PilotGeek
PilotGeek
FAQ
PilotGEEK User FAQ
The following frequently asked questions describe the services, policies and usage for the PilotGEEK notification service for airmen. If there are any questions not answered in this FAQ or recommendations, please send them to tnery@pilotgeek.com
What is PilotGEEK?Where do you get the information from?
How can I get access to the data?
PC Access - Using the Enhanced Free Briefer
Is the Previous Version of Free Briefer Still Available?
Cell Phone Web Access
Cell Phone DUATs Briefer
How do I connect with my iPhone?
My cell phone browser doesn’t connect to the cell phone web pages
Cell Phone Text Message Access
Event Notification System
How do I shut off the Event Notification System
System won't allow you to enable event messaging?
Do I need a cell phone to use the information?
How do I get an icon on my desktop?
How do I change the default airport?
What do the colors on the free briefer mean?
Do you keep credit card information?
What, no ... (fill in your favorite missing feature here)?
Why does the free briefer always start at 1B9
I’ve got a question you didn’t answer
What is PilotGEEK?
As a private pilot who mainly flies VFR, I once came close to busting a TFR because I didn’t call FSS for the second leg of my flight. Luckily, it was a minor TFR and there were no ramifications, but I realized the necessity of checking in before each take-off. I also tend to use online facilities to check flight information rather than calling FSS as most of the time the toll-free FSS number connects me to a site remote from my location.
I looked at other commercial offerings but felt the $60-$100/year was more than I was willing to pay. So, being a software engineer, I decided to put together my own briefing system, one that could be accessed via my cell phone.
As I showed my system to friends and home base CFI’s they suggested improvements and asked for access to it.
Since that initial offering, PilotGEEK has continued to evolve, first with route weather briefings, then with radar, AOPA portal, DUATS portal and ADDS portals. As a result of the continual evolution of the PilotGEEK cell briefer, it is now the most full-featured cell phone briefer in the market, regardless of cost.
PilotGEEK is the result of that collaboration.
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Where do you get the information from?
I get my information from NOAA’s ADDS, the same site I use for my informal briefings.
The PilotGEEK server downloads new METAR data from the government’s computers every 5 minutes and maintains it in a local database.
Like METARs, TAF data is also downloaded from the NOAA site, but is updated every 10 minutes (since TAF data is updated less frequently).
TFR data comes from the FAA’s TFR web site. As a result, it is as accurate as the data provided by the government. Remember that the FAA recommends that you get a legal briefing before take off. This can easily be accomplished using the cell briefer’s DUATS portal. TFR data is updated every 10 minutes.
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How can I get access to the data?
There are four ways to access the PilotGEEK data:
PC Access - Using the Enhanced Free BrieferThe PilotGEEK Free Briefer is a PC based briefer that provides:
- Decoded, Color-coded METAR reporting stations within a defined radius or route width
- National and Origination/Destination Weather Radar Loops (expandable to allow scrolling)
- Static Satellite with flight condition overlay
- Looping Satellite images for Visible, Infrared and Water Vapor
- Decoded, Color-coded TAF reporting stations within a defined radius or route width
- Prognostic Charts
- Winds Aloft graphics and text
- Notificaiton of active TFRs for the requested airport or route’s NOTAM area, with a link to the faa’s TFR site
- Origination and Destination Airport NOTAMs
- RAIM - GPS Satellite Integrity Validation
- Origination and Destination Airport Information in kneeboard format
- Origination and Destination Airport Sectional Snippets
- Find Closest Airport Feature
- Trip Distance and Bearing information
To get the most out of the enhanced Free Briefer, please watch the instructional video on youtube.
To get to this site, just point your PC’s browser to www.pilotgeek.info to get a fixed size pop-up page or add the page www.pilotgeek.info to your favorite's list.
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Is the Previous Version of Free Briefer Still Available?
Yes. The previous version of the PilotGEEK Free briefer is still available at: www.pilotgeek.com/routingV1.php
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Cell Phone Web Access
The pilotGEEK cell phone route briefer has been designed to work with as many phones and providers as possible. The route briefer requires no special software, using your cell phone's web browser. Also, the page has been optimized for the small screen of cell phones and requires minimal user input. Currently, the pilotGEEK cell phone route briefer provides:
- Briefing summary, including:
- Trip information, including distance and initial course
- TFR, METAR, TAF and Winds Aloft
- Link to origination and destination decoded NOTAMs and almanac data
- ASOS/AWOS phone numbers along route
- User configurable weather radar, either:
- centered around a METAR reporting station
- animated DUAT radar, for cell phones supporting capability
- AOPA portal (requires AOPA membership), with:
- Airport information, such as: Navaids, Communication Frequencies, Runways, Traffic Patterns, Lights and more
- Business/FBO information
- Ground transportation
- Restaurant information
- Attractions
- Fuel price, radius search
- CSC DUATS portal (requires CSC DUATS account) for official weather briefings, with:
- Decoded Metars, TAFs and NOTAMs
- Optimized NOTAM report, customized for your requested briefing
- Full report emailed to you registered email account for later reference
- Cell phone optimized weather graphics, including: Surface Analysis, AIRMETs and SIGMETs, NexRad radar, Satellite images, Prognostic charts, Constant Pressure charts and Current and Forecast Winds Aloft.
- NOAA ADDs portal for additional weather analysis, providing:
- Graphical AIRMETs and SIGMETs, including Icing, Turbulence and Freezing Levels.
- Textual, raw and decoded Center Weather
- Textual, raw and decoded Area Forecasts
- Prognostic Charts, latest to 48 hours in the future
- Radar with Tops
- East and West Coast US Satellite images
- Winds and Temperature forecasts for surface to FL480 from latest to 84 hours in the future
- Find Closest Airport to a Town
- Have you ever spent hours trying to locate the closest airport to some town you need to go to? With PilotGEEK’s Cell Briefer, just enter the town optionally with state or zip code and you'll be supplied with the closest airport.
- Simple configurable user interface, with user settable:
- Text size
- Text, input box and background color
- Settable route width
- Route width
- METAR/TAF decoding
- Static or looping radar display
- Test, before save
- Registration Screen
The first step to using the PilotGEEK Route Briefer is to register your phone with the PilotGEEK service. This is easily accomplished by pointing your cell browser (most cell phones have a GoTo URL menu option) to www.pilotgeek.mobi.
Enter the cell phone number that was registered in your PilotGEEK profile. Please note that the telephone number should be entered using only the cell phones number. Once complete, submit the data by highlighting the Submit button and entering the Select function. Once verification is complete, you will be presented with the PilotGEEK Route Briefer.
- PilotGEEK Route Briefer, user interface.
At the top of the main PilotGEEK Route Briefer screen are a small number of links that when selected will bring you immediately to the requested section of the briefing.
For example, to quickly jump to the METAR data, just select the METAR link by using the Move Right cell phone operation. Most phones will display the selected text by highlighting the text. Then press the cell phone Select option. Once selected, your display should jump immediately to the METAR section of the report.
To get back to the main menu, select the cell phone Back option. Sometimes the back option requires a cell phone menu selection.
The screen shot shown, also shows the trip information. Note that the trip from 1B9 to IJD is 47nm with an initial TRUE course of 251.
Also in the trip section there are links to get:
- Airport information. This is available to AOPA members and requires you to enter your AOPA username and password the first time the feature is used.
- Fuel price in a radius around the airport. The radius is set using the Configure Cell Phone Options link on the main page and can be either 25 or 50 nm. This is also only available to AOPA members.
- Weather radar for the airport
- NOTAM information for both the origination and destination airports
- Almanac information for both the origination and destination airports
The main screen also has data entry points for the origination and destination airports. As well as buttons to enter new route data or go to the DUATs briefing page
Following are some examples of PilotGEEK cell phone screens. Notice that all of the screens display decoded information. Decoding is an optional parameter set from the Configure Cell Phone Options link.
METAR FUEL RADAR 
TAF TFR NOTAM 
As seen on the main page, underlined text indicates a link. Therefore if you select OWD - Norwood Memorial from the FUEL page, information about OWD will be displayed. Of course the same is true for FUEL and RADAR links on the metar page.
If your cell phone supports it, you can also highlight the ASOS/AWOS phone number displayed in the metar display and dial the number directly to get current weather conditions at the selected airport!
Configuring the PilotGEEK Route Briefer
To configure the route briefer, select the Configure Cell Phone Options link on the main page.
Cell Phone CSC DUATS BrieferThe configuration page allows you to optimize the display for your specific phone. The configuration page shown on the right, allows you to change the text size that should be used. In the text size drop down selection object you can choose text sizes from 3pt (very, very small) to 18pt (very, very large).
Additionally, you can select the text color, background color and input box color from one of 12 options.
When you have made all your selections, select the TEST button to see what your selections look like on your phone. Please note that the configuration screen does not use the settings, but instead a table at the bottom of the page shows the selection. This is to allow you to continue to change configuration after you've selected an unreadable combination.
Once satisfied with your settings, select the SAVE button to use the settings in all upcoming sessions.
This is also the screen where you can select the route width to use for weather briefings (25 or 50nm), decoding and the type of radar display.
PilotGEEK's cell briefer now provides DUATs route and weather briefing capability. Now in the time it takes to get a flight service briefer on the line and read your flight information, you can complete a full briefing. Never again fly without receiving a legal briefing. In fact it is so quick and easy, there is no reason to fly any hop without receiving an official briefing moments before takeoff. To go to the DUATs briefing page, just select DUATS Brief button from the main display.
The PilotGEEK server will have pre-completed some of the sections of the page. If you have used the DUATs portal, your access code and password will be filled in, as will your tail number.
Origination and Destination airports will be initially completed from the main PilotGEEK web page as will the route width.
PilotGEEK assumes your routing will be direct. If it isn't, just delete DIRECT from the Route of flight field and enter your complete route.
Departure time can either be entered as zulu time (for example 1300) or minutes from now. Minutes from now is entered with the format +mmm. So to leave in 2 hours, you would enter +120.Complete the form by entering the estimated flight time and planned altitude.
Once completed just select the Get DUATs Briefing button.
After a few seconds, you will be returned to the same page, but this time there will be a link at the top labeled wii th the date and time of the briefing. Select it and you will be brought to a jump area where you can jump to sections of the briefing. The sections are:
- Area Forecast
- Severe Weather Outlook
- SIGMETs
- AIRMETs
- Surface Observations
- PIREPs
- Terminal Forecast
- Winds Aloft
- NOTAMs
- FDC NOTAMs
- Departure Information
- Destination Information
A copy of the briefing will also be emailed to your pilotGEEK registered email address. This way you always have a copy of your briefing should you ever require it. When you're done using this page, just select the Return to PilotGEEK button. The previous briefing will be presented every time you enter the DUATs portal, so you can review it any time you wish.
Selecting any of the links will bring you to that section of the briefing. Once done with review of the section, just select the back option (available on most cell phones via menu option or key) to get back to the section list.
To make the briefing usable on cell phones and PDAs, the briefing report will be customized to show only pertinent NOTAM (for example all of the CANCELLED NOTAMs are filtered) as well as some limited translation from FAA acronym to plain english.
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My cell phone browser doesn’t connect to the cell phone web pages.
How do I connect with my iPhone? - Asos - Send ASOS/AWOS phone number of the closest weather reporting station to the specified airport
- Metar - METAR data of the closest weather reporting station to the specified airport
- TAf - TAF of the closest reporting TAF station to the specified airport
- TFr - TFR information of the specified airport
- W - Winds Aloft at the specified airport
- Radar - Radar, centered around requested airport
- Help - Provide usage information
- No active TFRs in NOTAM area ZBW
- KTAN has Marginal VFR conditions and is 11nm from
requested the airport - KOWD has Marginal VFR conditions and is 11nm from the
requested airport - KSFZ has IFR conditions and is 14nm from the requested airport
- KPVD has Marginal VFR conditions and is 19nm from the
requested airport. - KPYM has IFR conditions and is 21nm from the requested airport.
- The message was sent on May 2, 2006 at 12:00 Zulu.
Some mobile browsers, including the iPhone’s, look to PilotGEEK more like a computer than a mobile device so PilotGEEK can not automatically redirect the browser to the correct location. To force your mobile browser to use PilotGEEK’s mobile site, enter the address: www.pilotgeek.mobi into your mobile browser, then save it as a favorite for easy future connection.
The first time you connect, you should see the registration screen.
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Cell Phone, Text Message Access
Utilize PilotGEEK’s text message interface. Access to this service will require you to be a registered user of the PilotGEEK services. Because of the delivery process, it is possible to receive text messages at higher altitudes than normal voice and web services. I have successfully requested and received METAR and Radar data at altitudes above 5000 AGL.
All communications with PilotGEEK is via a single email address, txt@pilotgeek.com. Since it is sometimes difficult to enter email destinations for text messages, PilotGEEK can send a test message from the Account page’s Cell Phone/Email Setup tab once you have logged in.
After verifying the cell phone number and configuring your cell phone provider, just click the Send Test Text Message button. Within a couple of minutes, a text message will be delivered to your cell phone. Now just save this message and respond using the cell phone’s Text Message Reply function with your request.
Currently, the text message interface supports the following requests:
The format of the request is:
AirportID info1 info2 info3
So, if for example you wanted to get Metar and TFR information around Manfield Municipal airport, you would use the reply to the test text message to send to txt@pilotgeek.com the text message
1b9 m tf
(of course you could spell out metar and tfr but with a cell phone interface, the less characters entered the better). The request should be the first line of the text messages. All lines following the first are ignored.
Within a couple of minutes of sending, you should receive either 2 text messages (if you’ve configured your text message interface to use SMS or 1 MMS message with all requested data. PilotGEEK is even smart enough to combine all responses into a single MMS message anytime you request a radar image. With MMS messaging, you can also configure PilotGEEK to provide decoded METAR and TAF reports!
In all cases, you should expect a reply text message within 5 minutes. However, I have found that some messages get lost in the cell phone system, and are delivered much later. So, if you do not receive a response within 5 minutes, I’d recommend resending the request.
To use this service you will need your cell phone and service to support text messaging and/or MMS message (also known as picture messages). While I don’t know the costs for all cell providers, my service, Verizon, charges $0.05 (5 cents) per message. Also, be aware that some cell phone provider plans charge additional for MMS (picture) messages. So I suggest you check your plan so you have no cell phone billing surprises.
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Cell Phone, Text Message Event Notification
Utilize PilotGEEK’s event driven messaging system. The event driven messaging system allows you to configure the system to send your cell phone email when certain weather or TFR data changes. To use it, log in and go to your profile page. At the bottom Event Notification Setup tab of the profile page you will see the event configuration data:
Click Here for Larger Image
In the event notification setup, you can enter up to 5 airports. Also each airport does not need to have weather reporting, the PilotGEEK system will report the closest weather station, complete with distance from requested airport.
Next, specify which days of the week you want the event notification system activated, then indicate notification start time and how many hours you wish to monitor. Remember, start time is specified Zulu (UTC) time.
Lastly, check the events from which you want to receive notification. For example, checking only VFR will cause email to be sent anytime the weather changes from or to VFR conditions.
Once submitted, you will receive an email each time the event system activates (from an inactive state). If configured for SMS, undecoded messaging, the text message will look as follows:
The example email indicates the activate state of the requested stations;
This email informs you that the system is active. Now, when weather conditions change, you will receive an email, such as:
These three messages indicate that weather at KOWD became marginal, a TFR was activated at West Point and finally the West Point TFR was deactivated.
You can also specify the type of event message to send (SMS or MMS) and if MMS messaging is selected whether events should be decode or not. Additionally you can set the maximum number of messages generated during each active session so that you won't be bombarded with messages as fronts move through.
Want to shut off event messaging for the remainder of the monitor period just requires you to respond to one of the event messages (or send a text message to pilotgeek@pilotgeek.com) with the word OFF. To turn it back on just send a message to the same address with the single word ON. It doesn't matter whether your on/off request is in upper, lower or mixed case. Also you can send the message either from your registered cell phone or registered email address. To shut off event notification permanently, just check the Disable Event Message Generation checkbox and submit the form.
Lastly, you can configure the event message system to send events to your registered email address or both email and cell phone. You can also specify different levels of decoding for each. The total message count specified applies to both email and text, however if both are requested, each event counts for 1 message (not each message).
System won't allow you to enable event messaging? This is normally due to you not having a valid cell phone number or provider configured on the Cell Phone/Email Setup tab.
The configuration and options are fully described on the Event Notification Setup tab of the account page.[ Back to top ]
The PilotGEEK system is designed to provide data to your cell phone. If you don’t have one, just use the free system available on your PC. Of course you may reconsider the value of having a cell phone now that the PilotGEEK service is available.
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How do I get an icon on my desktop?
To get an icon on the desktop, just go to www.pilotgeek.info
and drag the position the mouse over the internet exporer icon in the address bar, left click on it then drag the icon to the desktop. That should give you a link to your desktop.
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How do I change the default airport?
If you always want the desktop icon to go to the same routing page you can enter the following on your browser’s address line:
- www.pilotgeek.info?init=1b9,cqx,50
- www.pilotgeek.info?init=1b9,1b9,100
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What do the colors on the free briefer mean?
The colors for the METAR and TAF displays indicate the flying weather conditions, with the following definition:
- GREEN - VFR conditions.
Ceilings above 3000 feet and visibility more than 5 miles. - BLUE - MVFR conditions.
Ceilings between 1000 and 3000 feet and/or visibility between 3 and 5 miles. - Pink - IFR conditions.
Ceilings between 500 and 1000 feet and/or visibility between 1 and 3 miles. - Red - Low IFR conditions.
Ceilings less that 500 feet and/or visibility less than 1 mile.
Do you keep credit card information?
No. PilotGEEK stores no credit card information at this time. Additionally, PilotGEEK considers all of the information provided as confidential and will not make it available to any other services’ mailing list. None, Never!
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What no ... (fill in your favorite missing feature here)?
The initial implementation of the PilotGEEK service provides those services that I need the most. The others are very valuable, but tend to be more planning related which I prefer to do from a full size computer terminal.
PilotGEEK will continue to evolve and add new features as time permits. The features added will primarily be those most requested by registered users (or me). I currently have a list of things I plan to add but am always looking for more suggestions. If you've got one, just email it to me at tnery@pilotgeek.com.
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Why does the free briefer always start at 1B9
The free briefer uses cookies to remember where you were last. If you have cookies disabled, the browser won’t be able to save your information. If you are using Internet Explorer, you can enable cookies for the PilotGEEK site by opening the menu Tools, Internet Settings. Then select the tab Privacy and click on the button Sites. In the textbox Address, enter www.pilotgeek.com and click on Allow button. You should now always return to your last briefing location and the latest conditions on the home page should be for that location as well.
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I’ve got a question you didn’t answer
Easy, drop me an email at tnery@pilotgeek.com.
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