We got our day to grill Lockheed Martin about Flight Service. The takeaway is to expect some new preflight services in the future, but no relief on some common gripes.
Flight Service Responds
For those of you who havent been following our little IFR soap opera with Lockheed Martin over Flight Service, heres the nutshell summary: We visited the under-construction Virginia hub of LMs Flight Service in 2006. It looked promising. We looked again in 2008 after the program fell on its face and was working to resurrect itself.
Key Takeaways:
- Lockheed Martin's Flight Service is expected to introduce new preflight services in the future, but common pilot frustrations and gripes are unlikely to be resolved.
- There's a significant disconnect between Lockheed Martin's favorable performance metrics (based on FAA contracts and some pilot surveys) and the perceived utility and satisfaction among more experienced pilots.
- Persistent issues like tedious readbacks for clearances/PIREPs and the perceived loss of local weather knowledge will continue, largely due to operational requirements and an antiquated communication system between FAA and FSS.
- A previously promised interactive internet briefing portal was canceled, though Lockheed Martin hints at unveiling new, unrevealed preflight products soon, driven by pilot feedback and impending contract renewal decisions.
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