Flight service station

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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. The people who communicate with pilots from an FSS are referred to as specialists rather than controllers, although in the US, FSS specialists' official job title is air traffic control specialist - station.

The precise services offered by stations vary by country, but typical FSS services may include providing preflight briefings including weather and notices to airmen (NOTAMs); filing, opening, and closing flight plans; monitoring navigational aids (NAVAIDs); collecting and disseminating pilot reports (PIREPs); offering traffic advisories to aircraft on the ground or in flight; relaying instructions or clearances from air traffic control; and providing assistance in an emergency. In many countries, flight service stations also operate at mandatory frequency airports to help co-ordinate traffic in the absence of air traffic controllers, and may take over a control tower frequency at a controlled airport when the tower is closed.

In most cases, it is possible to reach flight service stations either by radio in flight, or by telephone on the ground. Recently, some countries, such as Canada and the United States, have been consolidating flight services into large regional centres, replacing former local flight service stations with remote communications outlets (RCOs) connected to the centres.

Flight services in different countries

Flight services in the United States

The United States Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) national toll-free number is, 800-WX-BRIEF (+1-800-992-7433) and the service is free of charge both on the ground and in the air. The United States AFSS common radio frequency is 122.2 MHz. Although not all RCOs have 122.2 MHz, coverage should be available above 5,000 ft (1,500 m) over most of the US However, it is recommended to consult directories, charts or databases to find the discrete frequency of the nearest FSS outlet while in flight. Both AFSS and ATC monitors the emergency frequency, 121.5 MHz. During daytime and evening hours, AFSS offers a service called flight watch on frequency 122.0 MHz and on discrete high altitude frequencies, offering a restricted set of AFSS services (including en route hazardous weather updates and PIREPS). A few select locations in the conterminous 48 states have Remote Airport Advisory (RAA) services provided by AFSS either full-time or during hours that a control tower is closed. AFSS in the US no longer monitor navigational aids, having re-routed the monitoring to either control towers or technical personnel.

On February 1, 2005, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded a contract for the services provided by the 58 AFSSs in the Continental United States, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii to the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Lockheed Martin assumed responsibility for providing AFSS flight services on October 4, 2005. With continued FAA oversight, Lockheed Martin maintains deliverance of flight services according to the Agency's strict safety and service requirements.

Each week, Flight Service Specialists help provide a range of services to between 80,000 and 90,000 members of general aviation community. On behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration, Lockheed Martin operates 10 flight services stations and three hubs across the country and consolidation will be complete by 2010. AFSS provides users of the National Airspace System - from Hawaii to Puerto Rico to every state in the contiguous US - with:

• Pre-flight, In-flight, operational and special services
• En route communications
• Search and rescue
• Pre-flight and in-flight meteorological and aeronautical briefings
• Development, translation, processing and coordination of aeronautical, meteorological and aviation information
• Support of air shows, conventions and other aviation events

Flight services in Canada

In Canada, some FSS monitor the frequency 126.7 MHz, which is also the common en route frequency for flight in Canada, as well as 121.5 MHz, the emergency frequency. However, Canadian Flight Services are gradually no longer monitoring 126.7 MHz, instead offering unique frequencies at busier airports. These frequencies are found in the Canada Flight Supplement. On the ground, pilots can reach a flight service station toll-free by calling 866-WX-BRIEF (+1-866-992-7433) from Canada, the United States, Mexico, or the Caribbean. Unlike in the United States, pilots are required to file flight plans (or flight itineraries) for non-local flights in Canada, and flight plans are opened automatically at the planned time of departure; as a result, flight service stations play a prominent role managing those flight plans, collecting position reports from pilots en route, and attempting to locate pilots who have not closed flight plans (and initiating search and rescue operations when necessary). There is no per-use charge for flight services, but aircraft owners are required to pay an annual fee to NAV CANADA to support all air traffic services, both FSS and air traffic control (for a light private aircraft, the fee is approximately CAD 70/year). Foreign aircraft entering Canada are sometimes billed a partial fee.

Canada has many mandatory frequency airports, which have enough traffic to justify special rules, but not enough to justify a control tower. Many of these airports have an onsite FSS that pilots are required to contact, while others have Remote Airport Advisory Services (RAAS) controlled by an FSS in a different location. Rarely, an airport will have Mandatory Frequency Area rules, but no ground station.

Until 1996, the Canadian federal government operated all air traffic services (FSS and air traffic control) through Transport Canada, a government department. Currently, a private non-profit corporation, NAV CANADA, operates both FSS and air traffic control, and have significantly modernized the system while at the same time, have replaced some local FSS with large centralized Flight Information Centres (FIC), which provide the standard FSS services. The remaining flight service stations are now classified as airport advisory sites; they can provide airport advisories, vehicle control, weather observations, clearance delivery, local weather information, and some provide Remote Airport Advisory Services. These remaining stations generally have limited hours, limited personnel and are no longer responsible for flight planning, except for sending departure and arrival messages to the appropriate FIC. The FIC's have assumed the responsibility for flight plans, filing, inflight alerting, flight plan closures and interpretive weather briefings. The FIC's also have large areas they are overseeing and have networks of RCO's, some of which are co-located with advisory sites. The FIC's are similar in function and scope to the FAAs automated FSS system in the United States. North Bay FIC is tied into the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) North Warning System (NWS) radar system, and has a network of 23 RCO's located across Canada's Arctic coast. The 3 northern hubs also assist and oversee the "Community Airport Radio Station" (CARS) program.

External links

• Lockheed Martin AFSS
• Flight Services 7110.10T
• Quick Reference Card
• US Aeronautical Information Manual, Section 4-1-3. 2006

References