New NAIPS forecast format
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Further down the page should be the 2300-0500 GAF.
The EFB software I use is still downloading the old format ARFORS.
Well I beg to differ from you all-I think it's a really good product. I had to do a long trip at short notice early this morning that crossed several ARFOR areas (each with several subdivisions) and included several hours of flying through countryside I hadn't been through before. Instead of trying to muddle my way through multiple area forecasts and wasting time looking up countless unfamiliar aerodrome codes or searching for locations on the PCA to try and extract the relevant information, I was able to simply look at a straightfoward map of where the crap weather was, eyeball an average wind across the grid squares that lay along my track and then get on with it. Intuitive, and much quicker, which I appreciated given that it was 3:30 am and I was still waking up while getting organised for an early departure. Easier, faster, and more informative than the ARFOR in my humble opinion. The grid-type wind forecast presentation takes some getting used to if you've never used them before, but they work just as well. There are always teething problems with anything new, and I agree that it's a bit annoying that the charts are buried at the bottom of the list after all the NOTAMS, but on the whole I think the product is pretty good.
Pros and cons. Having had a look at them (don't need to use them personally), it is a bit average having to go through a few different things to get all the info you want, FZL for example as has been mentioned.
Why they couldn't make a crude graphic like OzRunways to show the subdivisions etc I don't know. But I would have preferred an "old" ARFOR with one of those!
Why they couldn't make a crude graphic like OzRunways to show the subdivisions etc I don't know. But I would have preferred an "old" ARFOR with one of those!
The EFB software I use is still accessing ‘old format’ ARFORS:
(I assume the “NOV 21, 2017” is a mistake.)
2012 UTC 11/11/17 AIRSERVICES AUSTRALIA
AREA BRIEFING
PREPARED FOR: CLINTONMCKENZIE
VALID FROM 2012 UTC NOV 11, 2017 TO 2012 UTC NOV 21, 2017
WEATHER INFORMATION
-------------------
AREA21 (21)
AREA QNH 19/
AREA BRIEFING
PREPARED FOR: CLINTONMCKENZIE
VALID FROM 2012 UTC NOV 11, 2017 TO 2012 UTC NOV 21, 2017
WEATHER INFORMATION
-------------------
AREA21 (21)
AREA QNH 19/
(I assume the “NOV 21, 2017” is a mistake.)
I believe this is a by-product of the 2x 737s at Mildura.
The BOM reckoned they were spending huge time resources on ARFOR at the expense of TAF. Apparently GAFs are much less time consuming and they can spend more time on the TAFs.
Seems fair enough to me. With the rate CASA are destroying GA, we won’t need any area forecasts soon.
Never assume. It may be a penalty of “strict liability”.
I believe this is a by-product of the 2x 737s at Mildura.
The BOM reckoned they were spending huge time resources on ARFOR at the expense of TAF. Apparently GAFs are much less time consuming and they can spend more time on the TAFs.
Seems fair enough to me. With the rate CASA are destroying GA, we won’t need any area forecasts soon.
I believe this is a by-product of the 2x 737s at Mildura.
The BOM reckoned they were spending huge time resources on ARFOR at the expense of TAF. Apparently GAFs are much less time consuming and they can spend more time on the TAFs.
Seems fair enough to me. With the rate CASA are destroying GA, we won’t need any area forecasts soon.
Look forward to see the accuracy of the TAF’s increasing!
Wait until the TTF’s are replaced with the new TAF’s issued every three hours.
But it always gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that the BOM can provide a seven day forecast for somewhere like Yass!
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Last night I had a look at the new wind and weather format. It nearly drove me crazy with it's full page of fuzzy print and numbers looking like a piece of the Enigma Code. The lack of place names makes it difficult and many of the place names (where there were any) were partially covered with other information which made it even harder, except in areas I frequently use. What to do?
Act like the Bletchley Park code breakers. Think outside the box. Print all the gobbledook to keep yourself legal. Wrap your lunch in it or something. Then get Oz Runways, put in your track and then overlay the wind graphics. Beautiful. Quick and very easy to see what winds are doing at various heights and times relative to your track.
Oz Runways graphics are what I thought Air Services were going to give us. Ah well life is full of disappointments.
I also thought they would give similar graphics linked to track, time and altitude for controlled and restricted airspace so I could say 'Operation Pitch Black' do your worst.
Perhaps my kids will enjoy such advances but by the time they want to fly GA will be gone.
Act like the Bletchley Park code breakers. Think outside the box. Print all the gobbledook to keep yourself legal. Wrap your lunch in it or something. Then get Oz Runways, put in your track and then overlay the wind graphics. Beautiful. Quick and very easy to see what winds are doing at various heights and times relative to your track.
Oz Runways graphics are what I thought Air Services were going to give us. Ah well life is full of disappointments.
I also thought they would give similar graphics linked to track, time and altitude for controlled and restricted airspace so I could say 'Operation Pitch Black' do your worst.
Perhaps my kids will enjoy such advances but by the time they want to fly GA will be gone.
Man Bilong Balus long PNG
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Location: Looking forward to returning to Japan soon but in the meantime continuing the never ending search for a bad bottle of Red!
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Act like the Bletchley Park code breakers. Think outside the box. Print all the gobbledook to keep yourself legal. Wrap your lunch in it or something. Then get Oz Runways, put in your track and then overlay the wind graphics. Beautiful. Quick and very easy to see what winds are doing at various heights and times relative to your track.
One more thing about the new system that I find particularly annoying is the lack of an overview summary.
Agree with the comment about the fuzzy pages as well. They look like they were done on an old gestetner (sp?) copier.
I actually like the new GAF format. OK... not so much the wind bit but I like in the AF the way different weather regions are clearly and more unambiguously demarcated.
I would suggest they change the order things appear though - in the new system you request an area briefing and first get all the TAFs, then all the NOTAMS and finally at the bottom the Area Forecast.
The AF I think should be first, followed by the TAFS then NOTAMs (like it used to be).
That aligns more with how I think most people plan and make decisions - get an overview of the flight conditions, then look at specific location weather details, then consider any pertinent operational matters rather than how it is now with the area forecast at the very end after all the NOTAMs.
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Spot on Jonkster.
Also there should be priority in the NOTAM information as well. Once long ago when there was no mobile service except in big cities I stood in a trashed phone box at YBRL and wrote down the longest NOTAM for Tindal I'd ever heard. The Air Services guy and I were both sick of it but eventually I had my page of information.
When we arrived at Tindal it was closed for runway resurfacing. After a WTF or 2 we landed at a nearby disused WW2 strip (Manbulloo) and got a taxi to pick us up.
I contacted AS and they listened to the recording of my call.There was no mention of closure. They then checked their NOTAM. Sure enough there , stone motherless last, was the missed line saying Tindal closed.
I in no way blame the AS guy who read out the ridiculously long NOTAM.
My question was why the hell they would put the most critical information last. It still applies today. If the place is closed the rest of the informatio is useless.
As Jonkster indicates if the weather is crap and the flight is called off you don't need the rest. It's a waste of good search time for that elusive bad Red Pinky mentions.
The AF I think should be first, followed by the TAFS then NOTAMs (like it used to be).
When we arrived at Tindal it was closed for runway resurfacing. After a WTF or 2 we landed at a nearby disused WW2 strip (Manbulloo) and got a taxi to pick us up.
I contacted AS and they listened to the recording of my call.There was no mention of closure. They then checked their NOTAM. Sure enough there , stone motherless last, was the missed line saying Tindal closed.
I in no way blame the AS guy who read out the ridiculously long NOTAM.
My question was why the hell they would put the most critical information last. It still applies today. If the place is closed the rest of the informatio is useless.
As Jonkster indicates if the weather is crap and the flight is called off you don't need the rest. It's a waste of good search time for that elusive bad Red Pinky mentions.
Long story short...study MET, You're going to need it!
GRIB is good for low level as is already for upper level.
The little diagram thingy on the GAF leaves a lot of info out. Is the cloud mass stationary? is it moving, expanding or reducing? I take it that dash line bumps and tits still represent troughs hot and cold fronts? Other than that, cloud, vis and fzl are simple as to understand...just need a little more info to prognosticate....and why the hell is this info put last?
GRIB is good for low level as is already for upper level.
The little diagram thingy on the GAF leaves a lot of info out. Is the cloud mass stationary? is it moving, expanding or reducing? I take it that dash line bumps and tits still represent troughs hot and cold fronts? Other than that, cloud, vis and fzl are simple as to understand...just need a little more info to prognosticate....and why the hell is this info put last?
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Agree - why is it last? Why is it only in black & white on NAIPS? What happens when you're using the GPWT chart and some of the readings are wildly fluctuating between grids such that accurate planning becomes nigh on impossible? Other than that, I like it 
.
OZ - I thought the same about the green lumpy lines initially but I think all they are signifying is the approximate border between each different area/sub area.
.OZ - I thought the same about the green lumpy lines initially but I think all they are signifying is the approximate border between each different area/sub area.
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One more thing about the new system that I find particularly annoying is the lack of an overview summary.
This. I appreciate what Air Services are trying to do and I like the graphical concept but without the summary overview it kind of makes it a bit harder to interpret or develop a quick picture.
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