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Three simple questions for the EAA forum readers:
1) How often do you check a TAF before you fly?
a) Never
b) Only on long trips
c) Every time
d) Once in a while, it depends on my mood
2) Rank your ability to decode a TAF
a) I'm an expert
b) I'm OK.
c) I stumble through
d) Right, what's a TAF?
3) How often do you check TFR's before you fly?
a) Never
b) Only on long trips
c) Every time
d) Once in a while, it depends on whether someone important is coming to town
c. every time
c. stumble but my wx software translates the TAF into real words
b. long trips but I get the email TFR notam
C. A. C.
And I make sure my students do it that way, too.
ETA: I also make sure 1-800-WX-BRIEF is tattooed to the inside of their eyelids...
A
D
A
Ummm...
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_28_113.gif
C b c
C
b
c
1. Every time.
2. Somewhere between "ok" and "expert"
3. Every time.
C
A
C
Not too difficult
1) How often do you check a TAF before you fly?
c) Every time, though I confess that weather.com is my first check!
2) Rank your ability to decode a TAF
a) I'm an expert (big stumbling block in training so I had to learn it through doggedness; now I can't unlearn it)
3) How often do you check TFR's before you fly?
b) Only on long trips
d) Once in a while, it depends on whether someone important is coming to town
I do mostly local area flying for fun, so it's take off and return!
i check weathermeister.com before every flight. flying 300+ hrs a year, you want all the info you can get. this site gives it to you in 'plane' language. you can get a free month to check it out.
Reported: April 24, 2012 at 7:20 AM
Valid: April 24, 2012 at 8:00 AM - April 25, 2012 at 8:00 AM
From 8:00 AM: Wind 300° at 6 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Few 6000' (VFR)
From 10:00 AM: Wind 330° at 10 gusting to 18 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Clear (VFR)
From 7:00 PM: Wind Variable at 3 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Clear (VFR)Reported: April 24, 2012 at 7:20 AM
Valid: April 24, 2012 at 8:00 AM - April 25, 2012 at 8:00 AM
From 8:00 AM: Wind 300° at 4 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Clear (VFR)
From 10:00 AM: Wind 330° at 10 gusting to 18 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Clear (VFR)
From 7:00 PM: Wind Variable at 3 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Clear (VFR)Reported: April 24, 2012 at 7:20 AM
Valid: April 24, 2012 at 8:00 AM - April 25, 2012 at 8:00 AM
From 8:00 AM: Wind 310° at 7 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Clear (VFR)
From 10:00 AM: Wind 330° at 14 gusting to 20 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Clear (VFR)
From 8:00 PM: Wind 310° at 3 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Clear (VFR)Reported: April 24, 2012 at 7:22 AM
Valid: April 24, 2012 at 8:00 AM - April 25, 2012 at 8:00 AM
From 8:00 AM: Wind 330° at 10 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Clear (VFR)
From 10:00 AM: Wind 350° at 12 gusting to 18 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Clear (VFR)
From 7:00 PM: Wind 020° at 8 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Clear (VFR)
From 11:00 PM: Wind 350° at 3 kt, Visibility greater than 6 sm, Clear (VFR)
C A C
use FSS or DUAT and the system saves a record of what you asked for and what you got - which makes it easier to defend yourself when the TAF changed after your brief or the TFR was established after takeoff.
if you read the brief, it's even better.
as for understanding TFRs, those who are too dumb to understand http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html are too dumb to worry about flying at all
I couldn't have said it better myself.Quote:
as for understanding TFRs, those who are too dumb to understand http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html are too dumb to worry about flying at all
C.
A.
A.
Sadly, 99.9% of my flying is Part 121 IFR, so TFRs aren't really a concern. Weather, on the other hand, definitely is!