How about that weather? That question is more than an item of small talk; it is an important question every pilot must ask before departing on a flight. On a sun-drenched day with not a cloud in the sky, you might be tempted to skip this important preflight step. Rapidly changing weather conditions and differences in conditions between your origin and destination make it critical to request a weather briefing before taking off.
Why You Should Obtain a Weather Briefing
While the meteorologist on your local news might be fairly accurate, their forecast does not qualify as a weather briefing. The forecast on the morning news might predict poor weather for the week, yet there were ample daily opportunities for VFR flight. Accessing weather data from an aviation-focused source provides you the specific weather data you need.
According to FAR 14 CFR 91.103, “Pilot in Command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. This Information must include – (a) For a flight under IFR or a flight not in the vicinity of an airport, weather reports and forecasts, fuel requirements, alternatives available if the planned flight cannot be completed, and any known traffic delays of which the pilot in command has been advised by ATC.”
Why would the FAA require you to obtain a preflight weather briefing? To determine that the weather conditions for your flight are safe for the aircraft and that you can handle the conditions. Your personal minimums will determine your appetite for handling certain weather conditions. The FAA states personal minimums are your “set of operating criteria, procedures, rules, or guidelines used to assist [you] in making personal flight decisions.”
You and your CFI will determine your personal minimums for wind, visibility, and ceilings. You can find a personal minimums checklist to walk you through this important step. If you rent, check your flight school’s required minimums for rental or for student pilots.
How to Obtain a Preflight Weather Briefing
Flight Service
Flight Service is the primary source for obtaining preflight briefings. You can call Flight Service at 1-800-WX-BRIEF or create an account on its website https://www.1800wxbrief.com. When you call Flight Service, you speak with an aviation-trained briefer who specializes in providing different types of weather information. Briefers are authorized to translate and interpret available forecasts and reports into terms describing the weather conditions that you can expect along your flight route and at your destination. Flight Service’s weather data is the most accurate and up-to-date information available. Flight Service can also assist you in filing a flight plan.
You can use self-briefing displays, or you can request a briefing or help from the specialist on duty. You can request a standard briefing, an abbreviated briefing, or an outlook briefing.
Standard Weather Briefing
A standard weather briefing is the most common type of weather briefing you can obtain. Request a standard briefing when your departure time is within six hours of your call to Flight Service. A standard briefing will include information on adverse conditions, synopsis, current conditions, en route forecast, destination forecast, winds aloft, and Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs).
Adverse conditions include any sort of Airmen’s Meteorological Information (AIRMETs) or Significant Meteorological Information (SIGMETs). The synopsis covers front or pressure systems along your flight. The winds aloft assist in flight planning so you have a better idea if you will have a headwind or tailwind. NOTAMs inform you about runway and taxiway closures, airspace changes, and Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs).
The standard briefing is the most thorough available briefing. It provides you with the most information so you can decide if you will make your flight as planned or determine alternate arrangements.
If the briefer states, “VFR flight not recommended,” it is an advisory statement that the briefer is required to give. When you hear this statement, it means clouds or visibility is less than 3,000 feet and/or less than 5 statute miles. If you are training and your instructor approves, you may still be able to fly in conditions labeled “VFR flight not recommended.”
You will remember from your training that there are four levels of weather conditions: LIFR, IFR, MVFR, and VFR.
Low Instrument Flight Rules (LIFR) means that the ceiling is less than 500 feet and visibility is less than 1 statute mile. Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) means the ceiling is between 500 feet and 1,000 feet and visibility is between 1 statute mile and 3 statute miles. Marginal Visual Flight Rules (MVFR) means the ceiling is between 1,000 feet and 3,000 feet and visibility is between 3 and 5 statute miles. Visual Flight Rules (VFR) means the ceiling is more than 3,000 feet and more than 5 statute miles.
Abbreviated Weather Briefing
Request an abbreviated weather briefing to update a standard weather briefing you received earlier. An abbreviated briefing can help you ensure current or forecasted conditions have not changed. The abbreviated briefing enables you to ask about specific items or clarify information from a previous briefing. Never bypass a standard briefing and only request an abbreviated briefing. The abbreviated briefing should enhance a standard briefing.
Outlook Weather Briefing
If your intended departure is six or more hours away, choose an outlook briefing. The outlook briefing provides available forecast data for your departure time. You gain a general idea of what conditions may be, which is useful in flight planning.
The benefit of each type of briefing is that you are talking with an actual person who access to all the data you could possibly want when planning your flight. Another advantage is that these phone conversations are recorded, allowing you to protect yourself in case some information was omitted from a briefing. A briefer may share their opinion on the flying conditions. Their comments can be helpful in determining whether the conditions are safe for flight.
While talking to someone can be advantageous, it has its drawbacks. The briefer may lack local knowledge of the departure and destination areas. You are not able to see any graphical images while talking with Flight Service, although you can access them on the Flight Service website or other commercial flight application.
Commercial Flight Applications
Various applications such as ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot provide an abundance of information. You can access these applications on any device, making it more enticing to use them instead of the traditional flight briefing. You may prefer to use these applications to view images of various weather conditions to make it easier to visualize the information Flight Service provides. You can also access these applications during flight if you have an ADS-B-In device located in your plane.
These applications are convenient and provide you with plenty of flight information, but you should use them in conjunction with contacting Flight Service to combine the best of both worlds.
The Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS) is another weather information source. This website provides you with my favorite weather forecast. The Aviation Forecast Discussion offers a great overview of a selected area. It gives a general overview of the current weather and what is predicted to happen over the next several days. I would not recommend making a go/no-go decision from this forecast, but you will gain an idea of the conditions you can expect in your chosen area.
As you can see, you can obtain preflight weather in many ways. By using Flight Service in tandem with a commercial provider, you can involve a person and a graphical tool to help you see and understand weather for your flight. This might seem a bit excessive, but you can never know too much once you are airborne.
Special thanks to Zac Rogers for his input on this post.
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