COPA proposes expanded weather services

Kevin Psutka, COPA president and CEO has made two proposals to Nav Canada regarding expanded aviation weather services:
“The National Weather Service in the United States launched a Current Icing Potential (CIP) depiction on its Web site on March 27, 2002: http://cdm.aviationweather.noaa.gov/cip/.
“It is a great tool for “at a glance” picking of a cruising altitude to avoid icing. It is better than searching through the Canadian GFAs to get the same thing. Since the NWS system extends well into Canada, I assume it should be possible for a similar system or an extension of the NWS system to include more of Canada.
“This site again also emphasizes my long-standing point that Nav Canada’s weather services, in particular GFAs, should extend south of the border, especially around the Great Lakes and over Maine, where many small aircraft transit American airspace en route to Canadian destinations.
The CIP is a good decision making tool because it provides a more general idea of what is in the area or coming at us from the U.S.”
For more Nav Canada information, contact the company’s customer service line, Tel.: 800-876-4693 or see the Nav Canada Web site: www.navcanada.ca.