• Distribute high-quality satellite imagery received by the NWS to FSSs and other users to make appropriate use of this resource.
• Reprogram dissemination systems to retain and report data, including pilot reports, long enough for users to determine trends en route and at their destinations. For some remote regions, it may be prudent to retain data for extended periods of time (with the caveat that it may be out of date) rather than to dump old data as soon as it exceeds a preset retention period. Routine purging of data may make sense in a data-rich environment, but it can be counterproductive in regions where the primary source of information is unscheduled observations, such as pilot reports.

In the Alaskan aviation community, hand-held VHF aviation transceivers are more common than modem-equipped computers. Thus, in regions such as Alaska, information dissemination schemes that rely on radio transmissions are more likely to be widely useful than computer-based systems such as the Direct User Access Terminal Service.

Berman, B. 1995. Personal communication from Benjamin A. Berman, National Transportation Safety Board, to Alan Angleman, January 18, 1995.

DOT (Department of Transportation). 1994. Air Traffic Control Corporation Study—Report of the Executive Oversight Committee to the Department of Transportation. Washington, D.C.: DOT.

DOTPF (Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities). 1995. White Paper on Weather by the State Aviation Weather Station Program.

FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). 1994. Aviation Weather System Plan. Washington, D.C.: FAA.

Kelley, H., et al. 1995. Operations and research utilizing polar satellite data for airborne volcanic ash discrimination. Pp. 98–100 in Sixth Conference on Aviation Weather Systems, held January 15–20, 1995 in Dallas, Texas. Boston: American Meteorological Society.

Lamb, M., and S. Baker. 1995. Flight hazards of microscale mountain weather. Pp. 128–129 in Sixth Conference on Aviation Weather Systems, held January 15–20, 1995 in Dallas, Texas. Boston: American Meteorological Society.

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). 1993. Automated Surface Observing System Guide for Pilots. Washington, D.C.: NOAA.

NWS (National Weather Service). 1994. Weather Service Operations Manual. Chapter D-21, Aviation Terminal Forecasts. July 11, 1994. Silver Spring, MD: NWS.

RAA (Regional Airline Association). 1995. 1995 Annual Report of the Regional Airline Association. Washington, D.C.: RAA.

Front Matter (R1-R10)

Summary (1-8)

Chapter 1: Introduction (9-13)

Chapter 2: Current Roles and Missions (14-21)

Chapter 3: Current Services (22-40)

Chapter 4: Research and Development (41-47)

Chapter 5: Regional Requirements (48-51)

Chapter 6: Future Roles and Missions (52-60)

Chapter 7: The First Step (61-62)

Appendix A: Summary of Findings and Recommendations (63-68)

Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members (69-71)

Appendix C: Participants in Committee Meetings (72-73)

Appendix D: Reference Documents for Current Roles and Missions (74-81)

Appendix E: ASOS Assessment (82-85)

Appendix F: General Aviation Flight Scenarios—1994 and 2015 (86-89)

Appendix G: Federal Funding (90-92)

Appendix H: Research Documents and Organizations (93-95)

Appendix I: Detailed Assessment of User Needs in Alaska (96-106)

Appendix J: Alternative Approaches for Improving Aviation Weather Services and Research (107-109)