Does uncertain weather information impact your decisions? How often have you had to cancel a flight? Or turn around mid-flight?
For aviators in Alaska, these can be life and death decisions.
That led to a team of former FAA officials creating the Montis Weather Observation System (MWOS), which they describe as a “tool that goes beyond mere weather observations, offering a multifaceted approach to enhance situational awareness and response capabilities. It provides 360° camera images, an extensive array of weather sensor data, ADS-B tracking data, and a suite of analytics.”
According to Walter Combs, CEO of Montis Corp., MWOS provides weather observation in real time, tracks aircraft with ADS-B from the surface, delivers data that helps improve National Weather Service Area forecasts, and uses International Weather Standards, a performance-based guideline to improve flight decision-making.
MWOS are installed at airports and in remote parts of Alaska, with the information sent to pilots via an app on their cell phones called VisRoute.
MWOS was developed by Combs, who is considered the “father of the Alaska region AWOS camera systems.”
He teamed with Elliot Gatt to develop the system after retiring from the FAA.
“We have three commercial carriers using it in interior Alaska for checking visual weather conditions viewing a high-definition image of destination airport weather,” he said, adding the company is working on getting approval from the FAA for use in IFR conditions.
Montis recently placed new systems — one in Thompson Pass and another at Whittier with views showing Portage Pass and 180° behind that view the harbor and marine views toward Prince William Sound.
MWOS units are also installed at Rampart Airport (PFMP), Merrill Field (PAMR) in Anchorage, and Fairbanks International Airport (PAFA), with additional installations expected throughout the summer.
“Technology allowed us to go from using phone booths on the street to having smart phones in our pockets,” Combs said. “In that vein we have improved a system of aviation weather using new high-tech pan/tilt/zoom 360° cameras, weather data, temperature, dewpoint, humidity, air pressure, winds, precipitation, and more.”
The app made its debut at the 2025 Alaska Airmen Association‘s Great Alaska Aviation Gathering in Palmer, Alaska.
“This has great potential,” noted Adam White, government and legislative affairs for the Alaska Airmen Association.
Combs is excited about cracking a challenge he has been trying to solve for years.
“I have been trying to get weather images in the cockpit for years,” he said.
Using an Iridium Constellation modem, he discovered that he could accomplish that goal.
The Iridium Constellation is a network of 66 satellites that provides global voice and data coverage for satellite phones and other communication equipment, even in very remote places.
“This is impressive,” he said. “All you do is click the push-to-talk button, wait three seconds, and the image pops up. Bingo, there it is — weather images in the cockpit.”
“We developed this small unit as a low-profile, low price, easy to maintain unit,” he said. “These devices are portable and cost a fraction of what the FAA AWOS units are priced at today.”
“The FAA is looking at us for backup to the existing AWOS system,” he added, noting using Starlink, cell phones, and Wi-Fi, MWOS can operate every day, all day.
Those who are using it find it saves time and money.
“We talked to one of our commercial operators who flies a Bering Sea route from Anchorage to Dutch Harbor 692 nm one way who in the past would have turned around in flight or canceled flights altogether due to deteriorating weather,” said Combs. “The loss of revenue from a flight turnaround is the cost of one roundtrip passenger seat, about the cost of one of our subscriptions a month.”
Pilots can download the app for a free 30-day trial on the Apple App Store and Google Play. QR codes are available on the company’s website to take you directly to the app stores.
For more information: MontisCorp.com
Leave a Reply