US does nice 12, 24, 36, 48 hr Adds Progs, (and a ton of other stuff we don't get) -- plus they don't cut it off at the border.
Cm'on NavCan. Is there THAT much issue with liability not to extend the GFA's across borders so we can see where the cold front extends to, ect....and what's coming, without having to squint to use the U.S. product?
While I'm asking, another 12 hours would be nice, too..........
How dare you question Nav Can. Pay your expensive fees and shut up.
They would just be happy to collect their fees and not evolve at all. They don't even have a wx app, website has been the same for a decade, and if you live in Southern Ontario and use GFA's just throw a lawn dart in the air and see if it hits you in the head.
I have no knowledge of transparency or oversight of Navcan but from the outside looking in it smells Orngeish(is public money involved in navcan?). There's no doubt it takes a hell of a person todo an IFR contollers job but I'm getting sick of my buddies bragging about how much money they make and the unlimited overtime taking home 150-200k. Not to mention full benefits, amazing pension, great job security.
It's time to put pressure on those greedy bastards.
Who says Nav Canada actually even make those? It's too expensive to hire full time meteorological staff these days!
It's all contracted out to the government folks at Environment Canada who do it for dirty cheap!
Ever wondered why those pesky TAF or GFAs are never nearly close to being within spitting distance of barely being accurate? Well I know Nav Canada doesn't care either!
Oh and what does a meteorologist sitting out in the prairie city of Edmonton know how weather works in the mountains (or hills) of British Columbia and yet they make some disastrously inaccurate predictions!
It's your fault for relying on a single service for weather planning and who cares if there's an app, we don't need apps anymore that phones can easily run websites now. Why does the page layout need to be updated? it works great and doesn't take hours to load.
Rookie50 wrote:Cm'on NavCan. Is there THAT much issue with liability not to extend the GFA's across borders so we can see where the cold front extends to, ect....and what's coming, without having to squint to use the U.S. product?
Navcan buys weather forecasting from Environment Canada. I have emailed Navcanada before (mine was make the GFA graphic bigger) with random suggestions and they usually respond within two days, although whether or not they actually do anything is a separate matter.
Aeroplane17 wrote:(is public money involved in navcan?)
No, Navcan is a private non-profit corporation (Not even a Crown corporation) so it doesn't get taxpayer money. (That's why the fees are so high!)
Unfortunately small operators and private flyers don't figure so highly into their governance.
Navcanada Website wrote:The Board of Directors is comprised of 15 Directors, all of whom must be Canadian citizens:
•four Directors elected by commercial carriers through the National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC);
•one Director elected by business and general aviation through the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA);
•three Directors elected by the Government of Canada;
•two Directors elected by employee unions;
•four independent Directors elected by the Board through the Director member; and
•the Chief Executive Officer.
praveen4143 wrote:Oh and what does a meteorologist sitting out in the prairie city of Edmonton know how weather works in the mountains (or hills) of British Columbia and yet they make some disastrously inaccurate predictions!
I know! You'd think forecasting would be a scientific based system and that meteorologists would be experts in things like geography. At least they should be required to have some formal education like a university degree.
I'm not happy at all with the inconsistency of the NavCan briefers. Some (most actually) are excellent and will walk you through the frontal systems approaching, with various levels but a general degree of big picture competency -- partcularly useful is the speed and intensity -- a couple are amazing in their understanding of weather --- but a few literally will not quote anything beyond what is on the current TAF / Metar. Nothing. Call back tommorrow. No models, no frontal discussion, nothing.
You know what -- that's mediocre to the extreme -- horrible service. You can do better, and you should be ashamed to collect your pay.
Rookie50 wrote:but a few literally will not quote anything beyond what is on the current TAF / Metar. Nothing. Call back tommorrow. No models, no frontal discussion, nothing.
Its been a long time since I used an actual briefer, but that was my experience as well. Many of them could simply only read you a TAF or whats on the GFA, like they didn't have much actual weather knowledge. That's not to say all of them though..
Although I do have to say the GFA product to me seems much better and I prefer them over the PROGs in the States. Much more detail info and better presentation, IMHO anyway.
Aeroplane17 wrote:
I have no knowledge of transparency or oversight of Navcan but from the outside looking in it smells Orngeish(is public money involved in navcan?). There's no doubt it takes a hell of a person todo an IFR contollers job but I'm getting sick of my buddies bragging about how much money they make and the unlimited overtime taking home 150-200k. Not to mention full benefits, amazing pension, great job security.
It's time to put pressure on those greedy bastards.
What does any IFR controller have anything to do with GFA's?
All of this talk out GFAs me nostalgic for the old textual FAs where you always wished that Vanna White would show up so you could buy a vowel
I finally figured out that the secret was to read them out loud as written, which made it all the more fun, what with sounding like a raving lunatic....
HiFlyChick wrote:All of this talk out GFAs me nostalgic for the old textual FAs where you always wished that Vanna White would show up so you could buy a vowel
I finally figured out that the secret was to read them out loud as written, which made it all the more fun, what with sounding like a raving lunatic....
The RMK section of the METARs sometimes have puzzling made-up abbreviations that require some head-scratching to decipher.
Thanks -- that will definitely come in useful in future! Why can't navcanada put a link to that somewhere? It would save a lot of head scratching and guesswork.
