DUATS

Last updated

Direct User Access Terminal Service (DUATS) was a weather information and flight plan processing service contracted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for use by United States civil pilots and other authorized users. The DUAT Service was a telephone- and Internet-based system which allowed the pilot to use a personal computer for access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database to obtain weather and aeronautical information and to file, amend, and cancel domestic IFR and VFR flight plans. DUATS provided direct access to weather information via a National Airspace System (NAS) Data Interchange Network II (NADIN-II) interface to the Weather Message Switching Center Replacement (WMSCR) System and the Air traffic control (ATC) Facilities for filing flight plans. The pilot users could interface DUAT Services via the FTS-2001 toll free telephone numbers or via an Internet Interface into the Contractor's Facility. The service could be accessed by direct dial (using a terminal emulator like HyperTerminal), and the Internet via Telnet or HTTP.

Contents

The last DUATS service contractor was CSRA, formerly known as Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC).

Some commonly used services that DUATS provided were flight planning, flight plan filing and closing, and retrieving aviation weather, both alphanumeric and graphic, and NOTAM information, although the full list was much longer. DUATS was available free of charge to all registered U.S. pilots and student pilots who hold a current medical certificate, as well as flight instructors, ground instructors, glider and balloon pilots, and other members of the aviation community.

The FAA announced that DUATS would shut down effective May 16, 2018, recommending the 1800wxbrief.com website as an alternative. [1] However, widespread adoption of EFB (Electronic flight bag) mobile applications has largely replaced functions provided by the service. The duats.com website is defunct, the domain name now owned by a promotional service.

DUATS Functions

Flight Restrictions

DUATS could display Temporary Flight Restrictions in both textual and graphical format.

Weather Briefings

DUATS provided complete standard, outlook, or abbreviated weather briefings. These briefings were the same quality as, and could substitute for, those received from a Flight Service Station. Standard briefings are used when a flight is expected to take place within 8 hours, and include all weather and NOTAM information applicable for that flight. Outlook briefings are applicable when a flight is planned for more than 8 hours in the future, and includes expected weather conditions at that time. Abbreviated briefings could be requested when a standard briefing had already been received and a pilot only needs to know if there have been any changes or updates.

Weather Graphics

DUATS offered weather graphics including surface analyses, satellite imagery, NEXRAD radar, and forecasts up to 72 hours into the future.

Flight Planner

One of DUATS most-used features was its flight planning system. Designed for ease of use, the flight planner required only six inputs (departure airport, destination airport, cruise altitude, aircraft profile, route of aircraft, and departure time) to calculate a complete navigation log. The navigation log included:

Example of a simple DUATS navigation log

---+--------+---------+-----|                        |------  1. Waypoint 1              |                        |           Waypoint location       |--------+----+---+------|           Latitude Longitude  Alt | Route             Fuel |       ---+--------+---------+-----| Winds   Crs  TAS  Time |------  2. Waypoint 2              | Temp    Hdg   GS  Dist |           Waypoint location       |--------+----+---+------|           Latitude Longitude  Alt |                        |       ---+--------+---------+-----|                        |------

Airport Diagrams

Downloadable airport diagrams were available via a link from the main DUATS page.

Stored Aircraft Profiles

DUATS could store data on a particular type of airplane that the user generally flies so it could be used for flight planning purposes.

Flight Plan Filing

Once a flight plan was entered, it could be sent directly into the FAA flight plan database using DUATS. After a VFR flight was completed, DUATS could also be used to report the flight plan as closed to the FAA.

Stored Routes

A flight plan could be entered and then stored to be flown later.

Encode and Decode Contractions

DUATS could display the identifier for an airport or navaid given the name, and the name given the identifier. It could also take a standard contraction and give the plain English definition.

Profile

DUATS could also store required information about a pilot and then enter it automatically when filing a flight plan.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instrument flight rules</span> Civil aviation regulations for flight on instruments

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air traffic control</span> Public service provided for the purpose of maintaining the safe and orderly flow of air traffic

Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airspace. The primary purpose of ATC worldwide is to prevent collisions, organize and expedite the flow of air traffic, and provide information and other support for pilots.

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Articles related to aviation include:

Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as outer space which is the expanse or space outside the Earth and aerospace which is the general term for Earth's atmosphere and the outer space within the planet's vicinity. History:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flight plan</span> Document filed by a pilot or flight dispatcher indicating the aircrafts flight path

Flight plans are documents filed by a pilot or flight dispatcher with the local Air Navigation Service Provider prior to departure which indicate the plane's planned route or flight path. Flight plan format is specified in ICAO Doc 4444. They generally include basic information such as departure and arrival points, estimated time en route, alternate airports in case of bad weather, type of flight, the pilot's information, number of people on board, and information about the aircraft itself. In most countries, flight plans are required for flights under IFR, but may be optional for flying VFR unless crossing international borders. Flight plans are highly recommended, especially when flying over inhospitable areas such as water, as they provide a way of alerting rescuers if the flight is overdue. In the United States and Canada, when an aircraft is crossing the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), either an IFR or a special type of VFR flight plan called a DVFR flight plan must be filed. For IFR flights, flight plans are used by air traffic control to initiate tracking and routing services. For VFR flights, their only purpose is to provide needed information should search and rescue operations be required, or for use by air traffic control when flying in a "Special Flight Rules Area."

A Notice to Airmen/Notice to Air Men/Notice to Airman/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 notices or advisories that contain information concerning the establishment, conditions or change in any aeronautical facility, service, procedure or hazard, the timely knowledge of which may be essential to personnel and systems concerned with flight operations. NOTAMs are created and transmitted by government agencies and airport operators under guidelines specified by Annex 15: Aeronautical Information Services of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (CICA). A NOTAM is filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots of any hazards en route or at a specific location, or Flight Information Region. The authority, in turn, provides a means of disseminating relevant NOTAMs to pilots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flight service station</span>

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 providing separation. They do, however, relay clearances from ATC for departure or approaches. The people who communicate with pilots from an FSS are referred to as flight service specialists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flight planning</span>

Flight planning is the process of producing a flight plan to describe a proposed aircraft flight. It involves two safety-critical aspects: fuel calculation, to ensure that the aircraft can safely reach the destination, and compliance with air traffic control requirements, to minimise the risk of midair collision. In addition, flight planners normally wish to minimise flight cost through the appropriate choice of route, height, and speed, and by loading the minimum necessary fuel on board. Air Traffic Services (ATS) use the completed flight plan for separation of aircraft in air traffic management services, including tracking and finding lost aircraft, during search and rescue (SAR) missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada Flight Supplement</span> Canadian airport directory

The Canada Flight Supplement (CFS) is a joint civil/military publication and is a supplement of the Aeronautical Information Publication. It is the nation's official airport directory. It contains information on all registered Canadian and certain Atlantic aerodromes and certified airports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NetSys</span> South African–based company providing services to airlines

NetSys International (Pty) Ltd. is a South African–based company, specialising in solutions for the weather and aviation industries.

In aviation, a standard terminal arrival (STAR) is a published flight procedure followed by aircraft on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan just before reaching a destination airport.

An aeronautical chart is a map designed to assist in the navigation of aircraft, much as nautical charts do for watercraft, or a roadmap does for drivers. Using these charts and other tools, pilots are able to determine their position, safe altitude, best route to a destination, navigation aids along the way, alternative landing areas in case of an in-flight emergency, and other useful information such as radio frequencies and airspace boundaries. There are charts for all land masses on Earth, and long-distance charts for trans-oceanic travel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Approach plate</span> Publication of an aircraft landing procedure

Approach plates are the printed or digital charts of instrument approach procedures that pilots use to fly instrument approaches during instrument flight rules (IFR) operations. Each country maintains its own instrument approach procedures according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

Standard instrument departure (SID) routes, also known as departure procedures (DP), are published flight procedures followed by aircraft on an IFR flight plan immediately after takeoff from an airport.

The Capstone Program was a United States government-funded aviation safety program for the state of Alaska, primarily focusing on rural areas of the state. This joint effort – between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Alaska Pilot's Association, commercial operators, the University of Alaska, MITRE Corporation, some avionics manufacturers and individual pilots – cut the accident rate in the eastern part of Alaska by around 40%.

L-3 SmartDeck - is a fully integrated cockpit system originally developed by L-3 Avionics Systems. and acquired in 2010 by Esterline CMC Electronics through an exclusive licensing agreement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast</span> Aircraft surveillance technology

Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) is a surveillance technology and form of Electronic Conspicuity in which an aircraft determines its position via satellite navigation or other sensors and periodically broadcasts it, enabling it to be tracked. The information can be received by air traffic control ground stations as a replacement for secondary surveillance radar, as no interrogation signal is needed from the ground. It can also be transmitted and received point-to-point by other aircraft to provide situational awareness and allow self-separation. ADS-B is "automatic" in that it requires no pilot or external input. It is "dependent" in that it depends on data from the aircraft's navigation system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stevens Field</span> Airport

Stevens Field is a public-use, general aviation airport located three miles northwest of the central business district of Pagosa Springs in Archuleta County, Colorado, United States. It is publicly owned by Archuleta County. It has no air traffic control tower or commercial passenger services, but it does have a fixed base operator (FBO), and it is popular among light sport and general aviation aircraft doing cross country flights, where the airport serves as an GA-friendly waypoint, refueling stop, and pilot rest/sleep opportunity. Its address is 61 Aviation Ct, Pagosa Springs, CO.

AirNav.com is a privately owned website for pilots and aviation enthusiasts. The site publishes aeronautical and airport information released by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) such as runway distances, airfield traffic patterns, airport frequencies, airport operations, facilities and services, chart location, navigational coordinates and locations, radio aids, ownership information and other pertinent information that all pilots need when traveling into or out of an airport or around the United States National Airspace System (NAS). The same information is published in the Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD), updated every 56 days.

ForeFlight is an electronic flight bag for iOS and iPadOS devices designed to assist pilots and corporate flight departments with flight planning. It includes information about facilities such as airports, NAVAIDs, and air traffic control facilities. It also aids pilots in tasks including flight planning, weather monitoring, and document management, as well as an electronic logbook to help pilots record flight time. The United States, Canada, and Europe are supported regions. The company was founded in 2007 and has since been purchased by Boeing.

References

  1. "FAA to end DUATS service May 16". 14 March 2018.