While Holding for a Briefing Today...

"Ash Wyllie" wrote in message
...

How about helping the existing briefers to set up a coop? They are there,
and
know what needs to be done.


They have no time to raise chickens.

Larry Dighera wrote:

You can't expect a for-profit corporation to have staffing levels
great enough to adequately handle the peak periods. They'd be over
staffed most of the time. :-(


There are legitimate functions of government: Public Transportation
standards and safety, fire police and rescue, military and borders
and ports. Hopefully, a large amount of time you will NOT be needing
these trained people.... but when you need them you MUST have them
and in numbers sufficient to do the job. I would include Flight Services
and ATC in the category of *legitimate* government function... and
"profit" should not a factor in determining staffing levels for these
types of organizations or functions.

This government might not be so strapped for cash (and thus need to
reduce spending in LEGITIMATE areas) if it were not spending so much
money on things it has no Constitutional or legitimate right to be
spending taxpayer's money on (like buying votes with pork and welfare
programs).

Thankfully there are some people and business actually still making a
profit out there or this government wouldn't have the money to blow.

Happened to me. I waited 15min. then hung up called back it was busy. Then
called back and got through in about 5 min.
"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
. ..
I was on the phone for the now-traditional 15 minute pre-brief hold today
and they had a new voice on the "hold line". Instead of an announcement
every 45 seconds about how busy they are and calls are taken on a first
come first served basis, and we'll take your call ASAP, there was a message
from the LockMart guy in charge of the FSS project.

Essentially "Sorry about the bad service. Increased seasonal volume has
swamped us. We're half way through the transition. It'll be better once
we complete the transition. We have about 3 more months of work to go to
reduce from 58 to 19 FSS's.

Of course, my cynical side thinks.. If we're halfway through the process
now, I guess we'll be really screwed when these guys complete the process.
Also, didn't LockMart anticipate that flight briefing requests go up in
the summer? Hello, McFly....

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
. ..
I was on the phone for the now-traditional 15 minute pre-brief hold today

Hmm...I got in on the second ring, but it's not LockMart :~)

On May 15, 7:42 pm, "Kyle Boatright" wrote:

Also, didn't LockMart anticipate that flight briefing requests go up in the
summer? Hello, McFly....

I am sure that they did anticipate it and didnt give one fracken
care. I am just old enough to remember when walking into the FSS and
getting a briefing was how it was done. Slowly but surely, and
probably not completly with this last move, what we have done is
retained the worst of the old system while trying to make a new one.

Ie the briefing is centered around "the phone" and two people on the
phone while reducing the number of people at the "call in" end that
can take the phone call. And yet the number of people needing
briefings is either growing or at least staying still.

But the entire concept of "weather briefings" for pilots NOT being in
the national interest means that it is now to whomever can "make a
buck with it". Operators are standing by...they are just talking with
you.

Robert

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
. ..
I was on the phone for the now-traditional 15 minute pre-brief hold today
and they had a new voice on the "hold line". Instead of an announcement
every 45 seconds about how busy they are and calls are taken on a first
come first served basis, and we'll take your call ASAP, there was a message
from the LockMart guy in charge of the FSS project.

Essentially "Sorry about the bad service. Increased seasonal volume has
swamped us. We're half way through the transition. It'll be better once
we complete the transition. We have about 3 more months of work to go to
reduce from 58 to 19 FSS's.

Of course, my cynical side thinks.. If we're halfway through the process
now, I guess we'll be really screwed when these guys complete the process.
Also, didn't LockMart anticipate that flight briefing requests go up in
the summer? Hello, McFly....

If it's sooooo important to you, why not suscribe to WxWorx, Jeppesen, or
Meteorix, or any of the similar services?


--
Matt Barrow
Performace Homes, LLC.
Colorado Springs, CO

"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
. ..
I was on the phone for the now-traditional 15 minute pre-brief hold today
and they had a new voice on the "hold line". Instead of an announcement
every 45 seconds about how busy they are and calls are taken on a first
come first served basis, and we'll take your call ASAP, there was a
message from the LockMart guy in charge of the FSS project.

Essentially "Sorry about the bad service. Increased seasonal volume has
swamped us. We're half way through the transition. It'll be better once
we complete the transition. We have about 3 more months of work to go to
reduce from 58 to 19 FSS's.

Of course, my cynical side thinks.. If we're halfway through the process
now, I guess we'll be really screwed when these guys complete the
process. Also, didn't LockMart anticipate that flight briefing requests
go up in the summer? Hello, McFly....

If it's sooooo important to you, why not suscribe to WxWorx, Jeppesen, or
Meteorix, or any of the similar services?

Do all of those services have a trained person on the line who looks at
weather several hours a day and can relate the trends they are seeing?
That's the big thing that a briefer offers.... "The forecast calls for "X",
but we're seeing rapid improvement (or worsening), and based on that, I
think the forecast may be pessimistic (or optimistic)...

Also, do all of those services record the briefing, just in case I need a
witness that I got a briefing? Say I get a full FSS briefing and no TFR's
are mentioned, despite my request for that info. Then, due to whatever
circumstance, I bust a TFR and get a F-16 escort. My opinion is that having
a bona fide record of an FSS briefing would be a very good piece of evidence
on my behalf...


--
Matt Barrow
Performace Homes, LLC.
Colorado Springs, CO

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
...

"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...


If it's sooooo important to you, why not suscribe to WxWorx, Jeppesen, or
Meteorix, or any of the similar services?

Do all of those services have a trained person on the line who looks at
weather several hours a day and can relate the trends they are seeing?

Yes.

Do you think corporate flight departments would rely on a "talking head"?

That's the big thing that a briefer offers.... "The forecast calls for
"X", but we're seeing rapid improvement (or worsening), and based on that,
I think the forecast may be pessimistic (or optimistic)...

Do FAA briefers have data updated constantly, or just the periodic hour
reports?

WXWork, WSI, Jepp, all are usng data in as close to real-time as one can
get.

What does FSS use?


Also, do all of those services record the briefing, just in case I need a
witness that I got a briefing?

Yup! Probably better records than the FAA.

Say I get a full FSS briefing and no TFR's are mentioned, despite my
request for that info. Then, due to whatever circumstance, I bust a TFR and
get a F-16 escort. My opinion is that having a bona fide record of an FSS
briefing would be a very good piece of evidence on my behalf...

Think of why corporate and commercial aviation DOES NOT use the FAA
services, but private firms.

Here's ananalogy: think of the difference between, say, Honda, Toyota, Ford
and, oh, Yugo, or Lara.

Matt Barrow wrote:
WXWork, WSI, Jepp, all are usng data in as close to real-time as one can
get.

They all get the same information from the same source.
It's what they do with it that differentiates the service.

On May 15, 6:42 pm, "Kyle Boatright" wrote:
I was on the phone for the now-traditional 15 minute pre-brief hold today
and they had a new voice on the "hold line". Instead of an announcement
every 45 seconds about how busy they are and calls are taken on a first come
first served basis, and we'll take your call ASAP, there was a message from
the LockMart guy in charge of the FSS project.

Essentially "Sorry about the bad service. Increased seasonal volume has
swamped us. We're half way through the transition. It'll be better once we
complete the transition. We have about 3 more months of work to go to
reduce from 58 to 19 FSS's.

Of course, my cynical side thinks.. If we're halfway through the process
now, I guess we'll be really screwed when these guys complete the process.
Also, didn't LockMart anticipate that flight briefing requests go up in the
summer? Hello, McFly....

Well, looks like I am going to be doing all my pre-flight via the
internet from now on, and only use the FSS in flight to activate and
close flight plans...