.
Also shown is the distance and true course of each weather reporting station from the origination airport. Want information on the airport providing weather data? Just click on the station name and you'll pop-up a new window with airnav's information page for that airport. You can also get airnav's information for the origination or destination airports by clicking on the titles.
TAF data along the route uses the same color coding providing a quick and easy view of future weather conditions. As you would expect the TAF data is decoded, too.
What briefing would be complete without a radar view of the weather? The PilotGEEK briefer shows DUATS looping weather radar. Need a closer look or want to scroll the radar view? Just click the radar image and a larger view of the radar will pop-up, allowing you to scroll to your destination.
If there are any active TFRs in the ARTCC areas you'll be flying through, the TFR button will turn red. Clicking it will show detailed information about those specific TFRs directly from the FAA's own TFR page. PilotGEEK only shows the TFRs that you care about.
Want to check the NOTAM information for your origination and destination airports? Just click the NOTAM button and a new screen will pop-up showing all NOTAM data for both. Don't worry about decoding cryptic NOTAM information as PilotGEEK will decode it for you. NOTAM information has never been this easy to obtain.
Clicking the "Print Briefing" button will open a window with all of the METAR, TAF, Winds Aloft, TFR and NOTAM data in a form convenient for printing.
It even updates every 5 minutes, so you don't have to!
Remember, you can get all this same information on your web enabled cell phone, Blackberry or Treo for only $24.99/year. Cell phone not web enabled? Then try the PilotGEEK text message interface.
METAR
A Meteorological Aviation Report or METAR is an observer’s interpretation of surface weather conditions at a specified time and location. The METAR report is used by pilots to determine the current flying conditions and flight rules associated with those conditions; Visual Flight Rules (VFR), marginal VFR (MVFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). The weather data comes from the computer accessible ADDS METAR site.
METAR reports are condensed listings of the current conditions. Each element within the report is separated by a space. For ease of use, the PilotGEEK METAR reports are presented on computers in a decoded format. The mobile phone METAR reports can be displayed in either decode or abbreviated format.
For a complete explanation of the METAR reporting system, please refer to the NOAA METAR Information.
TAF
A Terminal Aerodrome Forecast or TAF forecasts expected weather conditions within a 5 statue mile radius from reporting locations (airport) during the next 24 hour period. TAFs share many of the same abbreviations with METAR reports. The weather data comes from the computer accessible ADDS TAF site.
TAFs presented by PilotGEEK on computers are decoded for easy reading. Mobile phone users can display either decoded data or the abbreviated format.
For a complete explanation of the TAF reporting system, please refer to the NOAA TAF Information.
TFR
A Temporary Flight Restriction or TFR is a section of airspace temporarily unavailable for general aviation flight. PilotGEEK limits the TFR reports to those that are truly temporary in nature, such as VIP travel flight restrictions (due to travel of the President or Vice President), hazardous conditions (natural disaster or man-made hazard) and air shows. It is strongly recommended that a complete briefing be received prior to flight.
All TFR data comes from the FAA Graphical TFR List.
NOTAM
A notice containing information concerning the establishment, condition or change in any aeronautical facility, service, procedure or hazard, the timely knowledge of which is essential to personnel concerned with flight operations. NOTAMs are distributed via: telecommunications (Class I), postal services (Class II) and now PilotGEEK.
All NOTAM data is acquired using the FAA PilotWeb Radius Search facility.