PATWAS?

Don Jones

Don Jones

Line Up and Wait
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I ran across this acronym in the CFII PTS. I couldn't find anything about it other than it is the Pilots Automatic Telephone Weather Answering Service.
Does it still exist? or is like one of the many things that are way outdated in the FAA. I checked AC 00-45, AC 00-6A, and every other faa publication I could find. Found the acronym but no info. Any searches on the net brought up publications from 1975 or so, with the exception of Air Canada, which appears to still be using it. I am assuming it was phased out and TIBS took it's place. Anyone have more info? It would be just like this examiner to throw something like this at me and I want to make it more difficult for him to stump the dummy!!
 
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I had the same question recently but lost focus when I began working. I'll be digging back into the II in a week or two so the answer you get will help me as well.
 
Wasn't PATWAS that telephone system they had back in the 1980s where you could type in the airport ID on your touch tone keypad and get the weather that way?
 
Everskyward said:
Wasn't PATWAS that telephone system they had back in the 1980s where you could type in the airport ID on your touch tone keypad and get the weather that way?
Click to expand...
That seems to come close. All I could find was several sources (Including NOAA) telling what the accronym stood for and a couple DTIC Reports.

ADA046755
ADA047247

If anyone knows more, it's Ron! :)
 
Everskyward said:
Wasn't PATWAS that telephone system they had back in the 1980s where you could type in the airport ID on your touch tone keypad and get the weather that way?
Click to expand...
Not exactly, but you did get recorded weather out of your telephone. I don't think it's still operational in the USA.
 
Everskyward said:
Wasn't PATWAS that telephone system they had back in the 1980s where you could type in the airport ID on your touch tone keypad and get the weather that way?
Click to expand...

Sounds like it, but 1980 was way before my aviation career;)

I just ordered the newest version of the PTS that came out in January 2007. The one I have I probably ordered just before it came out:(
Wonder what has changed? Good thing I checked!! Wouldn't look very good to show up with outdated materials.
 
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Now they call it TIBS. Telephone information briefing service, or something like that. If you call FSS, this is one of your choices at the first prompt, followed by a prompt for your state, then for the specific product.

This is basically the same as PATWAS was, just someone reading parts of a regional briefing. PATWAS was maybe useful during the first wave of FSS consolidation, when it could take half an hour on hold just to get a briefer (really), but as far as real flight planning, it's usefulness was minimal.

Jon
 
"PATWAS, Pilot's Automatic Telephone Weather Answering Service"
First listing in a Google search for PATWAS
 
I thought they were also planning to kill TIBS? Can't remember where I read that....
 
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