I attended a seminar on www.1800wxbrief.com at the AOPA Fly In in Bremerton yesterday.

I had tried the website in the past and was underwhelmed; however, they have made many upgrades improve flight briefings and add one very nice safety feature.

The safety feature allows Flight Service to monitor your SPOT, Spydertracts, etc. during your flight plan. If they stop getting "breadcrumbs" or the signal dies, they assume the worst and start SAR procedures.
This could be a major time improvement. For example currently if I were to file for a 3 hr trip to say Idaho backcountry and failed to close my flight plan they would not even start calling to see if I had arrived until 3.5 hrs after opening flight plan. If my wing was struck by a meteor 0.5 hr into my flight, the bread crumbs would not move and SAR would be started immediately. That means someone is looking for me 3hrs sooner than with current system.
Pretty cool and makes you SPOT folks look pretty smart.

Briefings now can give you area reports, pireps, metars/tafs, etc only along your route and adjusted to your projected time at a given time along your route.

Still cannot "rubberband" your route, but Flight Service guy said to be sure to take the FAA survey on the website and request it. The more people ask for it the faster it will happen.

TD

Pretty interesting stuff.

Just curious how many people file VFR flight plans anymore? I haven't filed one in eight or ten years.

Hammer wrote:Pretty interesting stuff.

Just curious how many people file VFR flight plans anymore? I haven't filed one in eight or ten years.

I file fairly regularly, for the very reason listed....I have a DeLorme InReach, and they'll flight follow me. If you don't file, you're passing up a significant safety feature.

That said, i don't always file either. But, I can tell you that if we stop using this service, it will go away. And, it does have utility.

MTV

mtv wrote:

Hammer wrote:Pretty interesting stuff.

Just curious how many people file VFR flight plans anymore? I haven't filed one in eight or ten years.

I file fairly regularly, for the very reason listed....I have a DeLorme InReach, and they'll flight follow me. If you don't file, you're passing up a significant safety feature.

That said, i don't always file either. But, I can tell you that if we stop using this service, it will go away. And, it does have utility.

MTV

I don't typically file when flying for fun, but when flying for work we file every flight (regulations). DD-175 on the first leg and FAA filing afterward (easier to use when in and out of civilian airfields, like most of our flights are).

I usually file from my foreflight account when filing with the FAA.

I use a Delorme in-reach when I'm flying for me, and my whole family has access to the tracking website. I might start filing, too. MTV made some good points.

...VFR...anymore? I haven't filed one in eight or ten years.

VFR flight plans, are recommended, when transiting an international border. Big time saver instead of being detained or forced down.

With the new online system I get a brief on very flight. I file for about half my cross country flights. Mostly if my routs take me over unknown territory. They made it really easy using the text reply method to open and close the flight plans. I like easy. I'll keep using it.

RT

I file but do not open them. I deviate too often for it to really be affective unless you get flight following - which i don't do often because, well - just because that would require talking to someone and listening - feels too much like IFR.

I'm a little concerned about monitoring spot and calling the dogs if you stop dropping breadcrumbs. Spot isn't that reliable. But I recently purchased an inreach so I guess I can do both (until I decide which service to drop - likely spot).