Hello and thanks for reading the 37th edition of EZNews!
We really appreciate those that have recently joined, renewed their annual membership or signed up for auto-renewal. A special shout out goes out to Michael H. and Deb G. who renewed for $75 as well as Louis O. and Russ I. who both renewed their membership for $100 this past month. We truly appreciate your generosity which helps support our continued innovation and growth moving forward.
For members new to EZWxBrief, you won't find EZWxBrief in the App Store or Google Play Store. For the best user experience, EZWxBrief is optimized to run as a progressive web app (PWA) and must be installed on your device which takes less than 10 seconds per device. Follow the link to the blog post above or see the 140+ page Pilots Guide for more information on how to install EZWxBrief as a PWA on all of your devices. Also check out our playlist on YouTube for some helpful videos on how to use the various features found in EZWxBrief.
Weather Essentials for Pilots recordings are on sale!
If you were not able to attend the live Weather Essentials for Pilots class that finished on March 25th, you now have the option to purchase all of the recordings from this live 12-week course. Click here to purchase your copy! This summary guide that you will download upon purchase includes the following -
Table of contents
Hyperlinks to the twelve unlisted video recordings of each class
Hyperlinks to a PDF containing the slides for each class
Hyperlinks to each quiz and quiz answers for each class
This is provided for your personal use only. Please do not share this PDF or post it online. We appreciate your cooperation.
"Who's who in Aviation & Weather" YouTube series continues...
We had a great time chatting with Mark Robidoux. Mark has been a valuable asset to the aviation community as the founder and president of PilotWorkshops.com. He has been able to attract a very large community of general aviation pilots that brings an effective online learning environment taught through the eyes and ears of some very talented flight instructors. You can watch this episode here.
This YouTube program will bring you the latest news and insights from the top minds in the aviation and weather industries. With a focus on weather, each month we'll feature interviews with leading experts on topics such as air traffic control, flight safety, forecasting, flight instruction and more. We'll also explore the latest trends and developments in these fields, and provide you with the information you need to stay ahead of the learning curve. So join us every four to six weeks as we explore the latest news and trends in these two fascinating industries.
Stay tuned for our next live program on June 6th at 2 pm EDT as we chat with David St. George. David is the executive director of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators better known as SAFE. We'll explore the challenges CFIs face in today's connected world and chat about the addition of more weather requirements in the CFI-ACS. We also look forward to chatting with Matt Johnson in July. Matt is an EMS helicopter pilot and DPE located in Ohio. We'll talk with him about the unique aspects of flying a helicopter in adverse weather. On the schedule for August is Rich Stowell. Rich is a recognized subject matter expert in loss of control in light airplanes, the 2014 National FAA Safety Team Rep of the Year, and the 2006 National Flight Instructor of the Year.
> How to watch <
The program will be hosted live on EZWxBrief's YouTube channel. If you cannot attend live, the episodes are recorded and will become available on the same channel shortly after the live broadcast ends. You can also find them in the Who's Who in Aviation & Weather playlist. The exact date and time for future episodes will be announced through this blog and will appear on the EZWxBrief YouTube community page.
SUN 'n FUN was a blast (literally)!
We are really excited about being chosen this year to participate as an exhibitor in the inaugural Innovation Showcase. This was held at the 50th annual SUN 'n FUN event in Lakeland, Florida. This means that EZWxBrief was highlighted as a product that has contributed to safety within the aviation community for its unique and innovative approach to preflight planning.
The weather was outstanding just about every day of the event, but we did get to experience severe convection rolling through the Lakeland area ahead of a strong cold front on Thursday afternoon. A line of severe storms dropped heavy rain and blasted the event grounds with strong, gusty straight-line winds. Unfortunately, the downpour of rain over a two hour period flooded the Innovation Showcase tent and the strong winds weakened one of the walls. The water also knocked out power to our booth. Nevertheless, power was restored the following day and we began to dry out a bit. Prior to the storms arriving, the EZWxBrief booth was a humming with attendees and other vendors wondering how bad it was supposed to get.
It was great to see a few of you there at the booth as we were demonstrating EZWxBrief v2.0 all week. Many of you also attended several of Scott's eight presentations during the event. If you missed us at SUN 'n FUN, we look forward to seeing you again in July at AirVenture in Oshkosh. More to come in a future EZNewsletter.
Termination of TAF for Troy, Alabama
The NWS is proposing termination of the Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) at Troy, Alabama (KTOI). Over the past several years, airport statistics show that aircraft operations per day are mainly from nearby Fort Novosel. The proposed termination date for KTOI TAF is June 25, 2024.
Canadian GFAs have been discontinued
On Tuesday, April 9, 2024. NavCanada no longer provides access to the GFA imagery. As a result Canadian GFAs have been removed from the static imagery in the app until a suitable replacement is found.
New static imagery added
If you visit the static weather imagery in EZWxBrief, you will notice new forecast guidance from the High Resolution Ensemble Forecast (HREF) model like the image shown below. This is a calibrated probability of at least one cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning strike within 12 miles of a point over the forecast period, in this case one hour. The forecast probabilities are calibrated to be statistically reliable based on CG lightning strikes recorded by the National Lightning Detection Network during the period from 2017-2019. Keep in mind this is a period of one hour such that it will be fairly rare for the probabilities to be 80% or greater even during extreme convective weather events. Also note that this is not a forecast for precipitation, but a forecast for convection. There will likely be areas of non-convective precipitation that is not represented by this forecast guidance.
EZWxBrief v2.0 update
Great news! We are targeting the release of EZWxBrief v2.0 for the end of May. Look for several emails and blog posts to be sent in the next three weeks that will announce the availability of EZWxBrief v2.0. This will include release notes and instructions on how to migrate to this new version. Moreover, during the time the new version is released, EZWxBrief will be taken down for several hours and will be unavailable.
There have been a lot of changes that will address much of the feedback that we've received over the last three years. We look forward to hearing from you about your initial impressions of EZWxBrief v2.0! And we look forward to more innovation with your help and contributions in the coming years.
Most pilots are weatherwise, but some are otherwise™
Dr. Scott Dennstaedt
Weather Systems Engineer
Founder, EZWxBrief™
CFI & former NWS meteorologist
