These FAQs are written primarily for those less familiar with using our services. If you have a question that wasn't answered in these FAQs please email us at support@avbrief.com We can then update the FAQ to the greater benefit of all users.

Summary

Using these FAQs
AvBrief's support policies
About AvBrief
Gaining access to AvBrief
Password and Access Queries
Other potential problems with AvBrief
- I have found an error in the airfield information
Questions about existing AvBrief services
Questions about potential new AvBrief services
Using AvBrief with NotamPlot
Modifying personal access items

Using these FAQs

There doesn't appear to be a search function

The FAQs are published as a standard html web page. Thus you can use the search function within your browser. In IE it is the Edit/Find (on this page) function.

The FAQs didn't answer my question

Does the FAQ service mean that you are reducing levels of customer support?

On the contrary. Our policy has been to answer all emails from Members within 24 hours. We hope that the FAQ service will increase the likelihood of you finding an answer to your query in minutes. Email support is still available if the FAQs can't answer your query.

The FAQs do not seem to be geared for Business Members of AvBrief. Why is this?

Simply because the vast majority of support queries come from our private pilot Members. But if there are improvements that can be made to assist all categories of user, then do let us know at support@avbrief.com

AvBrief's support policies

Support for Guest users of AvBrief

We provide access to a few of our services free of charge to Guest users. This is in the interests of flight safety for private pilots and is deemed to be in our best interests. It will be appreciated that we could not bear the cost of providing any form of personal support thus Guest users with any queries should use these FAQs. However, if you are registering as a Guest as a preliminary to becoming an AvBrief Member and require support please email us at sales@avbrief.com making it clear that you wish to evaluate our services.

Support for private Members of AvBrief

Support for corporate Members of AvBrief

The primary method for obtaining support is via email to support@avbrief.com For our corporate and commercial customers we aim to respond to support emails within 6 hours of receipt during normal UK office hours and within 24 hours of receipt at other times.

Should you wish to be provided with service levels above this then please email us at sales@avbrief.com so we can evaluate how best to provide you with the back-up you require.

About AvBrief

Does AvBrief conform to recognised standards?

AvBrief is an approved ICAO disseminator of aeronautical meteorological information.

Met data is derived from the UK Met Office both directly for certain products and via the ICAO SADIS for OPMET and WAFC products.

Why should I pay for aviation data that should be made available for free to pilots?

This is really a debate that you should be holding with the CAA and, in particular, DAP. The fact is that AvBrief is a commercial company that would not survive without sales revenues. Our overheads are significant and much larger than most private pilots would expect. We have to pay for data, infrastructure, bandwidth and people costs. So, for us, supplying a wide range of free services is not an option.

You will be aware that we do supply a limited set of services free to Guest users although we would reserve the right to amend or terminate those. We also supply NOTAM data free of charge to NotamPlot users.

Our income from private pilots does not cover our costs so, in essence, the private AvBrief Member gets a professional service from an ICAO Approved disseminator of aviation data at a discounted rate. If you try our service and find it is not up to your expectations we are always happy to refund your subscription.

What are your Terms and Condition of use?

Do you divulge personal data to third parties?

Why should I use AvBrief?

We are a small team dedicated to providing our customers with the best service we can manage. We are responsive and committed to excellent customer relationships. We are accessible. Why not try us out without obligation. Simple drop us an email to sales@avbrief.com and we can arrange a free, no obligation, evaluation. You may want to use some of the excellent forums available for flyers to see how others regard us.

I'm not sure if AvBrief is right for me. Do you offer a free trial?

While we provide some examples of our services here they are not a full summary of what we do. We are always delighted to provide you with a short free evaluation period without any obligation of your part. Once you have registered with a valid UserID please send us an email requesting a free trial and including your UserID. Please email us at sales@avbrief.com If you need advice about registration see the appropriate FAQ.

What's the difference between Guest (free) and Member (subscription) services?

We provide four levels of access to AvBrief: Free Guest access, Radar only access, Briefing services and Briefing plus Radar data access. Full details may be found here.

Can I give a subscription as a gift?

Yes of course! The recipient should be registered on the AvBrief site first, so that they can accept our Terms and Conditions of use. We would then need to know their userID in order to enter a years's membership on their account.

We are happy to accept a subscription payment for your gift by cheque or credit card.

Cheques etc. should be drawn on a UK Bank in Sterling and made out for the following amount depending on what subscription level you require:

�25.85 for 15 minute U.K. Rainfall Radar
�39.48 for Flight Briefing
�59.22 for Flight Briefing services plus 15 minute U.K. Rainfall Radar
(Please see "Services" link in the left margin of the AvBrief home pages for a full list of Membership serfvices).

Please make cheques payable to Aviation Briefing Limited, with your userID and the recipients userID on the back and send to:

Aviation Briefing Ltd.,
The Hughes Building,
Clevedon Hall Estate,
Victoria Road,
Clevedon,
BS21 7RQ,
England

Alternatively if you wish to pay by credit card I will need the following cardholder details:

Name:
Address:
Country:
Postcode:
Telephone no:
Email address:
Your userID:
Subscription amount(�25.85,�39.48 or �59.22)
Your card number:
Security no: if necessary
Expiry date:

If you are a Guest giving this gift we will be happy to give you a month's FREE use of the full AvBrief member services yourself when the gift is given.

If you are a Member we will be happy to extend your own membership by a month free of charge. Please let me know your userID so that I can add this when the gift is given.

Why do you provide free services?

It should be stated that free Guest services are provided solely to private individuals and may not be used by any organisation. Guest services are provided primarily to promote AvBrief and to give us a pool of users that we can email from time to time. An important extra is to enable use of the freeware NotamPlot software produced by Ian Fallon.

Our business relies on the income from Members, both private and corporate, and we reserve the right to remove free services without warning in the future.

Corporate use of AvBrief

The prices we charge for private pilot access to AvBrief are not profitable for us. We welcome private users of our services because the revenue helps defray the significant infrastructure and overhead costs. The pricing is influenced by the fact that our biggest competitors are the numerous free web sites. We also recognise the tremendous loyalty shown to us by our private Members over the years.

However, we feel perfectly justified in asking commercial organisations who wish to use our briefing data to pay a fair price. We are extremely competitive in the market and believe that we offer very good value. This is borne out by the many commercial aviation organisations that depend of their Avbrief service.

We rely on corporate users being honest with us and recognising that endeavouring to use our services as a personal user is tantamount to theft. We regularly police registration and usage of AvBrief services. You will be offered the opportunity to upgrade to corporate Membership. We reserve the right to terminate access without any subscription refund if a corporate user continues to use our services as a personal Member.

It is not clear whether my use of AvBrief is personal or commercial

If you have any doubt, please email us at sales@avbrief.com before proceding to the online payment process. This avoids any future embarrassment. We will willingly provide you with free access to AvBrief for evaluation purposes; you do not need to pay online to experience our range of services.

Personal use covers the use of AvBrief Flight Briefing Services by private pilots flying for non-commercial purposes.

Personal use also includes commercial pilots wishing to use AvBrief personally to assist in their profession, without this being a requirement of their employers.

Commercial use covers the use of AvBrief Flight Briefing Services by an organisation, the organisation's employees and subcontractors engaged in any form of aviation activity for hire or reward. Commercial use would also include an individual pilot's use where that pilot was required by his employer to use the AvBrief services.

Commercial use would also include flying clubs, training organisations, airports, sole traders who earn their living from aviation, etc.

Remember, if you are still unsure which category applies, please email sales@avbrief.com for further advice.

Do you offer special terms for Flying Clubs?

In a word, yes, as we recognise the importance to the UK General Aviation industry provided by Clubs. Please email us at sales@avbrief.com for further details.

We are a private group that would like group access to AvBrief

We are able to provide group access schemes. Please contact us at sales@avbrief.com for further details.

I am not a pilot but would like to subscribe to the rainfall radar data

Aviation meteorological data can only be provided to aviation persons as defined by ICAO. However, the rainfall radar data is not regarded as an aviation product and is available as a separate subscription to any user.

What's the difference between your Radar data that I have to pay for and that obtainable from other sites for free?

We take a direct feed of the 15-minute high resolution precipitation radar data from the UK Met Office. This allows us to present both high resolution stills and animations as well as update the service 4 times an hour. We believe this is a much stronger offering that is available for free. We are always happy to arrange an evaulation of the radar data, which can be requested by sending an email to sales@avbrief.com

Why don't you supply Airport information such is contained in Pooleys, Bottlang, or AFE?

Most VFR guides are based on the data contained in the UK AIP to which we could have access. But for this service to be of value to our Members it would need to be kept up to date on a constant basis. We have looked at the costs of employing someone to do this and come to the conclusion that the rise in subscription price to cover this would not be acceptable to all AvBrief Members.

Why do you occasionally use Standard Responses?

These responses have taken some time to compose to give the information required in the most precise and concise way possible. This way AvBrief's resources can go towards expanding our services/software for our Members rather than on the Customer Care team taking an age to come up with the best way to reply to a similar query!

We do still endeavour to reply to every email personally, within 24 hours if possible. Top of page

Gaining access to AvBrief

How do I register to use AvBrief?

In order to register you will need to go to our Home Page on and click on Register FREE in the left margin.

The form will ask you for a User ID, a unique name by which you would like to be identified by the server. You may need to have several goes at finding a unique User ID. The chances are that your first name will be taken as will words like Cessna, Piper, Arrow and so on. Your aircraft registration is less likely to be taken or you might find your initials are still available. You will also be asked for your email address, to which a password will be sent. You can change this password to something more memorable by going to the Change Password page.

I've just registered with AvBrief and still can't get access

Registration requires the system to have logged a valid, unique UserID and an email address. The email address is used to send you the system generated password that you can subsequently amend if you would prefer something more memorable.

If you proceed with the registration without entering an email address or by putting in an invalid email address then you are put into a Catch 22 situation. Your UserID has been allocated but without having a password you can't access the site.

The solution is to register again using a different UserID and ensure that the email address is both entered and entered correctly. (It would help us keep the system clean if you could drop a line to support@avbrief.com telling us the details of the redundant UserID.)

Paying by credit of debit card but not via WorldPay

We can accept credit card payments over the phone, by fax or by email although we do not recommend sending sensitive data like this in an email. Emails should be sent to support@avbrief.com with the details requested below. If you prefer not to email your credit card number, you may prefer to give us a telephone number where you can be reached (and the times of day when it would be convenient for you to receive a phone call). Finally you could fax the details to our e-Fax number 0870 460 2022 We then use our secure admin access to WorldPay to undertake this transaction on your behalf. You need to provide the following details:

Name: Address: Country: Postcode: Email address: Telephone no: Your AvBrief userID: Your card number: Security no. (if necessary): Expiry date:

Paying by cheque

Send a cheque drawn on a UK Bank made out to Aviation Briefing Limited. Please put your User ID on the back of your cheque and send it to:

Aviation Briefing Ltd.,
The Hughes Building,BR% Clevedon Hall Estate,
Victoria Road,
Clevedon,
BS21 7RQ.

If will help greatly if you could notify us that you've sent a cheque by sending an email to support in order for us to give you access to subscriber areas whilst we are waiting for your cheque to arrive.

Will I receive a receipt?

When you paid using the WorldPay system, you will have been issued a WorldPay digital receipt which can of course be printed.

I want a refund!

A refund will be considered if your subscription is less than one week old. Occasionally our members from overseas subscribe to U.K. Rainfall Radar in error, that portion of their subscription will be gladly refunded.

We are obviously unhappy to hear that you no longer wish to use the AvBrief service but, as you might imagine, in a commercial world, this would not be an acceptable reason to provide a subscription refund.

What we are happy to do is to allow you to transfer the unexpired portion of your subscription to another pilot of your choice. If this is acceptable to you, we look forward to hearing the full name and email address of the pilot in order for us to make the transfer on your behalf.

Why don't you have an automatic Resubscription process?

We do not automatically renew your membership as we do not have, or would wish to have, the authority to automatically renew subscriptions. It puts our customers at risk if, in the very unlikely event, our infrastructure was compromised. Also we feel that it is fair to allow our customers to make the choice of whether to renew or not, without us automatically taking payments prior to written consent. This is why we send an email inviting our Members to renew a subscription and then we leave the rest to you smile

Password and Access Queries

I've lost/forgotten my password. Help!

The recovery from this is very simple. If you have forgotten your password, you may request the issue of a new one by entering your UserID in the forgotten password link found here or on the home page of AvBrief.

Passwords will only be sent to the current e-mail address you have registered with Aviation Briefing.

I'm not able to download the 4-day forecast

We are aware that some firewalls cause this. For example the Computer Associates EZ Armor anti-virus and firewall application and the McAfee Pop Up Blocker have caused difficulties. The solution is to alter the access settings on your anti-virus or firewall software. We would appreciate being notified of other software packages that cause this so as to help fellow travellers.

I'm having problems accessing the AvBrief site. Where could I be going wrong?

(This answer covers a number of situations and we do recommend reading through it carefully)

There are several things that can cause problems when logging on. Please follow these steps to identify your problem.

Step One Verify that your User ID is being recognised by the system (this assumes that you know your password - please remember that passwords are case sensitive). This can be done by logging on at the Query your Account link in the left margin of the AvBrief home pages or you can go directly to the link from here

If the system cannot verify your ID then you are either (a) not registered or (b)you are entering your login details incorrectly. Please follow directions as follows:

(a) Not registered - you can register via the link on the top left hand corner of the home page or directly from here

You will be asked to provide a UserID of your choice and a valid e-mail address. Your UserID will be the unique reference recognised by our system when you identify yourself. If we just asked for a name we could too easily have duplicate names.

A password will then be sent to the e-mail address you provide under the registration progress.

(b) You may have entered your login details incorrectly. If you have forgotten your userID or your password, please inform support@avbrief.com by email, supplying your registered email address.

Some browsers ask for a User Name and password. You should enter your User ID in the User Name box. If you use cut and paste please ensure that you don't inadvertently include a space. Your UserID is not case sensitive, however your password is, and must therefore be entered exactly as you first received/selected it, eg. password: JoBloggs must be entered with capital J and B, whereas password: tmnjkw must be entered in all lower case letters. If you are entering these correctly but are still experiencing a problem, go to Step Four.

Step Three. You will be denied access to certain areas if you are not a subscriber. Full details of subscriber (Member) areas are given in the our Services link in the left margin of the AvBrief home pages.

If you wish to subscribe you may do so via the 'Subscribe' link or the one on the left margin of the AvBrief home pages.

Step Four If you are still experiencing difficulty, then please email us at support@avbrief.com with the following details:

I have forgotten my UserID

There is no easy way to recover this so our advice is to email us at support@avbrief.com Please provide the email address that is associated with your access to AvBrief.

I'm having a problem paying with the WorldPay system. Why? How else can I pay?

We occasionally have a problem with users from the compuserve.com and aol.com domains. Typically, when you try to subscribe you may receive the message, "no form data". Part of the problem is that both aol.com and compuserve use a proxy server, which can confuse the registration/subscription procedure. I'm afraid that we have no control over the WorldPay server! We recommend paying either by credit or debit card directly to AvBrief or paying by cheque. Please refer to the appropriate FAQs under the category of Gaining access to AvBrief

I've paid. Why am I still being denied access to chargeable areas of AvBrief?

Please check that you have a copy of the email digital receipt that WorldPay will have sent. If you haven't received one there is a possibility that, unknown to you, your payment may not have been made. (Some of our customers' systems use a proxy that can confuse the registration/subscription procedure).

Another reason that the subscription may not have gone through may be simply that the system isn't verifying your User ID or password. Your UserID is not case sensitive, however your password is, and must therefore be entered exactly as you first received/selected it, eg. password: JoBloggs must be entered with capital J and B, whereas password: tmnjkw must be entered in all lower case letters. Please do not use spaces before or after the User ID or password (using cut and paste can sometimes result in a space being included, which the computer doesn't like!). If you still have problems subscribing, please contact us at support@avbrief.com

I think my Membership has expired but I didn't get any reminders

Assuming you are able to access Guest areas then your login details are still correct.

However, you will unfortunately be unable to access Member services at the moment as your Membership has expired.

Our automatic renewal reminder process sends a total of three reminder emails to the email address you registered on the AvBrief site. If this address is no longer in use you will not have seen these renewal reminders. That is why we do ask for Members to keep their email records up to date. If you have a firewall or anti-spam software, there is a chance that you may not have received the reminders.

The first of these renewals is sent 23 days before your renewal date, the second 2 days before renewal and the third is sent 2 days after your subscription has expired. As a matter of course, in case you have been away during this reminder period we've continued your access for a further seven days.

If you have paid, then please email support@avbrief.com with the date and digital receipt number of your payment so that we can ensure that your subscription has filtered through to our records successfully.

If you would like to renew your subscription, please go to 'Subscribe' in the left margin of the home pages at www.avbrief.com or you may go directly from here

I have been a Guest user for some time and now can't get access to AvBrief

If either we find that your UserID is associated with an invalid email address or you ask to be taken off the Newsletter mailing list, our system will automatically remove your UserID.

I am having Login Problems - authorisation box is missing

Please go to the "tools/internet options/security" tab from the menu bar. Press the "custom level" button. Scroll right down to the bottom. Under "User Authentication" and "logon" there are four radio buttons - make sure the bottom one "prompt for user name and password" is set.

I am having Login Problems - cookies.

Depending on the client system, the password can be stored in different places. Earlier Windows OSs stored all password in \windows\*.pwl files. If it is a 9x system then these files can safely be deleted and the next bootup will prompt for a Windows password for the Windows or network logon. However, NT, 2000, XP etc are not so straightforward so the user will need to make their own further investigations.

How do I log-in to the Member's Forums? (I have recently subscribed)

Other potential problems with AvBrief

I have found an error in the airfield information

The data that feeds the airfield information on the AvBrief site is provided by EAD. This is from their database which conforms to ARINC as used in many Flight Management Systems in commercial airliners.

The good news is that the data is updated every 28 days under the ARINC cycle process.

Questions about existing AvBrief services

I don't remember ICAO codes for airfields. How can I look them up?

In order to find ICAO codes for individual airfields, the simplest way is to select the 'Country ICAOs' drop-down menu (located at the top of the Airfield Information page), select the country you are interested in and then click GO. This gives a list that you can then either scan through visually quite quickly or use Ctrl + F (in Internet Explorer) to open a 'Find' box where you can search for a word (or just part of a word).

Why are the UK Airfield graphical forecasts sometimes inaccurate?

The data feed that we use to generate this forecast is purely automated model output from the GFS dataset; it has no forecaster input. During periods of rapidly changing complex weather systems or periods of high pressure (notoriously difficult for forecasting visibility and cloud cover) one should not expect high accuracy. Our advice is to take a combined view using the UK GFS forecast, UK MSLP (Model) charts and long TAFs to allow you to form your own opinions.

Why don't you store Aerodrome Charts?

We do not store aerodrome charts on our servers as we do not have a data source for these. However, out of convenience we provide a link to the appropriate URL on the UK AIS web site. UK AIS operate a separate login procedure and one needs to have registered with them using a U.K. address. Registration is free and can be arranged by going to http://www.ais.org.uk/aes/login.jsp Please note that our links depend on the URLs remaining constant. We do not have control over the URLs used by UK AIS.

When may I expect to be able to view the latest OPMET?

Our system shows that the vast majority of UK Metars are available approximately 11 minutes after the observation time. Similarly for German Metars. French Metars are a little quicker with the bulk being available approximately 6 minutes after the observation time.

TAFs, both short and long, take longer to be promulgated by the UKMO. The average time delay is between 20 and 24 minutes after issue time; assuming 30 minutes would cover most eventualities.

When are TAFs issued by the UK Met Office?

These are issued every 3 hours and have a validity period of 9 hours. Different States have slightly different times. The UKMO tend to issue 9-hour UK TAFs at shortly after the following times:

These are issued every 6 hours and have a validity period of 18 hours. Different States have slightly different times. The UKMO tend to issue 18-hour UK TAFs after the following times:

Note that the issue times listed can vary significantly and should be used as a guide only.

What are the timings for the Surface Analysis Model Charts?

Surface Analysis charts carrying the header name of PPVA89 (also known as ASXXcharts).

These charts are an analysis of current surface pressure conditions and are released every 6 hours. The times of release are hours AFTER the validity time (but all on the same day) and are approximately:

What are the timings for the T+24 Surface Forecast Model Charts?

T+24 Surface Forecast charts carrying the header name of PPVE89 (also known as FSXX or prognosis charts)

These charts are a forecast of future surface pressure conditions and are released every 6 hours. The times of release are hours BEFORE the validity time and are approximately:

What are the timings for the Mean Sea Level Pressure (MSLP) & Thickness Model Charts?

Mean Sea Level Pressure (MSLP) & Thicknesss charts carrying the header name of PPV(G,I, J,K, etc)89 and are released every 24 hours sometime after 2000Z each evening.

What are the new Timings for Low-level Significent Weather Charts Form(215) and Form(415)

All times will remain in UTC (denoted by 'Z' or 'Zulu' on the new briefing charts). Validity time is the time at which the position of the fronts and areas of weather are valid.

Chart type	Issued at	Valid for Flights Between	Validity Time	Outlook to	Prognosis
U.K. low-level sigwx (F215)	0330	0800 and 1700	1200	0000	1800
	0930	1400 and 2300	1800	0600	0000
	1530	2000 and 0500	0000	1200	0600
	2130	0200 and 1100	0600	1800	1200
European low-level sigwx (F415)	0330	0800 and 1700	1200	n/a	n/a
	0930	1400 and 2300	1800	n/a	n/a
	1530	2000 and 0500	0000	n/a	n/a
	2130	0100 and 1100	0600	n/a	n/a

What are the new Timings for Spotwind Charts Form(214) and Form(414)

The chart validity times of the F214 and F414 (spot wind charts) will also be changed and brought in line with the new F215 and F415. All times will remain in UTC (denoted by 'Z' or 'Zulu' on the new briefing charts).

Chart type	Issued at	Valid for Flights Between	Validity Time	Outlook to
U.K. Spotwinds F(214)	0000	0300 and 0900	0600	n/a
	0600	0900 and 1500	1200	n/a
	1200	1500 and 2100	1800	n/a
	1800	2100 and 0300	0000	n/a
European Spotwinds F(414)	0000	0300 and 0900	0600	n/a
	0600	0900 and 1500	1200	n/a
	1200	1500 and 2100	1800	n/a
	1800	2100 and 0300	0000	n/a

Only the current chart will be amended, therefore a chart will be subject to amendment as soon as it has been issued.

What is the definition of 'low cloud' in the UK Airfield Forecast?

Low cloud is cloud below the 900mb level as far as the GFS is concerned. If the surface pressure happened to be 1,000mb then 900mb would equate to 3000 feet (1mb = 30ft). One could generally regard the 900mb level as 3,500ft.

Why are some of the options not available under the Route Briefing service?

The route briefing service was a limited development some couple of years ago as an interim while we developed a much more advanced integrated route briefing application. The greyed out boxes should not have been left for so long. I must admit it has been a source of some embarrassment for us.

However, we are well advanced on the new integrated briefing service and are hopeful that will be in place before the summer of 2005.

Why do I need Adobe Reader for the 4-day forecast and other chart products?

Firstly, our supplier of the 4-day forecast, Weather Commerce, prefer this format. As they provide this forecast on a complimentary basis to AvBrief Members it is not for us to complicate their systems by asking for other formats.

More generally, we provide our charts in two formats to suit the use involved. Gif files are provided for speed of download and ease of viewing on screen with a browser. But the gif format is poor for printing. Using the pdf format provides the best print quality.

Why do you not provide a U.K.Sferics Chart?

UK Sferics data is defined as Additional Data for the purposes of WMO Resolution 40. Unfortunately this means that we, as a commercial company, would have to pay for it. This in turn would mean increasing our subscription costs to cover the additional overheads.

There are a number of plots of sferics data already on the Internet for non-commercial use. We are therefore reluctant to buy what other people make available free and we feel that our subscribers would not welcome the increased subscription cost on this basis.

What does NDV mean in a METAR?

It means No Directional Variation. Usually seen when the issue of a METAR is done using an automated system. So it's a warning that, unlike a human observer, it's only going to look in one direction. Here is an example: LFRD 090900Z AUTO 22015KT 9999NDV OVC018 20/16 Q1015=

What does // mean in a METAR?

Again, usually seen within automated systems. The first // indicates that it doesn't report weather (e.g. BR, TS, SHRA).

What does COR mean in a METAR?

COR means a correction. These may appear if an observer realises that an error has been made. OR, some major Airports have a 'trend' added by a forecaster at the UKMO in Exeter, this then becomes a correction ie: COR

How do I access AvBrief OPMET using WAP on a mobile phone?

We provide a service using WAP in conjunction with GPRS. GPRS services are widely available across Europe. To access the AvBrief service you will need to use the following internet address:

How do I use the AvBrief WAP service?

See the FAQ just above this one regarding setting up the URL. The service allows you to enter a single ICAO code. That then calls the current METAR, short TAF and long TAF (if available for that airfield) in one pass thus greatly saving download times.

Background information on the AvBrief High Resolution precipitation radar data

The height of the radar echo varies with distance from the radar site and the details of the location and operation of the radar.

First the height of the rain echos will depend on the height of the radar antenna recording the data (antenna heights vary from 33 to 531 metres above sea level).

Also each radar does a series of 360 degree sweeps at various antenna elevations, the lowest normally being at 0.5 degrees above the horizontal (though this may vary at some sites due to local topography) and the highest is currently normally at 2.5 degrees (but again does vary at some sites). If the lowest elevation is 0.5 degrees the height of the rain echos will vary from the height of the radar antenna at the radar site to about 2500 metres plus the height of the radar antenna at a distance of 210 km from the radar site. The height of the 2.5 degree beam is about 8000 metres at 150 km range (plus the height of the radar antenna).

Most of the data supplied to customers uses the lowest beam data except for a small area very close to the radar when higher elevation data might be used if the lowest elevation data is contaminated by echoes from local topography, building, towers etc.

The full network for the Irish and British radar network (including the component provided by the States of Jersey) is drawn from 15 sites, made up of the following units:- (from north to south) (altitude of scanner head also noted).

- Beacon Hill/Druima' Starraig (Isle of Lewis/Scotland/UK) (96 m) - Hill of Dudwick (Gordon/Buchan area of NE Scotland/UK) (187 m) - Corse Hill (Strathclyde/SW Scotland/UK) (385 m) - Castor Bay (Lough Neagh/Lurgan/Northern Ireland/UK) (33 m) - Dublin (Republic of Ireland) (100 m) - Hameldon Hill (Lancashire side/central Pennines/England/UK) (405 m) - Ingham (Lincolnshire/England/UK) (84 m) - Shannon Airport (SW Ireland/Republic of Ireland) (26 m) - Clee Hill (Shropshire/England/UK) (531 m) - Crug y Gorllwyn (Ceredigion/SW Wales/UK) (337 m) - Chenies (southeast Chilterns/Hertfordshire/England/UK) (165 m) - Cobbacombe (NE Devon/England/UK) (304 m) - Wardon Hill (Dorset/England/UK) (255 m) - Predannack (Lizard peninsula/Cornwall/UK) (95 m) - Jersey/La Moye (Channel Islands/States of Jersey) (85 m)

Why are there times when there is a black circle instead of radar data?

Each of the black circles represents one radar station. If you watch an animation you will see that some of the black areas occasionally 'disappear'. That is because each radar station is not always present at the time of the collation of the data by the UKMO. The Met Office set a goal for individual stations to have an uptime of approximately 95%, with overlapping radar so that effects of one station offline are minimised. (95% availability still means being unavailable for 438 hours a year or approxiamtely 8 hours a week.)

Why do you not provide radar animations for the last 24 hours?

We provide various animations up to 8 hours duration. We hope that these are sufficient to show the trend of the activity or frontal conditions thus enabling you to judge the approximate speeds at which a front is moving.

The issue of supplying more images concerns bandwidth. If we offered a full days worth of radar (ie. 96 images), and had many simultaneous requests, this could temporarily slow down or restrict access to our Members for other services. It would also have cost implications as we would have to increase the bandwidth required.

Perhaps if we received many requests for an increased number of radar images, it would be worth considering increasing the subscription price to cover the cost of a dedicated server dealing solely with radar. However, as this is not presently the case, we have to strike a compromise.

Why do you not provide European Rainfall Radar?

It is possible for us to obtain a European (as opposed to UK) composite image, but the cost of this is just too prohibitive. We would need to increase our subscription charges dramatically to cover the additional charges. As we have had very little interest from our Members for the inclusion of European radar, we do not feel that the increase would be acceptable on this basis.

Why do you not provide a full day of Radar images?

Why do you not provide Historic Weather?

I'm afraid that we are only allowed to publish CURRENT weather on the AvBrief site. This is for safety purposes, eg: If we displayed historic data and a user failed to verify it's date and time, he/she may assume this to be current and therefore plan a flight based on untimely information. I shudder to think of the possible effects of a pilot basing a flight on (last week's) CAVOK metar, when today's actual is fog.

Why can't I see the radar animations?

Almost certainly this will be an issue with either your firewall settings, or a pop-up blocker or the settings in your browser. This, of course, assumes that other parts of the AvBrief site are accessible.

Do check that your browser has animations enabled, In MS Internet Explorer, go to 'tools/internet options/advance/multimedia' where you will find "Play animations in web pages".

Why do you not provide airfield contact telephone numbers?

Simply because this is not contained in the Aeronautical data that we receive. However, we do offer the facility for our users to add their own additional information to a particular airfield - the link is at the bottom of each individual airfield's information. This is gradually being populated with data and is proving to be a useful enhancement to the data already provided.

If you would like to add to this we would be grateful as will, I'm sure, our other members.

Why is there no Weather information available for smaller airports?

Why is there no issue time for the 4-day forecast?

This product is provided to us by Weather Commerce without charge. It was the only way we could offer a partial replacement to the old Met Office forecast without a steep increase in our Membership price. However, as a consequence, we have little or no control over the format.

Our recommendation is to check the outlook for the first day. If the forecast is current the first day of the forecast will be tomorrow.

The schedule for collecting the forecast is set for:1000Z, 1015Z, 1030Z, 1045Z and the same minutes from 1100Z.

Once retrieved, it will look for updates but will do nothing if the file is unchanged. In addition, WCL have the facility (as we do ourselves) to 'trigger' or force the download by sending an email to wxcom@avbrief.com with the subject line "4DF FTP Updates" and they often do that well before 0800Z

What is meant by the UTC Offset Time shown on your reports?

The data that we obtain from the EAD aeronautical database contains another time element called the UTC offset time. This is the adjustment that is made to UTC based on the longitude of the location with reference to East or West of the Greenwich Meridian.

Why do you not show local times?

In general all our data is reported against UTC as this is the standard for international aviation. The data that we obtain from the EAD aeronautical database contains another time element called the UTC offset time. This is the adjustment that is made to UTC based on the longitude of the location with reference to East or West of the Greenwich Meridian.

Local times are more difficult to calculate and keep track of and we do not provide this service on AvBrief. There are some good web sites that you can refer to and you may wish to look at http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

I use Netscape and am experiencing problems

Our site has been written for use with Internet Explorer as this is the most widely used browser. We've received several helpful comments from other Netscape users as follows:

Why can't I see the Banner Adverts?

Have you installed Norton Internet Security recently? If you have done something similar, please ensure that you haven't selected the Ad Blocking option. If so, turning this off will enable you to see the banner adverts on AvBrief again.

Are Royal Flights included in Notams?

Royal Flights are not 'advertised' as such and the old method of establishing a purple airway was disbanded, from recollection, some time ago.

The present system is to establish temporary Class A airspace without any specific mention of a Royal Flight and these do appear quite regularly in the Notams.

Please clarify the relationship between Navbox and AvBrief?

AvBrief registered Guests (free users) will have access to OPMET and NOTAMs from NavBox, whereas our Members (subscribers) will be able to use their software to access additional flight planning data.

In order to use the NavBox software please follow instructions on their website at www.navbox.nl You will need to enter your AvBrief login details to use it.

We aren't able to offer support for NavBox software however, and all queries should be addressed as per their contact information on their website or directly to support@navbox.nl or telephone +31-320-284359.

Where can I download graphical NOTAMs using AvBrief Data?

NotamPlot is the only product that uses our data. The Guest version only covers the U.K. while the AvBrief Member's version covers some of NW Europe. Please see other FAQ's regarding our relationship with NotamPlot.

Questions about potential new AvBrief services

3 day graphical forecasts for Europe

The present UK Forecast service takes the data feed from a supplier limiting us to UK only, but our plans are to take the feed direct, which should allow us continental coverage.

Can't you provide airfield information for the smaller GA airfields?

The data that feeds the airfield information on the AvBrief site is provided by EAD, The actual data provided is dependent on what is supplied by each individual nation State. Thus the gaps in the data, some of which are considerable, will be because of limited data provided by that State. We are unable to affect this data and any queries should be addressed directly to EAD at ead.service@eurocontrol.in

Will you provide services optimised for PDA access?

Yes, this is something that we are gradually building up. You can use any of the AvBrief services by opening a new window in your browser and taking note of the URL. Here is a list of URLs that you can use directly from your PDA.

We would welcome your fedback on the type of services you would like to see via support@avbrief.com

Will you be offering IFR plates online?

Regarding instrument approach plates, we receive steady interest in this service and all suggestions are being noted. We are actively pursuing the possibility of offering IFR plates but it is too early to able to forecast when this service might be released. If you would like to discuss this in further detail, please contact our Sales Director at paul@avbrief.com

Otherwise, please rest assured that we are doing our best to offer this service in the future.

Will you be offering SMS?

We used to provide a temporary test SMS service but couldn't afford to maintain this as all the revenues produced went to 3rd party SMS gateways. We spent quite some time seeing if we could be our own SMS gateway but the costs involved were prohibitive.

The challenge for us is that spending valuable time developing an SMS service that neither produces any direct revenues nor requires the user to be an AvBrief Member just doesn't make any business sense frown

Using AvBrief with NotamPlot

How can I download NotamPlot from the AvBrief site?

The answer is that you cannot. AvBrief are providing the NOTAM data to NotamPlot for use with their software, rather than hosting their software on our site. You will need to go to the NotamPlot website found here to download the software.

I am a NotamPlot user but it won't download the NOTAM data

How do I get support for NotamPlot when used with the AvBrief data

NotamPlot is not an AvBrief produce or service thus support queries will have to be directed to Ian Fallon. Details of the support available from Ian Fallon is described on the NotamPlot website found here.

There seems to be an error regarding NOTAM display on NotamPlot

If you do not have access to the AvBrief briefing services as a Member then your only option is to report the fault to Ian Fallon of NotamPlot. However, if you are an AvBrief Member then we recommend cross-checking the NOTAM output on the AvBrief site. If you believe that the data issue lies with us then please send an email to faults@avbrief.com

Does NotamPlot provide a graphical NOTAM report?

Yes, the Guest version covers the UK while the AvBrief Member's version covers some of NW Europe. For further information please contact NotamPlot at here.

I haven't used NotamPlot for a while and can't get NOTAM data.

If either we find that your UserID is associated with an invalid email address or you ask to be taken off the Newsletter mailing list, our system will automatically remove your UserID. In addition we purge our Guest database and remove all those who do not use our service in the last 90 days.

Modifying personal access items

How do I change my e-mail address?

This can be done via the "Query your Account" link on the home page or directly from here.

How do I change my password?

This can be done via the "Query your Account" link on the home page or directly from here.

Can I change my User ID?

Once a user has registered, the User ID is set in concrete. The whole plan is to remove confusion. A user may well need to change an email address from time to time but it is important that something stays constant, i.e. the User ID. It could get extremely complicated if a user has multiple IDs; if a subscription were then made, we wouldn't know which User ID to credit. Also, the rigidity of the User ID provides a level of access security that is very important to our subscribers. I'm afraid therefore that you will need to continue with your existing User ID.

Frequently Asked Questions

Summary

Using these FAQs

There doesn't appear to be a search function

The FAQs didn't answer my question

Does the FAQ service mean that you are reducing levels of customer support?

The FAQs do not seem to be geared for Business Members of AvBrief. Why is this?

AvBrief's support policies

Support for Guest users of AvBrief

Support for private Members of AvBrief

Support for corporate Members of AvBrief

About AvBrief

Does AvBrief conform to recognised standards?

Why should I pay for aviation data that should be made available for free to pilots?

What are your Terms and Condition of use?

Do you divulge personal data to third parties?

Why should I use AvBrief?

I'm not sure if AvBrief is right for me. Do you offer a free trial?

What's the difference between Guest (free) and Member (subscription) services?

Can I give a subscription as a gift?

Why do you provide free services?

Corporate use of AvBrief

It is not clear whether my use of AvBrief is personal or commercial

Do you offer special terms for Flying Clubs?

We are a private group that would like group access to AvBrief

I am not a pilot but would like to subscribe to the rainfall radar data

What's the difference between your Radar data that I have to pay for and that obtainable from other sites for free?

Why don't you supply Airport information such is contained in Pooleys, Bottlang, or AFE?

Why do you occasionally use Standard Responses?

Gaining access to AvBrief

How do I register to use AvBrief?

I've just registered with AvBrief and still can't get access

Paying by credit of debit card but not via WorldPay

Paying by cheque

Will I receive a receipt?

I want a refund!

Why don't you have an automatic Resubscription process?

Password and Access Queries

I've lost/forgotten my password. Help!

I'm not able to download the 4-day forecast

I'm having problems accessing the AvBrief site. Where could I be going wrong?

I have forgotten my UserID

I'm having a problem paying with the WorldPay system. Why? How else can I pay?

I've paid. Why am I still being denied access to chargeable areas of AvBrief?

I think my Membership has expired but I didn't get any reminders

I have been a Guest user for some time and now can't get access to AvBrief

I am having Login Problems - authorisation box is missing

I am having Login Problems - cookies.

How do I log-in to the Member's Forums? (I have recently subscribed)

Other potential problems with AvBrief

I have found an error in the airfield information

Questions about existing AvBrief services

I don't remember ICAO codes for airfields. How can I look them up?

Why are the UK Airfield graphical forecasts sometimes inaccurate?

Why don't you store Aerodrome Charts?

When may I expect to be able to view the latest OPMET?

When are TAFs issued by the UK Met Office?

What are the timings for the Surface Analysis Model Charts?

What are the timings for the T+24 Surface Forecast Model Charts?

What are the timings for the Mean Sea Level Pressure (MSLP) & Thickness Model Charts?

What are the new Timings for Low-level Significent Weather Charts Form(215) and Form(415)

What are the new Timings for Spotwind Charts Form(214) and Form(414)

What is the definition of 'low cloud' in the UK Airfield Forecast?

Why are some of the options not available under the Route Briefing service?

Why do I need Adobe Reader for the 4-day forecast and other chart products?

Why do you not provide a U.K.Sferics Chart?

What does NDV mean in a METAR?

What does // mean in a METAR?

What does COR mean in a METAR?

How do I access AvBrief OPMET using WAP on a mobile phone?

How do I use the AvBrief WAP service?

Background information on the AvBrief High Resolution precipitation radar data

Why are there times when there is a black circle instead of radar data?

Why do you not provide radar animations for the last 24 hours?

Why do you not provide European Rainfall Radar?

Why do you not provide a full day of Radar images?

Why do you not provide Historic Weather?

Why can't I see the radar animations?

Why do you not provide airfield contact telephone numbers?

Why is there no Weather information available for smaller airports?