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Pilots urge caution: board told to verify AWOS accuracy before relying on wind reports
Summary
Pilots at the Santa Rosa County advisory meeting urged staff to ensure the new AWOS reports accurate wind data or disable the display, saying the current system sometimes reports 'wind's calm' while winds are gusting and that inaccurate reports are a safety hazard for less experienced pilots.
Several pilots and tenants pressed the board to confirm the accuracy and monitoring plan for the airport’s AWOS replacement and said an inaccurate display could be a safety hazard.
Micah Butler and other pilots said the current reporting sometimes shows "wind's calm" when winds are gusting, which can cause inexperienced pilots to make dangerous landing decisions. Micah told the board he uses an alternate ADIS feed and urged either accurate monitoring or disabling the AWOS until it is reliable. "If it's not gonna be monitored, and more importantly, if it's not gonna be accurate, we need to disable it because it is a big problem," he said.
Staff said the AWOS bid will include a camera and designers have started FCC licensing work; project timing was discussed (bid advertising, roughly 30-day bid windows, and roughly 330 days to substantial completion after award). The board asked staff to prioritize vendor quality and post‑installation monitoring to avoid presenting misleading information to pilots.
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