On Sun, 20 May 2007 20:20:10 GMT, "Private"
wrote:

I agree with the other good responses in this thread and would only add that
the ATIS is a periodic and not real time report that could IMHE be 1 or more
hours old. I always want to confirm the ATIS by seeing the windsock and
monitoring crab and drift on downwind, base and especially on final.

Along with all the good stuff that's been mentioned...

If it's a towered field, simply say "Wind Check?" into the mic while
turning final and the tower person will usually give you an instant
reading like "330 @ 9, gusting 14". A double click of the mic button
will confirm reception, no readback or callsign necessary. You
don't need a callsign or any other info when asking, simply "Wind
Check?", they'll know what it means. Both the ask and response are
very quick and don't waste much radio time.

Most of the non-towered fields I use have either an AWOS or ASOS
(maybe Belfort? G), that updates every minute, but the same caveats
apply about the location of the instrument taking the reading vs. the
runway.