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5 Answers

AFSS vs. FSS

Asked by: 7975 views FAA Regulations, General Aviation, Student Pilot

Outside of the obvious answer that one is automated and one is not, what is the difference between AFSS and FSS? Do they both mean the same thing (e.g. I see in some publications "AFSS/FSS")?

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5 Answers



  1. KDS on Jan 29, 2020

    Same thing for practical purposes. I believe that the name change came in when Lockheed-Martin took over flight service stations and did a lot of modernization and automation in the process. I’m sure the 100% right explanation is more technical than that, but that is pretty much how it seemed.

    I’m have no doubt that it is all better now, but there really was a joy walking into one of those friendly old flight service stations.

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  2. John D Collins on Jan 30, 2020

    Bucky,

    Do you have a reference in a current document that uses the term AFSS? If so, please point it out.

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  3. KDS on Jan 30, 2020

    See last line for one example.

    FAR 93.71(b)

    No flight is authorized below 3,500 feet MSL in the area described in paragraph (a) of this section, except for aircraft operations conducted directly to or from an airport/heliport within the area, aircraft operating on an ATC-approved IFR flight plan, aircraft operating the Scenic Falls Route pursuant to approval of Transport Canada, aircraft carrying law enforcement officials, or aircraft carrying properly accredited news representatives for which a flight plan has been filed with Buffalo NY (BUF) Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS).

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  4. John D Collins on Jan 31, 2020

    The AIM included the following references to the term AFSS as follows:

    AIM 2-14-2008 basic -34 references
    AIM 2-11-2010 basic – 24 references
    AIM 8-26-2010 Change 1 – 13 references
    AIM 3-10-2011 Change 2 – 3 references
    AIM 8-25-2011 Change 3 – only a single reference in the abbreviations section
    AIM 2-9-2012 Basic – no references

    So it is an obsolete term.

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  5. Mark Kolber on Feb 01, 2020

    There are a few other current (meaning the latest) FAA publications with AFSS references. That’s mostly because the publications haven’t been updated in a while or, most likely, like FAR 93.71, the Risk Management Handbook, and a single “AFSS” reference in a note in the ATC manual, simply haven’t received editorial revision.

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