SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMMUNITY PROVIDED WEATHER UPDATES FOR AIRCRAFT

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for acquiring information regarding weather conditions along a flightpath from other aircraft and incorporating that information into a flight path optimization and planning system. The system and methods may acquire substantially real-time information from pilots or other crew who have encountered a weather system or event (e.g., a wind direction or speed measurement, an observation of a storm or lightning, an observation of a difficulty in controlling an aircraft, unexpected excessive turbulence, etc.) and share that information with other airborne pilots or crew, either directly or using a ground-based server. The server may receive and process the acquired information and determine which aircraft may be likely to encounter or be impacted by a weather system or event for which it has received additional weather-related data and information.