He almost made it.

[Swanee]

I was at the JMPS conference in Pt. Mugu last month and we had this exact discussion. All the pilots were saying we want to be able to sit down at one computer, build our flight, get NOTAMS, get a weather brief, print a 175 and file. The word we got back from -299 was we can't do that. JMPS has all sorts of stuff built in to get for example current / forecast winds to better plan a route, but I have never been able to get them to work.

This is exactly what I wrote in the critique at the JMPS booth- I want something like Skyvector.com but with Wx, Notams and TFRs, and all the calculations for fuel and TAS, and I want it to have the ability to print and file the 175.

I'm sure someone out there can make it work. As it is I'm not impressed with JMPS- it's a clunky non user friendly program that screams windows 3.1 on a 386...

 

[scoolbubba]

I was at the JMPS conference in Pt. Mugu last month and we had this exact discussion. All the pilots were saying we want to be able to sit down at one computer, build our flight, get NOTAMS, get a weather brief, print a 175 and file. The word we got back from -299 was we can't do that. JMPS has all sorts of stuff built in to get for example current / forecast winds to better plan a route, but I have never been able to get them to work.

Any reason why, other than "that's not how we do it?"

We use fax machines, for chrissakes. This isn't 1983. Half the time the damn fax machine doesn't send it, and I have to bend, twist, and browbeat the guys at Base Ops with their own arms for them to give me an email address or have them put it in manually because there's no other way for me to get the flight plan to them.

 

[HokiePilot]

At that conference, they mentioned that they are in the process of developing some sort of webpage mission planning solution. We'll see how it works and if it has everything.

 

[magnetfreezer]

FWB in and of itself isn't all that bad. It's the human element (NAVAIR) that fucks it all up. The fucktards that wrote the sections of OPNAV that deal with base ops are going to have to get with the times and admit that faxing in a signed DD-175 and having a LCpl hand jam it into the system is not the most efficient way to file flight plans.

But that's not the way we've always done it! Therefore it won't work.

If only there was a simpler way to do it. Perhaps some kind of interconnected system of "computers" that could process all of these requests and submit them directly to the FAAs "computers". Maybe we could even cross reference weather and NOTAMS to those plans? Huh.

http://www.fltplan.con

https://www.aisr.nas.faa.gov/AISR/ - in use on the Big Blue side, seems to work OK for filing - put your plan in the system in -175 format, get a confirmation strip emailed minutes later. Probably have to talk to your wing's FAA LNO to get access.

 

[Brett327]

At that conference, they mentioned that they are in the process of developing some sort of webpage mission planning solution. We'll see how it works and if it has everything.

Yeah, that approach has worked so well for getting a WX forecast.

Brett

 

[phrogpilot73]

Yeah, that approach has worked so well for getting a WX forecast.

You guys should just roll like the reservists do... 1-800-WX-BRIEF... Guaranteed to tell me "VFR Flight is not recommended" just prior to me blowing them off and taking my chances...

 

[Gatordev]

You guys should just roll like the reservists do... 1-800-WX-BRIEF... Guaranteed to tell me "VFR Flight is not recommended" just prior to me blowing them off and taking my chances...

Exactly what I was getting at. Nothing precludes you from doing this, even at military bases. Unfortunately, you still have to deal with Base Ops to file. In 39 months, I don't think I ever successfully got a fax to go through to the Mayport Base Ops. It was always busy.

 

[phrogpilot73]

Exactly what I was getting at. Nothing precludes you from doing this, even at military bases. Unfortunately, you still have to deal with Base Ops to file. In 39 months, I don't think I ever successfully got a fax to go through to the Mayport Base Ops. It was always busy.

You must be an FTS, not a SELRES guy... We just file with FSS if we're already getting the brief... Provided we file... I did a cross country to Fallon with nary a flight plan in sight, just a bunch of commercial pilots (I was the only non-full time pilot in the flight, everything from EMS to LE to Airline) reading the weather and making a decision that is easy when the low time guy in the flight has 1800 hours (and the high time guy has over 10K).

 

[OSUbeaver]

Or DUATS, which I notice isn't quite as 3710 friendly now as it was in Tango. Still legal, but it's written much more vaugely.

Two major problems I've had with FWB is a) actually getting on it and getting what I need (you have to request the brief before you actually brief as an aircrew to meet their two hour requirement) while dealing with NMCI and b) it not being remotely accurate.

^This. I remember having to have a -1 at the brief during RIs, hard to do when it's a 0530 brief and base ops is closed. Even if it wasn't an early brief, I remember trying to explain to them why I needed one now even though it would be void by the time we briefed, dressed, preflighted, etc.

 

[nittany03]

JMPS folks need to worry less about winding my jet card and more about basic system stability. Give me something that won't crash if you look at it sideways.

 

[Gatordev]

You must be an FTS, not a SELRES guy... We just file with FSS if we're already getting the brief... Provided we file... I did a cross country to Fallon with nary a flight plan in sight, just a bunch of commercial pilots (I was the only non-full time pilot in the flight, everything from EMS to LE to Airline) reading the weather and making a decision that is easy when the low time guy in the flight has 1800 hours (and the high time guy has over 10K).

I'm FTS, so I don't mention my flight plan status. Now what I actually did or did not file...I'll take the 5th.

When I flew out to Tucson, I actually did file a couple of times, only because there's large stretches of nothing and we were a single ship, but I'm getting what you're putting down.

 

[phrogpilot73]

Yeah, if I was going single ship - I'd file, but save out-and-in boondoggles (one scheduled for tomorrow), we go every where with at least ONE other aircraft...

 

[HokiePilot]

I have never really understood filing VFR while in the military. The only point of of VFR flight plan is too make sure some one starts looking for you if your don't call back to close out your flight plan at the end of the flight. It most cases in the military, the SDO will start getting concerned before the FAA will.

 

[Gatordev]

I have never really understood filing VFR while in the military. The only point of of VFR flight plan is too make sure some one starts looking for you if your don't call back to close out your flight plan at the end of the flight. It most cases in the military, the SDO will start getting concerned before the FAA will.

Generally, I agree with you. On the Reserve side...not so much. What's a "SDO?" Oh, you must be referring to the "OpsO."

 

[phrogpilot73]

Generally, I agree with you. On the Reserve side...not so much. What's a "SDO?" Oh, you must be referring to the "OpsO."

We have ODOs (your version of SDO), and they're called "Sgt, Cpl, or LCpl". What's the answer if there's a mishap? Not a drill weekend - call HSC-26/28 (right next door) or NSC.