Satellink Technologies, Inc. announces the selection of Jeppesen to provide worldwide weather information and forecast products for use by Merlin subscribers.
The Merlin system broadcasts real-time weather and other strategic information to pilots, and the use of Jeppesen’s high-resolution, full color graphical weather products assures rapid delivery of best-in-class information to assist with flight decisions and situational awareness.
“The accuracy of current and forecast weather depictions is critical when we broadcast the information to pilots inflight. Pilots worldwide put their trust in Jeppesen charts and approach plates because of their superior quality, and they’ll recognize the same level of quality in the Jeppesen weather products,” according to Harlan Hamlin, Satellink Technologies vice president for aviation services.
“Improving pilots’ situational awareness with weather data produced by Jeppesen’s expert aviation meteorologists further distinguishes Merlin in the marketplace for real-time weather in the cockpit,” he added.
Available commercially in June 2002 for the North American market and later in the year internationally, Merlin introduces a radically different approach to delivering weather to pilots in their aircraft.
By broadcasting a variety of graphical (full color) and text weather depictions, as quickly as they are updated, weather information is immediately available as needed.
Unlike older systems that only transmit partial weather data after request from an individual aircraft, Merlin sends continually updated information to all subscribers automatically, without adding to the pilots’ workload.
Merlin service is available anywhere throughout North America, on the ground and at any altitude. Priced at a fixed monthly fee, pilots have unlimited use of Merlin weather without any additional use charges.
Weather products to be provided by Jeppesen and broadcast over the Merlin satellite-broadcast system include: GOES Infrared, visible, and composite satellite imagery; NEXRAD 2km base reflectivity; NEXRAD echo tops; convective SIGMETs and SIGMET areas; icing reports; turbulence reports; wind and temperature aloft forecasts; METARs; TAFs; AIRMETs; and PIREPs.
Other critical flight information to be broadcast via Merlin includes temporary flight restrictions (TFRs), airspace situation displays, airway NOTAMs, facility NOTAMs, and national airspace system NOTAMs.
