Calling FSS

Calling Flight Service for weather briefings and flight plans is still as easy as before, using the 800-WX-BRIEF number. It is, however, just a little different with the advent of the new Lockheed Martin Flight Service FS21 automation system. The new system gives you two different ways to access a briefer, either by voice recognition or touch-tone entry.

The voice recognition system prompts you to say “Briefer”, “TIBS” or “Special Announcements”. Obviously, saying “Briefer” starts another process to get you to a briefer in the correct area by asking you “What state are you departing from?”. You simply say “Arizona”, and the system will transfer you to a Flight Service Specialist “logged on” to the Prescott flight plan area. If, for example, you wanted weather in Southern California, you would say “California”. However, since California is one of those few states divided into 2 parts, you will get another prompt for either “Northern California” or “Southern California”. So at this point, you would say “Southern California”, and the system will route you to the appropriate Flight Service specialist. Obviously, speaking clearly, precisely, distinctly (and with sufficient volume) is important.

Using the voice recognition function takes a little time, so if you know how to use the touch-tone feature, it saves valuable time (and you don’t have to listen to those recordings!). Here’s how to use that function:

Dial 800-992-7433 (800-WX-BRIEF) and, as soon as you hear the “Welcome to Lockheed Martin Flight Services” initial announcement start, simply press “1”, wait about 2 seconds, then press the appropriate touch key for the letters “A” and “Z”, or in reality the number “29”. “29” on the touch-tone pad of your phone corresponds to the letters “A” and “Z”, or the 2-letter identifier for the state of Arizona. In case you are wondering, the only state 2-letter identifier that works with the numbers “29” is Arizona. Likewise, if you wanted California, you would press “1”, pause 2 seconds, then press “22”, or “CA”, the 2-letter identifier for the state of California. (Again, just in case you are wondering, the only state 2-letter identifier that works with the numbers “22” is California.) However, since California is one of those few states divided into 2 parts, you will get another prompt for either “Northern California” or “Southern California”. So at this point, again, after pressing “22”, pause 2 seconds and then press”2” for Southern California.

This now raises the question: “What if the 2-number combination represents more than one state?” Is that possible? YUP, sure is, but Lockheed Martin thought of that. If a 2-number combination could stand for more than one state, you will get a second prompt. For instance, let’s say we are departing an airport in Maryland. Dial 800-992-7433 (800-WX-BRIEF) and, as soon as you hear the “Welcome to Lockheed Martin Flight Services” initial announcement start, simply press “1”, wait about 2 seconds, and then press “M’ and “D”, or “63”. But in this case, “63” on the touch-tone pad of your phone corresponds to the multiple combination of letters “M”, “N” or “O”, and “D”, “E”, or “F”. Therefore, you could be selecting either Maryland (MD), Maine (ME), North Dakota (ND), and Nebraska (NE). You will get another prompt telling you this combination represents more than one state, and asking you to pick which of the following states you really want: “1” for Maryland, “2” for Maine, “3” for North Dakota or “4” for Nebraska. Once you’ve done it a few times, you will remember the appropriate touch codes for really quick service.

One important point you need to know. If you are calling to cancel a VFR flight plan, you don’t want to have to wait for a briefer! You want to cancel as quickly as possible, to avoid becoming overdue and triggering Search & Rescue procedures. So, here is the quick way to accomplish that:

Dial 800-992-7433 (800-WX-BRIEF) and, as soon as you hear the “Welcome to Lockheed Martin Flight Services” initial announcement start, simply press “1”, wait about 2 seconds, and then press “0”. This will route you to the first available briefer IN THE COUNTRY. There is almost always at least one briefer available at any given moment, and with Lockheed Martin’s new single database system, any briefer can cancel your flight plan right on the spot.

Below is a listing of phone numbers relevant to pilots here in the state of Arizona.

The system will prompt you for a state. Simply say “Arizona”, and you will get routed to the Prescott Flight Data position. You can also use this number to cancel an IFR flight plan after landing at a satellite airport. This works especially well if your airport has a GCO, or if you’re using your cell phone at the departure end of the runway after doing your run up.

LIFEGUARD FLIGHTS: If you are acting as a LIFEGUARD FLIGHT, special handling is afforded by dialing 1-877-LIF-GRD3 (or 1-877-543-4733).

TIBS RECORDINGS: Computer prepared aviation reports for portions of the state are available by calling the TIBS number: 1-877-4 TIBS-WX (or 1-877-484-2799). The voice recognition system is very similar to the weather briefing process. Obviously, the system will ask you “What state are you departing from?”. You simply say “Arizona”, and the system will transfer you to the appropriate recordings for Arizona and then ask you which region you want to hear. For the state of Arizona, there are 4 regions: the northeast, the southeast, the southwest and the northwest. Most states, but not all, are divided into 4 quadrants in the same way as Arizona. For example, California is first divided into northern California and southern California, and each half of the state has several TIBS regions within it. You need to become familiar with your particular state’s TIBS regions. Using your phone, you can get TIBS weather for any state in the US (including Hawaii, but NOT Alaska), regardless of your location. Navigating through the TIBS weather is a little tricky. After accessing a section of a state, you can always go to the end of that recording by pressing the # key. You will then get the prompt: “Do you want more weather from this region?” Here you say: “NO”. The system will then ask you: “Is there anything else you want?” Here you say: “YES”. Then the system will ask you: “What do you want?”, and you simply say: “TIBS”, at which point the prompts for: ”What state are you departing from?” comes up as before, and you start all over again. Learning how to navigate through the TIBS will get you a plethora of weather without ever having to wait for a briefer, but it is MOST important to understand that the TIBS weather DOES NOT constitute a legal briefing, as it does not contain TFRs, NOTAMs, Special Use Airspace information, etc.

YOU NEED TO TALK TO A WEATHER BRIEFER FOR EVERY FLIGHT. DO NOT LET YOURSELF GET CAUGHT UNINFORMED ABOUT TFRS, CLOSED AIRPORTS, or SPECIAL USE AIRSPACE CHANGES. AN F-16 OR BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER ON YOUR WING COULD RUIN YOUR WHOLE DAY!

Call Flight Service at 1-800-WX-BRIEF to file your flight plans and leave them your customs notification information. You can leave said information for up to 27 days in advance. Need, or want, to call Prescott Flight Service from Mexico to amend/update your arrival times back into the US, specifically for customs notification? You need to know that US Customs is very fussy about arrivals. Show up without notification, and you may be subject to BIG fines, or even jail. Show up way off your original ETA, and you may get a lot of grief. All ETAs should be updated in flight to be within 15 minutes of your actual ETA.

The 800-WX-BRIEF number does NOT work from Mexico (or any other foreign country), so how does one call from Mexico? EASY – If you are coming back to an airport in the state of Arizona, call long distance to the local number for Prescott Flight Service: 1-928-778-0314. Your cell phone may not work too well in Mexico, and sometimes calling long distance from there isn’t too easy either. Pre-filing your customs notifications information on the 800-WX-BRIEF number with Prescott Flight Service before leaving the country is highly recommended.

Below is a complete listing of operational phone numbers for the Lockheed Martin Flight Service System, nationwide.

INTERNATIONAL ACCESS

MIA FPA 305-233-2600 DCA FPA 716-631-2285***

MIA FPA 800-432-4716 (INT’L BRIEFINGS ONLY) LAN FPA 517-321-5957***

*** These numbers are on order with AT&T and are anticipated to be fully operational by Jan.1, 2008. They will allow for access into the Lockheed Martin Flight Service system from outside of the United States, i.e., from Canada, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Mexico, etc., and are provided to ensure that pilots can pass/ensure customs notifications, flight and security information to Flight Service for entry back into the United States.

INTERNATIONAL ACCESS

FTW FPA 817-697-6110 ABQ FPA 505-243-7831 PNM FPA 763-389-5880***

*** These numbers are on order with AT&T and are anticipated to be fully operational by Jan.1, 2008. They will allow for access into the Lockheed Martin Flight Service system from outside of the United States, i.e., from Canada, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Mexico, etc, and are provided to ensure that pilots can pass/ensure customs notifications, flight and security information to Flight Service for entry back into the United States.

INTERNATIONAL ACCESS

PRC FPA 928-778-0314 SEA FPA 206-767-2726 HNL FPA 808-833-8440***

*** These numbers are on order with AT&T and are anticipated to be fully operational by Jan.1, 2008. They will allow for access into the Lockheed Martin Flight Service system from outside of the United States, i.e., from Canada, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Mexico, etc, and are provided to ensure that pilots can pass/ensure customs notifications, flight and security information to Flight Service for entry back into the United States.