Coastal's AWOS – Automated Weather Observing Systems – are the most advanced automated aviation weather stations of their kind in the world.

AWOS Description

An Automated Weather Observing System, or AWOS, as defined by the FAA, is a suite of weather sensors, which measure, collect and disseminate weather data to help meteorologists, pilots and flight dispatchers prepare and monitor weather forecasts, plan flight routes, and provide necessary information for correct takeoffs and landings.

According to the NAV CANADA evaluation team, "(Coastal's) Engineering team has an excellent design capability"; "Products use state of the art technology [that] still meet NAV CANADA requirements and function in remote and harsh environments"; and "Products exceed the industry standard in aviation weather observing systems."

There are six standard categories of Automated Weather Observing Systems (AWOS), and a limitless number of customized weather stations:

  • AWOS I: Wind speed, wind gust, wind direction, variable wind direction, temperature, dew point, altimeter setting, density altitude.
  • AWOS II: AWOS I + visibility, and variable visibility.
  • AWOS III: AWOS II + sky condition, and cloud height and type.
  • AWOS III-P: AWOS III + present weather, and precipitation identification.
  • AWOS III-T: AWOS III + thunderstorm and lightning detection.
  • AWOS III-P-T: AWOS III + present weather, and lightning detection.

All Coastal AWOS systems are completely scalable and built to minimize any and all risks, now and in the future.

Our Automated Weather Observing Systems, AWOS, can have up to 5 remote weather stations (full or partial sets of all the above meteorological sensors) on one or several runways. The data is all collected and processed in the weather room at either a PC or a server (depending on the scale of data distribution). The data is then sent to one or several display devices, other PCs, a LAN/WAN, and a voice output for broadcast to pilots.

AWOS Sensor Expansion Capabilities

Sensor selection for Coastal's AWOS systems is extensive. Since Coastal is not in the business of manufacturing weather sensors, and because our systems integrate with virtually any sensor on the market, Coastal only provides a recommendation of the best meteorological sensors available for its AWOS systems. Coastal's AWOS systems are configured with meteorological sensors that optimally meet our customers' specific requirements.

AWOS sensor suites can include: Wind Sensor, Redundant Altimeter, Relative Humidity (Dew Point), Air Temperature, Visibility, Freezing Rain, Cloud Height and Cover, Precipitation Type, Precipitation Amount, Lightning and Runway Visual Range (RVR). Optionally, our AWOS systems can measure Soil Moisture and monitor the area with video.

AWOS Aviation INTERCEPT® Software

Data derived from our AWOS systems is available to AWOS Users through Coastal's Aviation INTERCEPT® (AI) software. Through AI software, AWOS Users can view the most current observation, review logged data, edit reports, set local weather alerts, monitor the performance of all parts of the AWOS system for maintenance purposes, and set-up and configure the AWOS system.

Aviation INTERCEPT® software provides data quality checks that are always active within the weather algorithms when collecting and disseminating data and error status messages from our AWOS systems. The data quality checks for: missing sensor data, missing Field Data Collection Unit (FDCU) messages, sufficient data for valid averaging, data out of range, logical comparisons and trends. These data quality checks are in addition to those data checks performed by the sensors and the FDCUs themselves. When a potential problem is detected, an alert is posted to our AWOS User's interface—keeping our AWOS User always in the know.

AWOS System Performance and Reliability

Our AWOS system's reliability is defined as a Mean Time Between Critical Failures (MTBCF), which is a measure of the average time between failures of mission-essential system functions. Based on the MTBF Data, which includes manufacturer's calculated or experiential failure rates, the Coastal Environmental Systems' calculated MTBF is 10,100 hours—making our AWOS systems one of the most dependable to rely on.

AWOS Downloads

For complete information on Coastal's aviation weather stations (AWOS/ASOS), please contact us.


Coastal's Weather Algorithms comply with the U.S. National Weather Service ASOS Statement of Work contract 50-SANW-1-00050, Appendix 1, ASOS Weather Algorithms, the Office of Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services (OFCM), Federal Meteorological Handbook Number One (FMH-1), Surface Weather Observations and Reports, and with ICAO Annex 3, Fourteenth Edition.

Who Depends on Coastal's AWOS Systems

Where Coastal's AWOS are Found

AWOS (System Photo)

AWOS Standard Sensors:

  • Wind Sensor
  • Redundant Altimeter
  • Relative Humidity (Dew Point)
  • Air Temperature
  • Visibility
  • Freezing Rain
  • Cloud Height and Cover
  • Precipitation Type
  • Precipitation Amount
  • Lightning
  • Runway Visual Range (RVR)
  • Optionally, the system can measure Soil Moisture and monitor the area with video.

Please contact us for a complete listing, or to discuss the best sensor options for your AWOS specifications.
(Sensor Specifications)

Power:

110/120 VAC, optionally 220/240 VAC.

Displays:

Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD), Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) with back light, Flat Panel TFT, or PC Full Screen display and archival.

Towers:

10 meter is standard, all other heights are available.

AWOS User Interface & Display Software:

Coastal's Aviation INTERCEPT® (AI) software for fully automated and/or operator-assisted aviation meteorological reporting. It is a complete program for processing, display, analysis, reporting, storage, and long-term management of meteorological data from your AWOS.

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