Automated PIREPs

[AuntPeggy]

Seems to me that with hundreds (thousands?) of flights criss-crossing the US (and other countries) at all hours of day and night carrying sophisticated avionics that they could be collecting and sending meteorological data (basically PIREPs) continuously automatically to some central repository for analysis.

Is this happening?

If not, why not?

 

[HerrGruyere]

Sounds expensive and it could report faulty information or something.

However, I like the idea. I'm sure the FAA would think it's silly.

 

[gprellwitz]

Seems to me that with hundreds (thousands?) of flights criss-crossing the US (and other countries) at all hours of day and night carrying sophisticated avionics that they could be collecting and sending meteorological data (basically PIREPs) continuously automatically to some central repository for analysis.

Is this happening?

If not, why not?

Actually, it is. Some of the large carriers have equipment that sends at least some of this information. We plebes aren't allowed to access it directly (as in real-time) because of agreements with the companies so that they can keep a competitive advantage.

http://amdar.noaa.gov/docs/bams/

And, from

[Earth System Research Laboratory]ESRL operates a web site that displays automated weather reports taken by commercial aircraft. This site is used by NOAA, U.S. military, and foreign government forecasters, and airline forecasters and dispatchers to support aviation operations.
FSL is also involved in evaluating a new aircraft-borne sensor system called TAMDAR [pdf], that will measure humidity, turbulence, and icing in addition to wind and temperature, primarily on aircraft operated by regional fleets. This information will fill in data-sparse regions below 25,000 feet and between major hub airports, primarily in the upper Midwest.

 

[denverpilot]

Most of the air carriers give their PIREPs about conditions to the ARTCC controllers, where they rarely make it into the PIREPS system, unless they're classified as Urgent.

Heck, most of the airtime is taken up in some sectors here on windy days with continuous whining about turbulence and ride reports.

Contrarily, having a bunch of PIREPs from the Flight Levels is fairly useless for us bugsmashers, so it's really not a big deal.

Most days you can pull up the PIREPS map nationwide and be lucky to see ten of them. When you do see one along your route of flight, it's often something that's very bad juju and often unforecast or worse than the forecast.

With less and less bugsmashers doing long XCs, I don't see the PIREPs getting much better.

AOPA has an ASF course on PIREPs as part of their SkySpotter awareness campaign they started long ago...

https://www.aopa.org/asf/osc/loginform.cfm?course=skyspotter&project_code=

And a nice printable PDF for your kneeboard...

http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/pirep.pdf

 

[Skylane81E]

I quit giving pireps when I could no longer raise anyone to give it.

 

[Threefingeredjack]

I quit giving pireps when I could no longer raise anyone to give it.

How dare you interrupt the canasta tournament at the FSS????

 

[Alexb2000]

I agree that automated pireps would do so much for us "bug smashers". Controllers might ask about the conditions of flight, but it seems they never enter it in the system, which does no one else any good. I used to say something like, "12 thousand smooth (or whatever)" when checking in, to try and help others out. Until I was told I was the only IFR traffic for 300 miles below 20 enough times.