AVTweets Delivers Real-Time METAR Format Aviation Weather To Pilots Via Mobile Devices

Online, August 5, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Avionics Specialists, LLC, of Loveland, Colorado, has just introduced AVTweets, a new service that delivers real-time aviation weather information directly to smart phones and other internet devices via Twitter. With AVTweets, users can choose to automatically receive aviation weather updates (METARs) for airports and other aviation facilities in the USA that report weather to the National Weather Service (NWS). This service is available starting today.

"AVTweets provides pilots and other users with a method for continuously receiving the latest reported weather for one or more airports directly to their mobile devices," said Jerry Stooksbury, President of Avionics Specialists. "Previously pilots would have to dial up the airport weather station (AWOS or ASOS) and listen to the current weather report by telephone, or access that information by pulling it from a website. With AVTweets, pilots can now receive this same information as text message updates via Twitter as soon as they become available, without having to request this data via telephone or internet."

To receive AVTweets for a particular facility, simply visit AirportView.net and enter the airport or facility identifier in the search box. This will navigate you to the current weather page (Wx tab) for that airport/facility. Once there, just look for the Twitter icon for next to that facility ID and then click on it. You will then be guided to a page where you can login to Twitter and follow the Twitter account for that airport/facility. For example, go to http://www.airportview.net/briefing.php?lid=OSH and click on the Twitter icon to follow the Oshkosh AWOS feed via twitter.

You can also subscribe from your mobile phone by sending a text message to 40404. For example, text 'follow KOSHawos' to 40404 in the United States and you will follow the KOSH (Oshkosh) AWOS. For any other facility, use the ICAO identifier for that facility followed by "awos" to follow that feed. For facilities located in the continental USA, the ICAO identified (station ID) is the letter "K" plus the three-character FAA airport identifier.

Each AVTweets message provides a link to more detailed weather and airport briefing information for the selected facility via the AirportView briefing pages. AirportView.net provides a comprehensive suite of information for airports within the USA.

Pilots use aviation weather reports when planning flights. It is critical for safe air travel to know the weather conditions along the entire flight path. The flight planning process requires obtaining an official weather briefing from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Before calling the FAA briefer, most pilots investigate the weather themselves. AirportView.net makes the preliminary investigation easy and thorough.

Long flights may involve several stops between the departure airport and the destination airport. A pilot will make a list of all stops and check the weather at each airport. It is also advisable to get weather information at points in between stops. Fortunately, in the US, there are many AWOS locations. Each AirportView.net briefing page for a particular airport, lists the six nearest AWOS. Using this feature, pilots can quickly identify automated weather stations all along their planned flight path.