Outlaw2097

Flight service call numbers keep dropping off every year. Obviously the big drop was during the transition from government to contract and the headache associated with it.

My question to you, as a pilot, is why did you stop using FSS?

If it is because you can self brief online, that is understandable. Just remember should you miss that TFR or restricted area, or even land on a closed runway, it comes back to you and you alone.

Just throwing this out here...next time before you fly, call up and get an abbreviated brief. It hits on the high notes regarding your flight and double checks on a couple things...more importantly, it is a free insurance policy. That way, should you clip that TFR or restricted/prohibited area, you have a leg to stand on since it was not mentioned by the briefer.

N9373M

DUATs/online briefing when I owned.

Now that I'm renting it's required to get TFRs at minimum.

You make some very good points about NOTAMs and TFRs. I was on a CAVU day trip to visit family and decided to call FSS for the return flight. The airport I was using had a new NOTAM due to a disabled aircraft on the runway.

TheFly

When I was flight instructing I used it all the time & encouraged my students to do it. Now I fly for an air carrier (dispatch & all that) & only get an abbreviated when I need to (rarely).

HercDriver130

Mainly because about half of the time the briefer sounded like he/she didnt have a clue what they were talking about.

flyou11

Two reasons for me:

1. The conveniance of getting on-line. It is easy, no wait, and I get exactly what I wanted.

2. I'm a visual person. So it is much easier to see TFR's, AIRMETS/SIGMETS, Radar, ect. in a picture form on the computer screen.

Outlaw2097

Theres a QA department for that on both the contract and FAA level. If the briefing was bad, gotta speak up. afss.com is a start.

I won't argue the convenience factor, and besides Im a visual person as well when it comes to area sensative material. Again, the CYA factor on a breifing from FSS is probably the selling point we have to go on right now. The way I see it, FSS is the CVR for your preflight actions and can give you an answer to anything else you need.

USMCFLYR

I haven't had any problems in the time that I've been using FSS in the last 7 months that I have been flying back in the civvie world and even used them often when I was flying cross country in the military world. I use them on a daily basis to issue/check NOTAMs and get my weather briefs, though I too am starting to use on-line weather briefing and flight plan filing.

I'm a visual person too and one of the things that I did NOT like about the FSS (gov't or contract) was when the wx briefer would start with the "from a line 30 nm south of the (unknown to me) XXX VOR to a point 45 nm north of (insert another unknown navaid)....." etc, then I would get lost and find that I wasn't listening, and more importantly understanding, the briefing and important information was being lost.
Then I started using the WSBrief(ing) stations at the FBOs and I really liked bringing up the Route Briefing, the Radar image, and the Satellite pictures, plus anything other wx resources required WHILE listening to the route brief from FSS.

USMCFLYR

rickair7777

I like to print the damn thing out and carry it with me. Easier than taking notes, and a lot more info.

FSS is still potentially important to have around for those unusual circumstances, but they need to employ knowledgeable people. if they're just going to read the printout to me, what's the point?

N9373M

I agree 100% - USMCFLYR mentions this above as well. From what I've been told, FSS is the only official place to get TFR info - as in the web site might not be updated until after you've nicked the TFR.

Geronimo4497

Called on the land line a couple of years ago (probably a year after the Lockmart sell out) to find out the sunset time at a certain airport. Took them 5 minutes of looking around and finally told me that they couldn't find it. I haven't called FSS on the phone since. There is not 1 FSS north of VA. Truly pathetic. The loss of local knowledge, especially at the BDR FSS, was a huge waste.

I still call on the radio occasionally for enroute updates or to file an updated flight plan.

The FAA's site is an approved source of TFR info, ins't it?