A JAA pilot flying in the US

[0-8]

Hi all,
I'm off to the US in a couple of weeks to build some hours before my CPL. Although I did my initial flying there, I've long since forgotten the particularities of their airspace and radio services available. What would be the best way to review them?
Are there any books out there along the lines of "Flying in the USA - a JAA pilots guide."? Or perhaps websites where I could brush up on US air law and airspace regulations?
Finally, I know many posters often fly in the US or a based there, do you have any tips? I know 1-800 WXbrief is useful but any info along that line would be great.
Cheers,
O-8

[SkyHawk-N]

An interesting read.

http://www.faa.gov/ATPubs/AIM/index.htm

Enjoy! :E

more here http://www.faa.gov/ATPubs/

[IO540]

I'd like to ask a related question.

What % of American private IR pilots actually use 1-800-WX-BRIEF as their main or only weather source?

I've got a feeling that the percentage is perhaps similar to how many European pilots use AIRMETs, VOLMETs, the UK Met Office faxback service, and some other stuff.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and I could never understand how one can work from a telephone conversation telling you that a cold front is moving into northern Utah or whatever. The phone service is actually very efficient; I just can't see how anybody can use it to get a decent picture - except in places like Arizona where it is CAVOK most days of the year, very obviously so when looking out of the window, and one just needs to get some sort of legal briefing.

I would go for a website (graphical) briefing every time.

The argument put to me for the phone option is that every airport has a telephone, but the battery in your GPRS laptop/PDA might be flat.

What am I missing?

[SkyHawk-N]

Most of the airports I have flown from in the USA have FBOs who have internet equipped planning rooms which can be used free of charge. Having said that these have been mostly municipal airports.

1-800-WX-BRIEF is not just for the weather, but also NOTAMS, flight plans, ATC info etc. Pilots are encouraged to call before every flight and every flight leg.

I believe that the people at 1-800-WX-BRIEF use http://www.aviationweather.gov, but I could be wrong.

NOTAMS can be got here https://pilotweb.nas.faa.gov/distribution/atcscc.html and here http://www.faa.gov/NTAP/

[Lower the Nose!]

Not relevant to regulations, but www.airnav.com contains all the info you need on all the airports in the US.

[IO540]

I did hear that there is a website into which you enter your route and which generates an exact replica of what the WX-BRIEF person reads out to you, but I never found it when I was over there.

It was the apparent acceptance of a lack of graphical data which intrigues me.

[unfazed]

[I][It was the apparent acceptance of a lack of graphical data which intrigues me/I]

Would I be correct in hazarding a guess that you have not flown in the USA in recent years ? If you have I wonder how you failed to spot the superb standardised online :confused: weather info that seems to be at every airport ?

[IO540]

I flew in the USA earlier this year when doing training there. The airfield didn't have what you appear to describe. However, I had my head down and didn't have time to mess about. However, if what you describe is standard then that answers my question.

The other half of the "problem" is that airport-based weather briefings aren't any good for real touring, because you have to get out of your hotel room and travel to the airport to check the weather (US$$$$ spent/wasted on the taxi/cab). So, I have not used any such facilities for years. Pilots that do longer trips like that have portable internet access and do it while still in the hotel or whatever, and in that context there is a huge gulf between the weather services promoted in the UK by the "official" bodies and what the more serious pilots actually use, and this led to my original question. I really don't believe that serious pilots in the USA get their briefings from either WX-BRIEF or from some facility at the tower, either.

[Julian]

IO540,

WX-Brief s used extensively in the US by pilots, as stated earllier its more than just a weather service despite the name. It provides a whole host of other information such as PIREPs, NOTAMS, any last minute airspace changes such as happened to me on my CPL test where the President decided to visit and we ended up going somewhere else - could have been an interesting interception!

They are of course useful for weather briefs as well as have access to all the info you want. Some of the bigger airports, such as McCarren Interntional, have terminals set up giving you access to weather services and satellite imagery which is very useful.

Julian.

[drauk]

When I did my IR in the US with a collection of five US pilots they all used WX-BRIEF for every flight. The same raw information is available from www.duats.com as is the ability to file the flight plan. I used a mix. As you said, you want to be able to do your initial briefing from your hotel room; when I could I used duats, but if I couldn't get dial-up or wireless connectivity I would call WX BRIEF.

[IO540]

I did find that "notams" in the USA means something else to "notams" in Europe. A 800nm leg past Italy and Greece digs out about 200 non-functioning lights on Italian lamp-posts, and reams of Greek v. Turkish airspace dispute stuff further down.

I can really imagine the WX-BRIEF briefer reading out all that stuff :O Whereas a 300nm trip across a bit of the USA turned up just one temp restricted spot.

A telephone breifing would never work in Europe; too much dross, and weather services so disjointed few people use them.

[flyboyike]

I use AOPA's real-time flight planner with weather at www.aopa.org

[fly_sd]

I have tried the phone briefing but also enrolled on the DTC DUAT which is online (www.duat.com). I like the fact that you can see some weather graphics although it is not as good as the system they have at our flying club. That one is a commercial product (cannot remember the name offhand) but is very good. Expensive also I suspect. To enroll on the online duat system you need a current FAA medical.

[fernytickles]

I don't know if I'd describe myself as a "serious pilot", as mentioned by IO540, but I'm a former UK airline pilot who now flies charter, ferry flights and anything else that comes my way here in the US. I usually use airnav for the preflight info, then call FSS (1-800 WX BRIEF) for a briefing while standing infront of an chart of the USA so I can follow the areas visually if possible. This has stood me in good stead so far, both flying locally, in the midwest and ferrying small aircraft from one side of the USA to the other.
If I know for sure there are no TFRs on my route, I might just use the computer, but otherwise, I like to talk to a briefer, so that we can both get confused by the TFR times and areas ;)

To go back to the original question, 0-8, you might find this website useful too, or just a cure for insomnia.
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?&c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title14/14tab_02.tpl

Depending on how soon you are coming over here, is it worth buying an FAR/AIM to glance through? The AIM does have some useful info in it. Have fun flying over here

[Julian]

I did find that "notams" in the USA means something else to "notams" in Europe. A 800nm leg past Italy and Greece digs out about 200 non-functioning lights on Italian lamp-posts, and reams of Greek v. Turkish airspace dispute stuff further down.

I can really imagine the WX-BRIEF briefer reading out all that stuff

IO, yep you make a good point there - would drive them spare!!! :} :} :}

[0-8]

Thanks for all the info and links, just what I was looking for.

I've already downloaded a copy of the FAA AIM but it's not what I would consider to be 'light reading' especially in electronic format.

I'm thinking of just getting a FAA PPL training manual of some sort. The only one I can find at the moment is - Rod Machado PPL Reference Manual. Anyone have any experience of it?

[Julian]

0-8,

Get the Jeppesen manuals, they are well laid out with plenty of pics to explain the text if something doesnt sink in first pass!

On the downside they are a bit pricey but have used them for each of my FAA licences and would recommend them. Transair do them in this country if I remember rightly.

Julian.

[drauk]

If you're only flying VFR this will do the job; it's cheap and thin:

http://www.transair.co.uk/product4.asp?SID=2&Product_ID=705

[slim_slag]

0-8,

Get a BFR book (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1560275537/qid=1142241893/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_0_1/203-4811066-6684737), will be a lot easier than trawling through the FAR/AIM as a primary reference. Use the FAR/AIM to cross reference what the BFR book tells you.

Also get a duats (www.duats.com) log in and mess around on there, it's what most people use, and available wherever you have an internet connection. People who claim that an airport doesn't have a PC and dial up available to pilots probably haven't looked hard enough. http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/ is good too. Learn to use 1-800-WX BRIEF as the people on the other end of the line have experience in interpreting the weather which you might find useful. I use them a lot for the route briefings as they will give you all relevent info for a route in a minute or two. Work out how to do that. They are also useful for finding out the true weather when the airlines are BSing you for flight delays :) When activating flight plans over the radio with FSS ask for NOTAMS and updated weather, they are very helpful.

Just remembered another good reference, the Airguide VFR Flight Guide (The Perfect Companion to your GPS, lol should get the BS flowing). Get the one for the area you are going to as it's got great airport information, plus there are a lot of pages which deal with the basic FAR/AIM stuff you are asking for. Also got lots of other practical information. If you know the BFR guide, and know the stuff in the Airguide, you will know enough. That Radio book drauk mentioned has 88 pages, if it's dealing with VFR radio procedures it must have very large writing :)

[Tim_CPL]

I flew in the USA earlier this year when doing training there. The airfield didn't have what you appear to describe. However, I had my head down and didn't have time to mess about. However, if what you describe is standard then that answers my question.
The other half of the "problem" is that airport-based weather briefings aren't any good for real touring, because you have to get out of your hotel room and travel to the airport to check the weather (US$$$$ spent/wasted on the taxi/cab). So, I have not used any such facilities for years. Pilots that do longer trips like that have portable internet access and do it while still in the hotel or whatever, and in that context there is a huge gulf between the weather services promoted in the UK by the "official" bodies and what the more serious pilots actually use, and this led to my original question. I really don't believe that serious pilots in the USA get their briefings from either WX-BRIEF or from some facility at the tower, either.

All you need is web access. As already mentioned wx-brief, DUATs, AOPA online and the adds website (http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/) are all you need for a very complete picture. I normally suppliment this with an outlook from the WX channel a few days out and an outlook briefing 24 hours before. Once you have all the info call wx-brief to file, check FDC, local and distant notams and TFR's; by then you should have everything you need. The key to it all is internet access. At least here in TX almost every terminal has a pilots room with all this available for free, even small airports in the boonies.

- Tim

[strafer]

Something I heard which may or may not be true. The FAA attempted to prosecute a pilot for flying into a TRA. He claimed that his call to 1-800-WXBRIEF had not advised him of that. As all calls are recorded, he was able to prove that that was the case.