VOLMET - who uses it?
 

Specifically the UK versions, London Volmet Main, North & South?

Do we still need these? Do crews monitor them any more?

Under what circumstances would you use them?

What about Ops rooms? Are you all using the Internet instead, these days?

Thanks,

The Odd One

As a pilot I use them all the time, without ACARS how else do you get weather outside ATIS range?

Yes we still need them (many short haul ac are not ACARS equipped)
I use them almost daily especially when returning from the continent for a good heads up on the wx up north - the Volmet North can be picked up south of Paris which gives us a good idea of any likely problems at destination and alternates with an hour + to go
I would also use the Main and the South to pick up en route alternates along the route well in advance of reaching them, this helps with any diversion decisions should they become neccesary.
Ops rooms - or crew rooms in our case is all done through the internet for weather, notams, flight plans etc.

Use them all the time. Always great to have the weather at, for instance, Southampton as you can generally pick up the ATIS from only about 40nm on the VOR. Not to mention getting the weather for alternates in the London area. Don't even think about messing with it. :ok:

Cheers,

Chips

another alternative is to use london or scottish information. much clearer and quicker.

On CAVOK days, VOLMET is not so useful. But come the murky, foggy, stormy winter nights then I find VOLMET very useful for contingency planning - with one exception: If the airport is closed, say due broken aircraft on runway, that fact is not stated!

I tend to use it if I'm away from home and doing a longish X-country leg (particularly between smaller airfields), I may not have got the quality of Met I'd like before departing, and the ability to listen in on what's going on ahead of me is handy.

That is, I should say, the answer of somebody who trundles around the UK in smaller aircraft.

G

A chap could get paranoid you know ! :uhoh:


Would you rather get the Wx off the shipping forecast ?

Thanks, everyone, for your responses.

We'll make sure that LGW is still represented on 1 of the 3 UK VOLMETS.

Cheers,
TheOddOne

We use them every day because as mentioned above were also none ACARS so if youre out of ATIS range yours guess is as good as mine with regards the weather!!

Volmets rock apart from when you've just missed your airfield and have to listen to half a dozen you don't need isn't that called sod's law?

HFS:cool:

Is anyone suggesting that it won't be?

No, certainly not. VOLMET continues to fulfil a vital role.

TheOddOne

We do have ACARS installed but to monitor enroute weather we use VOLMET as there is always a cost to use ACARS. Its only a few pence per message but it adds up when you consider the whole fleet throughout the year.