Duats

[Golf--Lima--Papa]

I've just came across this site and signed up for free and it looks fantastic!!

Is there a catch or is this just another example of how much more GA friendly our friends in the US are?

[mcgoo]

No catch, theres Duat and Duats, both of them for weather briefings and flight plan filing, provided you are in the FAA database.

[Golf--Lima--Papa]

I signed up today and although I'm based in the UK I fly in the states on a regular basis. I'm amazed that this service is free.

Very good service, very impressed. :D

[Tinstaafl]

A free alternative is FltPlan.com Flight Planning & Flight Tracking for General Aviation. (http://www.fltplan.com).

You have to register and then authorise them to submit flightplans on your behalf but that's a once only item. Very, very useful service. I've been using them for 6 years, both privately & commercially ie part 91 & 135 operations.

Many aircraft types are already in their database so once you enter the types & callsigns a lot of flight planning becomes a point & click affair. Similarly weather/notams for a flight or series of flights. They helpfully note planned UTC dep. & arr. times on the weather briefing which makes looking for applicable times within TAFs a no-brainer. For a fee they can even handle the US Customs' eAPIS notification for international flights and Safety Management System requirements (if that applies to you).