Flight Watch is the common name in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
for an En route Flight Advisory Service (EFAS) dedicated to providing weather to and collecting reports from pilots while in flight.
While U.S.
Flight Service Station
A flight service station (FSS) is an air traffic facility that provides information and services to aircraft pilots before, during, and after flights, but unlike air traffic control (ATC), is not responsible for giving instructions or clearances or ...
s (FSS) operate Flight Watch, Flight Watch does not provide a full range of FSS services such as filing flight plans, acquiring preflight weather briefings, providing
NOTAM
A Notice to Airmen/Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM), is a notice filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the flight. NOTAMs are unclassified notices or ...
s, or picking up
IFR
In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR).
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) ''Instrument Fly ...
clearances; instead, it is limited to the following:
* en route weather updates
* collection of
pilot weather reports (PIREPs)
The service was available on a single common frequency, 122.0 MHz, to flights operating below Flight Level 180 (18,000 feet
MSL) across the conterminous United States. Discrete frequencies are available for high altitude aircraft (at and above 18,000 feet MSL, or FL180), based on location. Flight Watch may have been unavailable below 5,000 feet AGL, depending on terrain and the distance from the nearest station.
On October 1, 2015, Flight Watch services were consolidated with existing
Flight Service Station
A flight service station (FSS) is an air traffic facility that provides information and services to aircraft pilots before, during, and after flights, but unlike air traffic control (ATC), is not responsible for giving instructions or clearances or ...
(FSS) services and the services were terminated on the 122.0 frequency. The frequency was monitored for a "few months" to steer pilots to the correct frequency.
See also
*
Flight Service Station
A flight service station (FSS) is an air traffic facility that provides information and services to aircraft pilots before, during, and after flights, but unlike air traffic control (ATC), is not responsible for giving instructions or clearances or ...
References
{{reflist
External links
FAA Order JO 7110.10FAA Flight Service Program Changes
Aviation meteorology
Air traffic control