IJ Reilly said:
Believe me, "pro pilots" do not use this site or any like it for anything but the most general overall wx picture (they're almost useless in terms of detail, and for anything beyond 3-5 days out). I go directly to the AVN, ETA, GFS and MRF meteorological model outputs and the NWS regional office's forecast discussions. Reading these once or twice a day is necessary if you're interested in having any hope of nailing down a long-range forecast.
But thanks anyway stu. You're a prince as always.
AS a matter of fact nearly every jet pilot I know does, the problem is that faa sources are horrible with precip predictions, as I am sure that you are aware of. In fact when you speak to a faa wx briefer they will tell you that Noaa puts aviation forecasting as a lower priority, infact it is usually the NEW guy/gal that gets the job. I have had numerous discussions with them due to the poor forecasting in my area. A family of 4 died in a small se due to the piss poor forecasting last year, I was in the air at the time, forecast was still calling for VFR and the actualls were 100-1/4. Typical dumba**s forecaster for W NC.
I use a subscription with universal weather, I also use WSI, local tv wx, as well as services subscibed to by local fbo's, I often call the destination ASOS for the upto the minute weather as well-some flights are less than one hour long, actuall weather then superscedes forecast wx-as you know. Only an idiot would use one service, and use it as gospel. Intellicast was first recommended to me at Flight Safety, I am sure that you have had lots of training there too.
Intellicast is a fairly reliable when forecasting upto 1 week before hand, depending on the area, I bet SFO is difficult for everyone. As time gets closer they all get better. Your sites may work alot better, but as a pilot I have ones that I use and have been taught by others to use. I would never use intellicast as a single source for weather, but I and almost every Corp pilot I know will include it as a 2nd or 3rd source everytime the look. Therefore it is A source that pro pilots use, and a good one for the not so savvy weather guesser to use. So you are correct that "pro pilots" only use it for general purpose, but use it all the same. Plenty of times Duats or "offical" wx guessers will tell you that it will be low vis, but not ice fog, and places like intellicast fill that void. The guys at the majors may not depend on sites like these, but us six figure, coast to coast corp guys use them to round out our weather picture regularly! Rest Assured!
What with the prince comment? Care to elaborate?
Sorry I thought I would help, guess it is not needed, fly on.......
I am sure that you know as much about professional flying as I do about your work.
link to links!
From the intellicast website.......
From pre-flight to touchdown, we've got you covered! Did you know that Intellicast.com is a division of Weather Services International (WSI), and that over 95% of FAA flight stations, 80% of major airlines, over 800 FBOs, and more than 1200 corporate flight departments rely on WSI's weather information everyday!
If you're a professional or recreational pilot looking for reliable pre-flight and in-flight weather briefings, check out the services below. Now the same aviation weather services the pros use are accessible from home, your nearest FBO, and best of all, when you're in the cockpit!
On-line Pre-flight Briefings
Pre-flight Briefings
In-flight Briefings
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