Fist time taking my son up...interesting experience

[GaryM]

I guess we can't use ChatGPT for briefings yet. This query:

"I want to fly to Williston Municipal Airport, X60, on Tuesday February 28. Brief me on all available information concerning that flight".

returned the text below. It gave essentially the same response when I asked for a briefing for Sat Feb 25. It noted that date was in the past, but it didn't refer me to Facebook.

Note the date confusion in the response.

"As an AI language model, I don't have access to real-time flight information or booking systems, but I can provide you with some general information about flying to Williston Municipal Airport (X60) on Tuesday, February 28th:

• February 28th, 2023 falls on a Tuesday, but it is actually a year from now. If you are referring to February 28th, 2022, please note that this date has already passed.
• Williston Municipal Airport is a small, general aviation airport located in Williston, Florida, United States.
• The airport does not have any commercial airline service, so if you are looking to fly there, you will need to arrange a private charter or use a general aviation aircraft.
• It is recommended that you contact the airport or an FBO directly to inquire about their services and availability for your desired travel date.
• If you plan on flying to Williston Municipal Airport, it's important to keep in mind that it is a non-towered airport, meaning that there is no air traffic control tower on-site. Pilots must communicate with each other using a common radio frequency to coordinate takeoffs, landings, and other operations.
• It's also a good idea to review the airport's runway and airspace information, as well as any relevant regulations or procedures, before your flight.
• Finally, it's important to note that weather conditions and other factors can impact flight operations, so it's always a good idea to check for any updates or changes before departing. It's also a good idea to plan your flight well in advance and have a contingency plan in case of unexpected events.

• "

 

[jimhorner]

See my post directly above. @iamtheari - you, too. Sticking your head head in the sand hoping for a NOTAM is choosing to voluntarily degrade your pre-flight planning.

ETA: a quick search of willisron mile for smiles indicates an airshow is part of the event.

I take a bit of exception to characterizing relying on the FAA suported NOTAM mechanism as "sticking your head in the sand". Does one now need to create accounts on all conceivable social media platforms and peruse those prior to flights? That seems unreasonable. And what possible reason would the OP have for searching for "Willisron Miles for Smiles". Becoming familiar with the airport NOTAMs, chart supplement, local weather (TAF and METAR if available) would seem to be more reasonable.

 

[Half Fast]

Odds are they didn't request and receive permission to close the ramp and have the event, and a NOTAM might have called unwanted FAA attention to that.

 

[RyanB]

Regarding the unofficial closing or occupation of various taxiways and ramps, having experienced this twice 10 or more years ago, I can’t help but think that it may be more troublesome to request a Notam be published for these types of unofficial events than it is to ask forgiveness afterward.

Not hardly, the process for publishing a NOTAM is no harder than filing a flight plan.

Honest question - how hard is it for an airport operator to file a NOTAM?

Not hard at all. You simply call Flight Service, they verify your credentials and you tell them what you’re issuing a NOTAM for and the valid time period.

 

[farmrjohn]

Interesting comments re. checking with various social media in addition to NOTAMS and the other usual informations sources. FAR 91-103 states "Each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight." However, reading AC 91-92,
Pilot’s Guide to a Preflight Briefing, makes no mention of checking non-governmental information sources. 91-103 "all available" without limiting the source for the information would be hard to comply with 100% most, if not all of the time. I recently had an experience of going to an airport (KSAS) that had some of the usual pole notams but nothing about being closed but upon arrival noticed yellow Xs at each end of the runway. I still haven't been able to get an answer to repeated phone calls to the operator about the actual status. (I didn't land, just did a low approach).

 

[Half Fast]

91-103 "all available" without limiting the source for the information would be hard to comply with 100% most, if not all of the time.

This is a CYA rule, so that if you screw up and wouldn't have if you'd read the classified notice on page D-12 in the small-town newspaper where the airport is located, they can still bust you because you didn't get "all available information."

 

[MIFlyer]

While your advice is valid, it would be even better if the airport manager utilized the existing, centralized system to notify air missions about conditions that affect their flight, so that air crew who are performing such air missions can go to the centralized system they are required to utilize to obtain information about conditions that affect their flight.

The OP should file a NASA report. The airport management created a hazard to the flying public by hosting an event that, among other things, closed the ramp without filing a NOTAM.

Back to the flight itself, though: Good work flying with your son and showing him your willingness and ability to be flexible to deal with changes in plans with a safe and fun outcome. I was a little younger the first time Dad took me flying and those times in the airplane with Dad are exactly why I fly now.

If only such a centralized way to give notice to people in the air existed.

I'm glad to see the airport is busy, but think it's unrealistic to check the FB pages or call the FBO of every airport you might do a touch and go at. I feel like it was adequate and expected flight planning to review weather, notams, etc and that you shouldn't have to stake out the airport in a van before arriving to be considered briefed.

 

[jimhorner]

I still haven't been able to get an answer to repeated phone calls to the operator about the actual status. (I didn't land, just did a low approach).

And that is a perfect example of one of the possible issues with the "Why don't you just call the FBO/airport manager before flight" suggestions. Many times there's no one who will pick up the phone, and it can take days to never, sometimes, to ever receive a call back. Many small airports don't have FBOs, and the "airport manager" might just be an underpaid, over worked city employee who is airport manager in name only. They just might be the low person on the small staff of the city government staff who has drawn the short straw and has to fill out the occasional bit of paperwork.

NOTAMs, the chart supplement, charts, weather reports: that's what I'm going to continue to use.

Sounds like this particular airport might need a visit from someone who can explain about the airshow permitting process, the obligations of a public airport, and how to file a NOTAM.

 

[texasclouds]

I wouldn’t worry too much, I don’t think they start teaching things like ‘north/east/south/west’ until at least commercial….


jk

My co-pilots still can’t tell east from west.

 

[k9medic]

Here are the NOTAMs listed for 2/25/23 related to the X60 airport. Looks like everything was in order for all but the runways to be closed...

• X60 02/297 Aerodrome 02/25/2023 1221 02/25/2023 2300 AD AP SELF SERVE AVGAS NOT AVBL 2302251221-2302252300

• X60 02/287 Aerodrome 02/24/2023 2000 02/25/2023 2300 APRON GENERAL AVIATION RAMP CLSD 2302242000-2302252300

• X60 02/288 Aerodrome 02/24/2023 2000 02/25/2023 2300 APRON TRANSIENT APRON CLSD 2302242000-2302252300

 

[steingar]

I only make dumb mistakes when someone is looking.

 

[iamtheari]

Here are the NOTAMs listed for 2/25/23 related to the X60 airport. Looks like everything was in order for all but the runways to be closed...

• X60 02/297 Aerodrome 02/25/2023 1221 02/25/2023 2300 AD AP SELF SERVE AVGAS NOT AVBL 2302251221-2302252300

• X60 02/287 Aerodrome 02/24/2023 2000 02/25/2023 2300 APRON GENERAL AVIATION RAMP CLSD 2302242000-2302252300

• X60 02/288 Aerodrome 02/24/2023 2000 02/25/2023 2300 APRON TRANSIENT APRON CLSD 2302242000-2302252300

The OP must have missed those, although I have to wonder how many 5G radio altimeter interference and unlit tower NOTAMs they were sandwiched between.

 

[k9medic]

The airport notams were tacked on at the end. We all make mistakes. If this is the worse thing that happens in his flying career he's doing okay!

 

[IK04]

Once upon a time, I was what was once called a student pilot and I was on a solo cross country flight to Nut Tree airport (KVCB) and when I called for transition through Travis AFB's airspace, I was told to go away and just then I saw an upside down Rockwell Commander above me...

Somehow, there was an airshow that was not in the NOTAMs and I was wandering into the middle of Bob Hoover's demonstration flight! I don't remember how I eventually navigated around their party and got on the ground, but it was both a cool view of Bob's demo and an annoyance that I was not aware of it.

 

[Racerx]

So now I gotta ask how notams were obtained? I've had them fail on foreflight on a couple occasions

 

[MajorTurbulence]

So now I gotta ask how notams were obtained? I've had them fail on foreflight on a couple occasions

I know it is old school, but I get a telephone briefing with Flight Service enroute to the airport, even after my internet efforts. If anything else, it serves as a double check of anything missed.

 

[francisco collazos]

Thanks for this...it's a learning experience for me. TBH I looked at the NOTAMS but didn't scroll all the way to the bottom. I figured if it was significant it would have been highlighted on Foreflight. Lesson learned!!

 

[TommyG]

I have a friend I fly with, he is notorious for just picking an airport and just going. He claims he always checks the information, but I do as well because I know he really doesn’t. He looks at foreflight, meter, and looks at the first one or two notams on a good day. There have a been a few times his plan fell apart.

 

[iamtheari]

Thanks for this...it's a learning experience for me. TBH I looked at the NOTAMS but didn't scroll all the way to the bottom. I figured if it was significant it would have been highlighted on Foreflight. Lesson learned!!

One time, I was flying home from a family gathering 450 miles away. There were thunderstorms all over the place and I spent a long time studying the weather portion of the Foreflight briefing. I reviewed the NOTAMs for closed runways and the like. I took off IFR and watched the sun set ahead of me on that moonless night. About an hour before landing, ATC asked if I was aware of the NOTAM that none of the airport lights at my destination were working. And that's the story of the first time I spent the night on an airport couch.