In this world where cell phones can perform more functions than the computer of only a few decades past, many pilots prefer to brief themselves. Doing so when the weather is good is easy—when the online aviation weather options show a dry, high pressure system with no indication of turbulence or other adverse weather advisory. But what about when the weather turns dicey?
Discerning Forecasts
What about when satellite and radar both show obscuration, and temperatures are indicating freezing levels at your aircraft’s favored altitudes. Or in the summer time, the clear skies of morning suddenly produce billowy cotton clouds, which shoot upwards as though they are spewing from a can of Redi-whip.
Paying close attention to changes in weather should begin at least 24 hours before the flight. It’s also the time when Flight Service is a good option for helping with a go-no go decision.
Flight Service specialists spend their entire working day looking at weather and other factors related to flight—both nationwide and more specifically in their individual areas of responsibility. When your call comes in, they’ve been talking to other pilots, many of whom could just have flown in the skies you want to transit.
The Abbreviated Briefing
This is a situation where requesting an abbreviated briefing may be more helpful and take significantly less time than going through the entire standard briefing. If a standard briefing is requested the briefer must adhere to the FAA’s required format and ensure that every item is covered.
The other option starts with a pilot specifically stating they want an abbreviated briefing. The briefer then asks the pilot what specifically is needed and will ask questions they need to fulfill the request.
A standard briefing requires the briefer to go over the adverse conditions, TFRs, overall weather synopsis, current and forecast weather, winds aloft and NOTAMS for the entire route. In other words you are getting the whole big picture.
What if your only concerns are the conditions at the destination? Asking for an abbreviated briefing for specific items allows you to only get the current and forecast weather and NOTAMs at that location—cutting out the parts you’ve already gleaned from scanning the online sites.
Another use for an abbreviated briefing is winds aloft. It may be awkward to get that data from some online sites, but a briefer can check a range of altitudes en route easily. Scanning the altitudes/locations, the briefer can tell where along the route the winds can be more favorable, and they can offer suggestions for when an altitude change might be preferable.
Abbreviated briefings can focus on information about a specific location—such as required routing or procedures around the Grand Canyon or through the New York City area.
Some pilots call to ask for density altitude or lifted index information. You can ask for STMP data—special procedures related to air shows or large public events. One of the most popular abbreviated briefing requests is simply TFRs related to presidential movement.
A standard briefing is comprehensive, but it does not include everything a pilot may want. For instance you get the current NOTAMs, but they don’t give you published NOTAMs or the status of military training routes or restricted areas unless you ask for them. Briefers have access to this information though it will take them a bit longer.
Adverse Conditions
If you ask for the abbreviated briefing, the briefer must always provide any adverse conditions in areas you tell them you plan to transit. The current definition of adverse conditions is: Weather Advisories, TFRs and air-port/runway closures at the departure and destination locations.
You can circumvent that if you wish by stating (for the recording) that you already have the adverse conditions en route before asking your specific question.
PIREPs
If you’re aware that there’s icing in the forecast, you may be specifically looking for related PIREPs. The humble PIREP is one of the best resources—when pilots take the time to give them. Now that pilots can enter PIREP data directly into the NWS database through onboard instrumentation they are encouraged to supplement the NWS information with direct observations several times per flight if possible, especially when weather is in their area.
Flight Service keeps an eye on the PIREPs—many times the specialists who have taken a PIREP from a pilot while working the radios will turn around and verbally inform the briefers in their area as soon as urgent weather information is received—severe turbulence and mountain waves, storms or icing. Having heard the in-formation, the briefers keep a higher awareness of what is happening and-can be communicated to other pilots as they call.
More General information
In Flight Service terminology, “abbreviated briefing” also covers situations where pilots may want to know information that is not directly related to a specific flight. For instance, in the days after 9/11 when every aircraft was grounded, pilots called the only phone number they had that linked directly to an FAA facility—the Flight Service Briefing line. Most of them only asked one thing: “When can I take off?” Every one of those calls was counted as an abbreviated briefing.
Briefers take calls from pilots who want more information on how to file ICAO flight plans, where to find information on crossing into the SFR A around Washington, D.C., and who should they call to have a NOTAM issued. They ask briefers where to call in UFO sightings and how they can find historical weather or NOTAM information.
In situations where having a second opinion as to whether you should fly or stay on the ground, call the guys with the most current information and ask for an abbreviated briefing.
Rose Marie Kern worked in ATC and Flight Service for over 34 years. For questions on these topics check her web-site: www.rosemariekern.com
This article originally appeared in the February 2018 issue ofIFR Refreshermagazine.
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