Belfort Instrument Company - DigiWx not a true FAA fully commissionable AWOS, it's complete sensor suite is not certified, false ecomony, minimal pilot usefuleness, lack of functionality, higher life cycle costs Baltimore, Maryland

Have you heard about the Meadow Lake Airport AWOS Fiasco?

Quoting, http://meadowlake-airport.com/AWOS.htm reads in short:

"Executive Conclusion: Of the four candidate AWOS manufacturers, only two meet the threshold and objective system performance levels. These are systems provided by All Weather Inc (AWI) and Vaisala. The SuperAWOS by Potomac Aviation does not pass an initial cut due to maintenance problems encountered with their SuperUnicom installed at Meadow Lake airport."

"The Belfort Digi WX "AWOS" is not a true FAA fully commissionable AWOS. Its complete sensor suite is not certified. Installation of this system at 00V means that we would not have our weather data (METAR) accessible in the federal database which means that Flight Service and other sites such as

ADDS, XM weather, WSI, etc would not not have Meadow Lake weather data. The only certified weather info would be altimeter and visibility. While this does allow Part 91 and 135 instrument approaches, the inability to incorporate its complete METAR data in the federal system is a deal-breaker."

"The apparent initial cost savings of the initial Belfort DigiWx acquisition is minimal and not worth the lack of functionality and usefulness to the national aviation community. Life-cycle cost of the Belfort system over 15 years is over $27,000 higher than the Vaisala system."

"It would not allow us to transition to a three letter airport identifier."

"Bottom line is that the Belfort system represents false economy, minimal pilot usefulness and is inconsistent with providing the aviation community services that make this airport attractive to current and future pilots and businesses."

"Of the remaining systems offered by AWI and Vaisala, Vaisala is the preferred system."

The complete report highlighting DigiWx shortcomings can be found at: http://meadowlake-airport.com/AWOSanalysis.doc

Now have a LQQK at this.....
Ron Lee from Meadow Lake Airport wrote in Pike's Peak Flyer:
January 2009

"The SuperUnicom was shut down in early August 2008 due to harmful interference on the 122.7 MHz frequency A grant was submitted and approved to get an AWOS III P/T using FAA funds. Our portion of the cost is around $4,000 although incidentals may drive it higher... but far below the $25,000 previously budgeted for an AWOS. One MLAA Board member
is attempting to force a system that is not fully certified down our throats using the flawed rationale that it is cheaper that the fully certified systems offered by All Weather Inc and Vaisala. A major down side to the Belfort system is that pilots will not be able to access METAR data through Flight Service, ADDS, on their on-board weather systems, etc. We will very likely be unable to acquire a three letter airport ID and maintenance will cost much more over its lifetime than with either of the fully certified systems. Plus in its current implementation, there is no obvious upgrade path to getting present weather and lightning information available in an AWOS III P/T system. It is crucial to the safety of this airport and our usefulness as a destination airport within the National Airspace System that we get a state of the art AWOS. With the FAA grant, it is amazingly affordable. But it is essential that local pilots become informed on this matter and contact all Board members to express their view. My opinion... based upon extensive research on behalf of MLAA members... is that we need a fully certified AWOS. The minimum configuration is AWOS III, with AWOS III P/T highly desirable (objective). It needs to be the number one priority acquisition with a target installation not later than Spring 2009. It must not be sacrificed to pay interest on the land acquisition."

His full report is located he http://home.pcisys.net/~ronlee/MeadowLakeAWOSSelectionAnalysis.doc

About Belfort Instrument Company:
Belfort used to be a leading provider of weather instruments to the government, professional meteorology and aviation markets. Key words: "use to be." They never provided any wind sensors to the Wright Brothers despite their fantastic assertion that they did! Historical archives available at the U.S. Air Force National Museum (1100 Spaatz Street,
Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433) tells a very different story and specifically mentions a "Richards" anemometer which Wilbur Wright held as pictured at: "http://wings.avkids.com/Book/Wright/history1_19012.html". The Belfort
aerovane wind system on U.S. Naval aircraft carriers are currently being replaced with ultrasonic wind sensors from QPI (11207 Single Oak Road, Fredericksburg, VA 22407) which won a $94 million dollar contract for the Moriah Wind System. Belfort wind speed and direction anemometers found on the ASOS platform are now being replaced with ultrasonic
sensors from the Vaisala Group. The Belfort Instruments Model 6000 visibility sensor was no longer will no being incorporated on the U.S. Air Force's OS-21/FSB program as of 2007. And despite a $500,000 U.S. government grant from NASA's Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) program in 2004 to build a low-cost ceilometer, Belfort didn't possess the technical smarts nor the engineering know-how to accomplish the task. So they proposed importing the Eliasson CBME 80A laser ceilometer from Muir Matheson. As one can readily see, Belfort is no longer setting any standards of measurement in the weather instrumentation world. And now Belfort is propagating lie after lie about their fabled company history while trying to steal thunder from the accomplishments of the Wright Brothers. According to the National Museum of American History (12th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20560), Belfort founder Julian Friez never made it to Baltimore to set up shop until sometime in the 1890s even though Belfort officials fradulently claim the company was founded in 1876. Thus, there was no 125th anniversary for Belfort to celebrate in 2001 even though they hosted a party to which no one came! Belfort's proclamation that it is the "Oldest Weather Company in the World" is simply yet another Belfort lie as Thomas Romney Robinson invented the first wind anemometer in 1846, six years before Julian Friez was born in 1852. Belfort doesn't even know it's own company history so they just make it up! You should wonder what other crap (eg. Digiwx AWOS) they also make up! For more information about Belfort Instrument and DigiWx, visit dogsh*t.com

Belfort Instrument Company does business under several names including Gamma Scientific, UDT Instruments, Advanced Retro, Road Vista, DigiWx and KR Acquisition Corporation. Lastly, don't forget to google "Belfort Instruments Digiwx AWOS" BEFORE you BUY!!!

nota bene: Belfort Instrument Company figureheads (aka manipulators) are trying to censor anything "negative" or "derogatory" said about their company on the internet. When you "google" the company or it's owners, former presidents, and/or managers, you will see the search results "stacked" up front with profiles created on Businesscard2, Workface, Posterous, Twitter, Tumblr, Peoplepond, eMurse, CVshare, Ryze, About.me, BigSight, Ziki, tBlog, Wordpress, Plaxo and Zing because they are trying to BURY Belfort's and DigiWx's troubling and disturbing past.

Will you allow Belfort's figureheads to "pull the wool" over YOUR eyes?