Briefer Madness

Lance F

Lance F

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Lance F
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Sorry for the overly melodramic title, but I was always a fan of "Reefer Madness" so...

Anyway, when I got a briefing for my IFR flight today, the briefer surprised me a little with a comment. It was low IFR pretty much the whole way. After reviewing this he opined that he wouldn't do the flight in a single engine aircraft. What the heck! I fully understand the overly conservative "VFR flight not recommended" that I hear about. But should they be making such comments on IFR briefings.

I went anyway :rolleyes:.
 
I think I would have told him, "Then it's a good thing you are not flying today."
 
Did you call him back to say ya ya, ya ya ya when you got home?
Lance F said:
Sorry for the overly melodramic title, but I was always a fan of "Reefer Madness" so...

Anyway, when I got a briefing for my IFR flight today, the briefer surprised me a little with a comment. It was low IFR pretty much the whole way. After reviewing this he opined that he wouldn't do the flight in a single engine aircraft. What the heck! I fully understand the overly conservative "VFR flight not recommended" that I hear about. But should they be making such comments on IFR briefings.

I went anyway :rolleyes:.
Click to expand...
 
Same thing happened to me a few years ago. Definitely deserves a letter to the supervisor since that's not something they can say.

In my case, the situation was addressed well. That was before Lockmart, however....
 
I think the thread title is great!
 
One more example of why I never call and, instead, get my briefings online. I long ago grew weary of the "trying to convince you that you shouldn't fly today...this week...this year" briefing.
 
I might have asked if he had evidence that engines fail more often
in IMC than VMC.
 
Lance F said:
I fully understand the overly conservative "VFR flight not recommended" that I hear about. But should they be making such comments on IFR briefings.
Click to expand...

There are sheep out there who take the go/no-go from the briefer as gospel. They need them to make the decision for them. They are also the ones who won't use online briefings and call FSS 2 or 3 times before they launch. There are IFR pilots who would have scrubbed based on that "advice". Sad the confidence levels for some pilots is low.

Good for you for going and trusting "your" judgement.:rolleyes:
 
ggroves said:
There are sheep out there who take the go/no-go from the briefer as gospel. They need them to make the decision for them. They are also the ones who won't use online briefings and call FSS 2 or 3 times before they launch. There are IFR pilots who would have scrubbed based on that "advice". Sad the confidence levels for some pilots is low.

Good for you for going and trusting "your" judgement.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Very true, but you get different folks when you call. Some are helpful, some are chatty, and some are clueless.

I always do my own weather online, then call on the way to the airport for verification. From time to time I've had to fly from someplace with no internet connection, and I've been wholly dependent on the briefer.

It's interesting how much more doom and gloomy it all seems when you only have the briefing as opposed to online weather data.

:dunno:
 
On the other hand, there have been times when the briefer has the tools and takes the time to figure out a better route. We have been in situations where the weather would have kept us idle but the briefer found a way around the weather.
 
I flew KHPN - KLEB last Sunday in the face of a briefer's "VFR not recommended". There was some early morning mountain obscuration but, since I was departing at 2PM that was long gone. Vis was at least 10 or better for the whole trip, and there was a broken deck at 6,000 to the northwest only in the northern 1/4 of the route. On the way home this "deck" was scattered. No probs. It is important to make your own conclusions on the weather! -Skip
 
Lance F said:
Sorry for the overly melodramic title, but I was always a fan of "Reefer Madness" so...

Anyway, when I got a briefing for my IFR flight today, the briefer surprised me a little with a comment. It was low IFR pretty much the whole way. After reviewing this he opined that he wouldn't do the flight in a single engine aircraft. What the heck! I fully understand the overly conservative "VFR flight not recommended" that I hear about. But should they be making such comments on IFR briefings.

I went anyway :rolleyes:.
Click to expand...
I will no longer allow a "full" briefing. I guide them and limit them to selected components.....such as TFRs. All my briefing is now electronic.
 
Leaving OSH this year I walked into the onsite Lockmart office and got a briefing. Asked for TFR's, weather .yada yada yada.... Then I asked for winds aloft...Stood there for 15 minutes and that Lockmart guy could not find that info if his life depended on it.:yikes:
Both me and the pilot standing at the next briefer who overheard the whole thing , shook our heads in disbelief. We both exited about the same time and he motioned me over to a bench, took out his 696 and in less then a minute had the data for me. 99% of the time when I call 1-800 CLUELESS I get "VFR flight not recommended" Ah. living in the mountians does have a few drawbacks..:nono:

Tailwinds.
Ben.
 
dmccormack said:
From time to time I've had to fly from someplace with no internet connection, and I've been wholly dependent on the briefer.
Click to expand...

Several of my favorite flying destinations are devoid of internet (which may be why they mark as favorites). I have a ragged laminated map of the official reporting points that I mark up with a grease pencil and with a phone and patience I can milk a very good picture of the weather. The whole system is probably an anachronism but I still rely on it. Even after a detailed electronic briefing having a real weather nerd who'd been watching it all shift was inavaluable.

In the Good Old Days you could even ask to speak with the meterologist who got a big kick out of the fact that based on a flawed winds aloft calculation and one temperature observation Mr. Cessna Spam Can wanted to argue about the models today.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Legal requirement? :dunno:
Click to expand...

"all available pertinent information" or words to that effect. It gives proof that you got briefed. At least that's what I've been told. It's why I carry a current AFD in my flight bag even though I can get all the info in a more convienient form from AOPA. The AFD is the _official_ info.

If I'm mistaken, someone jump in a correct me. (Like I really need to day that here...):smile:

John
 
Duats provides all available information and you can write down the session number on your flight plan.

Done...

and you don't have to talk to a moron in the process.
 
SCCutler said:
Guess we're lucky here, as Ft. Worth AFSS almost always have good briefers.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you got half of the (great) briefers we used to have in the Green Bay AFSS. The rest went to Prescott. Where do our calls go now? Kankakee, Lansing, or Ashburn, VA. :frown2:
 
When I'm away from home and don't have access to DUATS, I just take the opinions for what they are and listen for the facts. I figure I don't have any need to convince the briefer of anything.
 
steingar said:
The only reason I call now is the legal requirement. That is a good reason, though.
Click to expand...

There is a legal requirement to call?

How is logging a DUATs briefing not legal?

I copy the briefing and save the file to my computer by date, so I have proof if asked.
 
Even if one "guides" the briefer, he/she can still give his/her (unwelcome) personal comments.

I got the human briefing because while our airport is shut down I have an hour's drive to the airplane. Talking on a cell is bad enough; I don't think I'm going to try being online while driving. I file and get the briefing in this otherwise wasted time. Frankly most of the Lockmart briefers I've gotten have not done a bad job (YRMV, obviously). I was just taken aback by the comment against flying my plane with low IFR across the route of flight from this particular briefer.
 
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