What's the difference?

Typical gov't operation -- paving two roads side-by-side to get to the same doorstep.
 
CJones said:
Typical gov't operation -- paving two roads side-by-side to get to the same doorstep.
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But they ARE different, it's not just different names pointing to the same exact site.

Click the white "home" link on each, you'll get different content...

Is it just that the "adds." site has experimental products?
 
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I emailed 'em to ask what the difference is. Will let you know what they say. This came up because of the "GA Weather Decision Making" document that somebody else posted in another thread. I was reading it, and the author, Susan Parson of the FAA, outlines using BOTH sites (one, then the other) as part of your preflight operations. So apparently she sees them as distinct... which got me thinking... in what way are they different?

Ed, your reply was funny.
 
Why not just use DUAT in the hours prior to a flight? Then, just before the flight go straight to the man (FSS) charged with making sure you get all you need and whatever more you request. In both cases, your tail number is logged and you've done a "CMA."

I use ADDS but mostly for radar and FAs when looking around the region at any given time. I prefer that over some broadcast person doing weather but endeavors to become a congressman.
 
KennyFlys said:
Why not just use DUAT in the hours prior to a flight? Then, just before the flight go straight to the man (FSS) charged with making sure you get all you need and whatever more you request. In both cases, your tail number is logged and you've done a "CMA."
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I could give a crap about the man, and covering my ass. I want to get the best possible understanding of the weather, and I find that many of the ADDS products are the best available way to do so. (DUATS, on the other hand, is a real pain in the butt to read sometimes.) Once I've thoroughly briefed myself using ADDS and several other sources, then I call FSS and get my official briefing. By doing so, I not only have a pretty good picture of what's going on, I also get the insight of a professional. This method has served me well.
 
Troy Whistman said:
ADDS:
http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/

AviationWeather.gov:
http://aviationweather.gov/

What's the difference? They have the same menu down the left side nav, but different addresses... are they even ran by the same people? Does NOAA run the aviationweather.gov site, too?
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Even better... I use http://adds.aviationweather.gov/ :rofl:

adds.aviationweather.gov and adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov appear to be exactly the same. Also, note that if you go to aviationweather.gov, use the menu on the left and choose something like METARs, you get taken to adds.aviationweather.gov. I think it's all pretty much the same, I don't know what the straight-up aviationweather.gov site is really there for.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I could give a crap about the man, and covering my ass. I want to get the best possible understanding of the weather, and I find that many of the ADDS products are the best available way to do so. (DUATS, on the other hand, is a real pain in the butt to read sometimes.) Once I've thoroughly briefed myself using ADDS and several other sources, then I call FSS and get my official briefing. By doing so, I not only have a pretty good picture of what's going on, I also get the insight of a professional. This method has served me well.
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can i get an "amen!"?
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I could give a crap about the man, and covering my ass. I want to get the best possible understanding of the weather, and I find that many of the ADDS products are the best available way to do so. (DUATS, on the other hand, is a real pain in the butt to read sometimes.) Once I've thoroughly briefed myself using ADDS and several other sources, then I call FSS and get my official briefing. By doing so, I not only have a pretty good picture of what's going on, I also get the insight of a professional. This method has served me well.
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Speaking of calling FSS for a briefing... it's been a number of months since I've done an XC (I think before the Lockheed change even), but when I took my trip to LZU recently, I was on hold for about 3 minutes while waiting for a briefer, and he didn't sound very...um...knowledgeable. I recall during my training calling up WXBRIEF, getting someone almost immediately after hitting 1, and having to ask him to repeat some things because he rattled all of my pertinent info out in a few seconds. The one before my LZU trip paused for long periods of time while he pulled up things and mentioned weather and obstructions that weren't even in my path or were going to be in my path. Even before I took the trip back home, the wait was about 30 - 45 seconds. I could be mistaken though, I just guess I feel like it was a bit better before the change.

(Second threadjack for today! Sorry, I'll stop and go home :D )
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I could give a crap about the man, and covering my ass. I want to get the best possible understanding of the weather, and I find that many of the ADDS products are the best available way to do so. (DUATS, on the other hand, is a real pain in the butt to read sometimes.) Once I've thoroughly briefed myself using ADDS and several other sources, then I call FSS and get my official briefing. By doing so, I not only have a pretty good picture of what's going on, I also get the insight of a professional. This method has served me well.
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DUATS is the biggest hunk of worthless user interface piece of crap ever written. I can't stand it. I don't use it. Ever. I have no idea what my DUATS login information is anymore.

I use a combination of:

aviationweather.gov
http://www.usairnet.com/weather/
weather.com

to monitor weather before a flight. I am a huge fan of USAirNET and it has proven itself to be very valuable. IME it is more accurate than TAFs.

I call up FSS on my drive to the airport for a final weather briefing, TFRs, and NOTAMS.
 
wbarnhill said:
I could be mistaken though, I just guess I feel like it was a bit better before the change.
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Me too. And our local FSS hasn't even closed yet.

I still get great service from GRB for the most part, but whereas I didn't really care about the highly occasional 2-5 minute hold before the switchover, it really torques me off when they "guaranteed" an answer within 30 seconds. In fact, my two longest waits on hold (both with Lansing and not Green Bay, incidentally) have been since the switchover.

So, whose job is it to enforce the guarantees?
 
jesse said:
DUATS is the biggest hunk of worthless user interface piece of crap ever written. I can't stand it. I don't use it. Ever.
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I really only use the flight planner. Getting a briefing on there sucks, because they give you 25 pages of irrelevant crap along with the 10 lines that you really wanted and needed.
 
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