The initial data entry screen. In this instance, the entries were automatically filled in by the flight plan software described elsewhere. Pilot's Name, Aircraft Type, Callsign, and Flight Level are all free-form text entries. The Point of Departure is the 4-letter ICAO identifier for the station. If the station is in the database, the description of the station will appear below. Time of Departure is a 4 digit, 24 hour clock value, given in UTC. The Departure Date will display the current GMT date or tomorrow's date, depending upon expected departure time. Changing the date will change the calendar and vice-versa. It will initially come up in the correct format. Pickup/fax time is a free-form text field, as is the Remarks/Special Instructions block. Data from these blocks will be output to the lower Remarks block when the final output is generated. The Check Here if the Internet is down check block signals the software to retrieve data from stored files instead of from the internet. The Start Brief Now button saves the data on this page and loads the Takeoff Data screen. The Do Brief Later button saves the data to be completed later, possibly by someone else on a different shift if you are lucky. The Get Saved Request brings up a list of flight requests that you can load. The list will contain briefs that were saved with the Do Brief Later function, as well as briefs that were started wit the Start Brief Now button. Destinations are entered as their 4-letter ICAO designators, and designated as a Destination or Alternate. If the ICAO is in the database, a description will be visible. TOA(Z) is the expected GMT time of arrival. The Dest/Alt selection can be changed with a mouse, or by pressing the space bar when the focus is on that selection. Rules selection determines how void times and valid times will be computed.
Takeoff data screen with the current observation automatically filled in as a ''first guess.'' POD is taken from the Brief Request screen, as is TOD. If the POD is changed, pressing the Change POD/Reload Ob will change the POD for the brief and reload the appropriate observation. Pressing the Reload Ob/Dont Change POD will load the observation for the station entered in the POD block without changing the POD value. Pressing the Retrieve Observation from NWS Server button will get the lastest observation off of the internet. Local Weather Watch/Warning/Advisory always autofills with None in Effect. This is a free-form text field. Runway Surface condition will be reported as dry unless a runway condition is reported in the observation that the software can recognize. Changing a temperature or dewpoint value in either F or C will result in the software re-computing all applicable values. These values must be numeric, although they are handled as text initially. Climb winds is a free-form text field, as is the Take-off Remarks block.
Winds and Space weather entries are generally self-explanatory. Flight Level Winds is a free-form text block. Checking the See Attached block will lock the Attachments Included block on the final page to Yes. If the BMNT and SR blocks are empty, clicking the Update button will cause the software to recompute all astronomical data values. All times are 4 digit GMT with no punctuation, and the fields are handled as integers.
Enroute Hazards has very little auto-filling. The ceiling and max cloud tops entries are checked against each other, and minimum freezing level will be set to SFC if the POD or any POA is below zero Celsius. Blocks for type and intensity of Turbulence, Precip, and Icing are free-form text. Checking None for Thunderstorms, Icing, Turbulence, or Precip will result in the appropriate levels/locations blocks being auto-filled with three dashes. Clicking one of the chart buttons will result in a new window opening (without closing the Enroute Hazards Window) with the appropriate chart displayed. This function may be time-consuming on dial-up networks.
Aerodrome forecasts will be filled in as much as possible with data from the current TAF. It will not update temperature fields. The latest observations and forecasts are taken from the cycle files downloaded by Dashone Data. Pressing the update via FTP once will update the taf in the display window. It will update the forecast fields only if they are blank. Pressing the update via FTP button the second time will update the observation as well. In both instances, the actual protocol used is http. Changing the POA will change the displayed forecast, and if the data fields are blank, it will update those fields as well. Checking the Mag? block will cause the wind indicator to change to M instead of T. It does not actually convert the value. If the TEMPO block is checked, the word TEMPO will appear on the second line of the forecast. If it is not checked, and there is data in the Tempo line forecast fields, the line will be labeled as a remark.
The final screen. Most entries are self explanatory. The complete brief button will not be enabled until the forecaster's initials are entered. Once the complete brief button is clicked, the spreadsheet will be visible, and the software will write the values appropriately. Values cannot be edited at this point. Once all of the data is written to the spreadsheet, the software will open Excel with the proper spreadsheet visible.
The screenshots below are from the 3DRC FlightPlan Software. (I expect the USAF version to carry a different name.)
This is the initial input screen for the flight planning software. Entries should be completed as on the DD175. Many entries will auto-fill if the defaults file holds those values.
This screen is where leg routing is entered. Time, distance, and direction estimates can be automatically generated.
The final screen has options for sending the flight request to the operations desk and/or request a DD-175/1 from local weather office, if the software is properly configured.