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-   -   New Met Office Aviation Access (https://www.pprune.org/private-flying/563759-new-met-office-aviation-access.html)

Maoraigh1 29th Jun 2015 17:37

New Met Office Aviation Access
 
When I went to my Aviation Met link this afternoon, I was asked to sign-in to a new service. The old service will be discontinued in October. Will the free information remain free? I was warned my subscription would expire in July and encouraged to sign-up for premium services.
I'm not sure the new metar and taf system is more user-friendly for getting a quick picture of the area weather.

wrecker 29th Jun 2015 19:23

Like you I signed up to the new system today.
When you sign up you get a months free trial of the subscription services, I had a quick look around the new website and my initial reaction was that it not as functional as the old. I basically want the F214/215 and TAFs and METARS for a variety of stations around the UK and near europe forecast surface charts and current surface analysis Anything else Tfi grams sat pics and rainfall radar I can get free from other sites. I really don't see why I have to pay again for something I pay for with my taxes.

ABZ777 29th Jun 2015 19:49

A complete redesign of the Met Office GA briefing service has been long overdue. It seems unclear what will be provided free of charge as standard and what is provided as part of the subscription, hopefully the same services will continue to be free - but I quite like some of the new features, sunrise/sunset times, regional QNH, airfield elevation, etc.

Cusco 29th Jun 2015 22:34

ABZ777: If you study the new site there is a clear table showing what will continue as free service and what is provided in Premium service.

For me far too much clicking on multiple links:

I've already paid for a very good service for the last 20 years and this new Met site doesn't encourage me to change anytime soon.

Cusco

Maoraigh1 30th Jun 2015 08:14

There is also the sharing of the information you provide for marketing purposes. The "opt-out" link opens an email address, with blank email. I've refused permission to share my information for marketing purposes.
I couldn't find the "clear table" Cusco refers to, but the FAQ does say the previously free services will remain free.

rans6andrew 30th Jun 2015 13:58

yet another website screwing about to make "mobile access better". Why are they all doing this? Even Pprune keeps defaulting to a mobile friendly format when accessed from my Android devices meaning I have to scroll down to the foot of the page to hit the button to reset it to normal. It's pants. There has never been more phones and tablets in circulation which can do a good job of accessing normal websites and suddenly everyone wants to have a special format for phones. Usually they reduce the content and miss off something vital. A car dealership I went to recently failed to have it's address on the mobile friendly site!!!

I would prefer that the same site appears on my mobile devices as on my desktop machine, one where I know how to navigate quickly and easily to the stuff I want to see, one that looks the way I know and love, familiar and comfortable.

If it aint broke don't screw around with it, please.

Rans6......

Shoestring Flyer 30th Jun 2015 14:21

The new Met Ofice website is just diabolical and IMHO virtually unusable. Information is scattered all over the place and most importantly you can no longer get full regional TAFS/METARS all listed on one page.:mad:
I have exchanged emails with the Met Offfice on this 'new site' fiasco but we all need to voice our thoughts in order to get it changed before the existing Met office site is dismantled in October.
Please register your thoughts and concerns by email to:- [email protected]
They say they will respond within 6hours.

Art E. Fischler-Reisen 30th Jun 2015 15:58

I re-registered last night, using a new username and password. What I saw of the site last night, I echo previous comments here. Not anywhere near as user friendly as it was before with regard to a list of UK METARs and TAFs.

But no matter, because today the new password wont allow me in. I tried to use the old login....same problem, it won't let me log in..

I'll use alternative websites.

Heston 30th Jun 2015 16:12

So, you run an organisation that has two mutually incompatible requirements:
1. you have to provide free access to the GA community to aviation weather data
2. you have to sell your services so that the organisation can stand on its own feet commercially.


What do you do? You do 1. because you have to do it, but you make it so useless that your customers will buy the premium service instead.


As you are an ex-civil service organisation you do not have the commercial smarts that you really need, and cannot see that this is actually a really stupid thing to do when there are alternative suppliers out there.

BoeingBoy 30th Jun 2015 17:26

I haven't used the old service so don't know what went before, but with the exception of the area forecasts everything they offer is easily found on other sites for free, including up to date rainfall radar.

Two in particular are:

allmetsat



rain-alarm

TheEnthusiast 1st Jul 2015 14:02

Also tried it and sent my feedback to Met Office. They confirmed that, as of yet, there is no way to see all TAFs for a given region on screen at the same time on the new system, and therefore no easy way to print off a list of TAFs relevant to a flight. I would really miss this feature. :{

BUT Met Office did reply promptly and sounded like they understand this is a big problem and are working on things. Hopefully it will be fixed, but if other people also want this feature to be there then perhaps you could also send them some feedback? They do seem responsive :ok:

Looking on the bright side, they have obviously built a new system which allows per-user preferences to be stored. At the moment this is only noticeable in the 'Recent Locations' feature - not very helpful in itself. However if they could be persuaded to extend this to allow us to configure customised lists of airfields for common routes we each use then it would actually be really useful. Combined with the ability to show multiple TAFs on screen this would mean I could quickly see a page with all TAFs relevant to me; rather than having to see all of the TAFs over a much larger region than the one I'm flying in, like we currently do in the old system. If anyone else thinks that sounds good then maybe you could also tell them? :)

Keef 1st Jul 2015 14:07

I wrote a considered response, telling them what I thought of the new format. I got a stock reply telling me that they'd reviewed it with some private pilots, who liked it. The inference was that not a lot would be changing.

They did say that there had been a number of comments about the lack of TAF and METAR tables.

I'll stick with my old habits - download 214/215 from there, get the rest from the sites on my iPad.

fireflybob 1st Jul 2015 14:43


I got a stock reply telling me that they'd reviewed it with some private pilots, who liked it.
That could cover a multitude of sins! How experienced were these pilots? Did they ask any instructors or examiners?

Keef 1st Jul 2015 14:53

Quite so.
Extra words to please the counter.

Pete O'Tewbe 1st Jul 2015 15:19

Snotogram sent to Met Office

Captain Jock 1st Jul 2015 16:22

I am reminded of the old maxim, if it aint broke don't fix it.

Art E. Fischler-Reisen 2nd Jul 2015 17:48

Further to my earlier comment about not being able to log in; this is now resolved (must have been a temporary glitch).

However, from a usage point of view, the lack of a listing of TAFs /METARs remains a major issue.

I note the comment about asking "private pilots" who liked the new format - all very well, but "private pilots" aren't the only users of the information and in general they tend to fly to just one destination.

However, if you need to fly from one end of the country to the other, on an ongoing daily basis, having to trawl to and fro through the website piecemeal, as one has to do now to find route information, is a major backward step.

Captain Jock 4th Jul 2015 17:28

It may be my lack of computer skills but this site is a nightmare. Looking up the METAR for Edinburgh the first choices offered for "nearby" are Inverness, Kinloss and Lossiemouth. A geography lesson for someone?

newaviator 4th Jul 2015 17:54

"If it isn't broken don't fix it " Met Office please note


Went through the rigmarole of logging onto this new site today as prompted , well happy with the old site , the new one is far to confusing and time consuming..... absolutely no need for a change :ugh:

fireflybob 4th Jul 2015 20:34

Maybe we need to may representations at a higher level to get the met office to go back to the old platform which is far better.

I believe it is Grants Schapps (Chairman of the Tory Party) who has been tasked to make "bureaucracy" better for general aviation.

robin 4th Jul 2015 21:08

I think Grant Schapps has another job since his demotion

fireflybob 4th Jul 2015 21:58


I think Grant Schapps has another job since his demotion
Am always a bit behind on political appointments - much of a muchness

Maoraigh1 5th Jul 2015 07:43

"Nearest" seems to work on your GPS location, not the airport you have most recently chosen. No GPS location - no "nearest" result. My device GPS is normally off to conserve the battery.

Captain Jock 5th Jul 2015 09:22

Point taken Maoraigh1 but I was within 15nm of Edinburgh at the time!

Manc 5th Jul 2015 20:19


Looking up the METAR for Edinburgh the first choices offered for "nearby" are Inverness, Kinloss and Lossiemouth.
At least they exist! Anyone fancy a trip to Woodford? :}

http://i59.tinypic.com/vihci9.jpg

TheEnthusiast 6th Jul 2015 15:18

Yeah I'm thinking that the location summaries are pretty nice...if they could replace the useless 'Nearby Locations'/'Recent locations' with some ability for me to configure my own lists of locations this would be a helpful improvement over the old system...BUT only if they can show TAFs in a similar way too.

(And yes I realise you can't express a TAF in exactly the same format as it could have any number of TEMPO / BECMG parts to it. They could show it in its raw encoded form or to show decoded they could extend the box with extra decoded lines for each TEMPO / BECMG bit).

And we need it to look nice when printed out.

"If it ain't broke don't fix it"....well true but there's nothing wrong with adding new features that are helpful...that's a good thing...I think the problem is they've also thrown away features we need!!

Gertrude the Wombat 6th Jul 2015 18:59


there's nothing wrong with adding new features that are helpful
Have they added any new features?

I looked for the old features, that I need in order to make safe decisions, and couldn't find them, and didn't look any further.

ericferret 7th Jul 2015 15:27

Met office: looks like another internet scam to me
 
Perhaps I wasn't on my guard, since you don't expect the Met Office would try and con you: when I obediently signed up for the new service I was unaware that it's month's free trial of a premium service. Surely that's not allowed?

AND it's unusable as far as I am concerned. Can't find a working link to TAFs and METARS ("aerodrome Speific Forecasts" looks like METARs but it doesn't work), let alone the TAFs and METARs by region, which I use all the time.

I complained, a week ago, but no reply.

Hot tip: don't delete the old address from your Favourites, it still seems to be working.

Captain Jock 7th Jul 2015 16:58

Good advice ericferret. I will be continuing to use the "old" format as long as possible.

robin 8th Jul 2015 10:36

Just seen the changed header on the Met Office Briefing site


Please note: This product has now changed and we have launched a new mobile accessible GA briefing service.

YOU CAN CONTINUE TO USE THIS PRODUCT AND IT WILL BE SUPPORTED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
Well that's a start :ok:

VictorGolf 8th Jul 2015 10:41

Like you "ferret" I use the area list of METARS and TAFS for my planning and can't find them on the new service. I therefore used their comments link to complain but unlike you got a very speedy response (55 minutes) to say the Aviation managers are reviewing my comments along with all the others so there may be some hope.

Gertrude the Wombat 8th Jul 2015 12:06


got a very speedy response (55 minutes) to say the Aviation managers are reviewing my comments along with all the others
I got something similar, on a Sunday.


It also seemed to say that many other people had made the same points as me.

Captain Jock 13th Jul 2015 08:54

Still not enamoured of the new site but I have overcome some computer problems and it is not quite as bad as I first thought. Prefer the "old" one.

piperboy84 13th Jul 2015 13:54

I used to subscribe to the MET GA but don't bother now, For VFR flights in the UK I use OGIMET for simplicity see example of a flight from Aberdeen to Newcastle at 3000

Display GRAMET

or newcastle to Inverness at 5k

http://www.ogimet.com/display_gramet...&submit=submit

Maoraigh1 14th Jul 2015 19:33

F215 0200 - 1100 is available updated on the old site, but not on the new one, which also lacks the small map with the next prognosis. Looking at EGPI metar, the new product has in red, below it, the message that the TAF has failed to load, and to refresh your browser. The old product TAFs has "no TAF available", which is much more helpful.
Situation at 20.25 local on 14/07/2015.

Broadlands 24th Jul 2015 16:35

I have just had a reply from the Met Ofgicer to say TAFs and METAR bulletins will be added back.

"We are planning on adding this functionality back into the new product in light of the feedback, and you can expect to see this in October"

A good result from all the complaints they must have had.

robin 24th Jul 2015 18:13

I hope they don't think that will fix all the issues

So much wrong with that site........

Maoraigh1 4th Aug 2015 22:31

I can get Lossiemouth Metars and Tafs on the old site, but they are not now available on the new site. I think they were originally.

Maoraigh1 28th Sep 2015 21:13

The old site is to be removed at the New Year. I tried entering all my local airports, (whose METARs and TAFs I glance at to check after F215,) into the new product. I think only a max of 5 came up under the "Recent" button.
The new product seemed clunky and liable to go back too far for easy use.

Maoraigh1 13th Dec 2015 20:01

On Oct 20 at 09:34 I was emailed:
"New GA features launched today.Thank you for subscribing to our new General Aviation Briefing Service. We hope that you are enjoying using this new mobile and tablet friendly product.
We wanted to let you know about some of the latest content and feature updates released today:
TAFs and METARs bulletins – regional listings and function to print."


I still haven’t found them. Has anyone found them on the new site?


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