Weather: As you wish

Now with weather coming from all types of sources competition has driven flight service contractor Leidos to introduce a host of creative and innovative features. Here are some ways to interact with flight service you may not have used.

Easily open and close flight plans
Calling flight service is always an ordeal. The briefers are helpful and attentive, but regardless of how good the service is you must always go through a menu and give information before you can get to your request. Now you can open or close a flight plan by email or text. Once you’ve logged in to 1800wxbrief.com, click on “Easy Activate Easy Close.” Add your email and your phone number and you’ll receive a reminder 30 minutes prior to departure to open the plan and 30 minutes prior to your estimated time of arrival to close the plan. Just click on the provided link and you’re done.

Text weather
Need a quick METAR or TAF? Now you can get it by text. Message M for Metar or T for TAF, followed by the identifier to 358-782 (FLT-SVC) and flight service will reply with the current weather at the location. If you add PT to the end of the message you’ll receive the report in plain text. For example, if you text M KFDK PT you’ll receive the METAR for Frederick, Maryland, in plain text.

Smart speaker
Have an Amazon or Google smart speaker and a few moments while you’re getting ready in the morning? Say, “What is the TAF at Alpha Tango Lima?” and you’ll be read the latest terminal aerodrome forecast. It also works with METARs. You can also ask for the Aviation Forecast Discussion at an airport to get a broader picture of what the weather is going to do over the next few hours. If you’ve linked your flight service account to Amazon you can also ask for an Adverse Condition Update on a flight plan you’ve already filed.

Website
If you haven’t planned a flight on 1800wxbrief.com lately, you should. Leidos has released a host of innovative features, and more are being added regularly. The company was an early developer for color-coded airport conditions tied to your planned flight time. Say you’re going from Florida to North Carolina at 1500 Zulu. Along the way you’ll see color-coded airport conditions. Don’t like what you see? Slide the time and the colors change with the forecasts. It’s a great heads-up way to find the right time to depart, and one of many features you’ll find on the site.

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