I once read WX/NOTAMS off my iPhone in a brief. I thought the IPs head was going to explode.
Seriously? Was it because you didn't clear-cut a rain forest and burn through some more toner in order to print out a TAF for your brief in our "Paperless Navy"? Or was it simply because you did something in a manner that wasn't *gulp* the way it has always been done before?
When studs brief "Sources of Weather Information," they typically brief the traditional methods we have of obtaining wx, which is fine (and expected). 3710 is black-and-white as far as what wx sources we can
officially use for pre-flight planning/filing, and those sources will always be the correct answer (at least until the next major 3710 re-write). They also brief the traditional in-flight sources, such as the different agencies we can radio enroute for updates.
However, I like to remind them that it's 2012, and we've got a few more tools at our disposal to enhance our Mission Analysis...including (especially?) our smart phones. Pretty much anything you normally get for pre-mission planning from the ODO, you can get on your smart phone (ADDS, NOTAMS, HEMS, etc.). When would this come in handy? If the weather has been questionable all day, and we decide to fly during a "break" in the wx (not uncommon in the Panhandle), I'd much rather learn about the pop-up cell that suddenly developed during the few minutes it took me to walk, read the book, and preflight
while I'm on deck, rather than after I launch. If this means a quick check of the radar on my phone before I strap into the plane, so be it. At the very least, after taking a look at my phone, I could call back to the ODO or METRO for an update, and make a wx decision before I take off and potentially paint myself into a corner. Can we use mobile devices in flight? For the most part in Naval Aviation, not yet - and absolutely not in CNATRA's birds. That's fine, we'll eventually get there. However, there's absolutely nothing wrong with using everything available before you launch to build your SA and make good risk decisions. Our profession is too unforgiving
not to.
What does 3710 have to say about this? Well, as the PIC, 4.6.1 says that I'm responsible for ensuring that "Adequate flight planning data, including NOTAM service, was available for complete and accurate planning." What is
adequate and
complete? Neither are specifically defined, but with all of the tools at our disposal in 2012, I'd like to think that
adequate and
complete doesn't mean a quick look at the TAF and NOTAMS as I walk out the door. Further, "Each pilot in a formation flight has received the required flight route weather briefing..." 3710 (4.8.3) says that online FWB is the primary source for wx, with 1-800-PILOTWX, FSS, or USAF/USMC wx as valid alternatives. As long as I adhere to 4.8.3's requirements for official wx briefing, you can bet I'm going to use any/all supplemental sources of information to build my SA before I slip the surly bonds.