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Frequently Asked Questions

Using this site

Can't figure it out? Turn on Tooltips on the menu (Menu: Help » Tooltips), and start mousing over everything. Or, you can read some of the details here:

• Overview: Using clicks, double-clicks, right-clicks... Same as Menu: Help » Usage Overview
• How the map, pop-up windows and menus work
• 
  What all these crazy Icons mean (there are nearly 100 in use, but fortunately they follow a pattern!) Menu: Help » Icons
• Using Skype to call ASOS / ATIS from your computer. Really.
• Can I link to this website? Sure, select Menu: Help » URL for this view. This will provide you with two codes. The upper code will open maps.AvnWx.com centered current address (i.e., airport, flight path, latitude/longitude). The weather and viewing settings will be initiailized to their default values. The lower code will open maps.AvnWx.com to the current address, with the same configuration as you are currently viewing (showing or hiding METARs, PIREPs, tooltips, etc. For most purposes, the simpler first code will be sufficient.

Data Sources

Where does all this data come from, and how often is it updated?

• Here's a Table with all the details, also available from Menu: Help » Data Sources
• Much of this comes from ASOS and AWOS. Learn about them here.

Additional Weather and Flight Restrictions Details

Stuff your CFI told you, but you're a little fuzzy on the details... This will provide more background on what some of these weather services cover, how we use and present this information to you.

• SIGMETs
• Pilot Reports
• Turbulence intensity
• Icing intensity
• Winds Aloft...Not just the raw data, but what about those dotted lines between some of the numbers?
• Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs), even the "permanent" ones over Disneyland.
• Surface Analysis overlay (Cold fronts, warm fronts...)
• Solar and Lunar events data calculation I know when the moon rises because I'm psychic... and NOAA helps

Other support

• Known Problems Other than simply anyone still using IE6, here are some other pointers. Seriously, flying a 50 year-old airframe is one thing. A ten year old browser is really scary.
• Email... Please! No point my having a website if you don't understand how it works, or if it's not working for you. Menu: Help » Contact Us

External links

• www.aviationweather.gov/std_brief: US government weather links for pilot Standard Briefing. It's all here, but spread across so many different pages.

Suggestions? Questions? Corrections? Let us know! Email