"McGregor" wrote:
So... is FSS just there to a) cover your ass in case of an incident ("pilot
called FSS and got a full weather briefing prior to departing into known
icing/TFR/hurricane etc.") b) accept flight plans?

I am sure I'm going to get jumped on, but I just don't see FSS as having
a key role in flight planning. I'm like McGregor; I self-brief using
DUAT. I find this to be faster, more convenient, and more complete that
what I could get from FSS on the phone. To be fair, I should point out
that I'm on line pretty much all the time. If you have to boot up your
computer and dial up to get to DUAT, I can see how it might not be any
better than a voice briefing. I'm also pretty good at rdg mtrlogcl
gibrsh wth no vwls so I don't have any trouble understanding the
printout.

I use FSS only under rare situations. Every once in a while there's
something that I can't make sense of on DUAT (and the plain-language
translator isn't helping), so I'll call up and ask a specific question.
On (rare) occassion, I'll be near a phone but not near a computer on the
net.

On the other hand, I use FSS a lot in the air. On a long flight, with
weather that's anything but severe clear, I'll generally call up flight
watch as soon as I level out in cruise to get an update. On a really
long flight, I might do that several times during the course of the
flight.

I also use FSS for dictating flight plans to in the air. If I don't
have an IFR flight plan on file and I suspect I might need it further up
the road, I'll call up FSS and give it to them. I keep a flight plan
form laminated to my kneeboard so I can just reel off the information in
the right order to the FSS guy. NOTE: if you want to do this, you need
to use the discrete FSS frequencies. Flight watch is for weather only,
no flight plans.