Preflight Briefing

Jaybird180

Jaybird180

Final Approach
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Jaybird180
Is everyone doing electronic briefings or are the telephone briefings still available?

old skool, rusty dude
 
In Canada, I sometimes still do phone briefings especially when the weather is changing fast that day or if my internet connection is not very fast at some remote airport with no wifi.
 
My dad still calls every time. Me? I'm antisocial and know how the internet works. My experience with calling mimics @Jim K
 
I'm wondering if the guys manning the phones feel like Agent 13 (Get Smart movie)

 
I almost always just use the website. But once in a while I'll do the full briefing well in advance of the flight, and then get an abbreviated briefing over the phone (hands free) from the car on the way to the airport. To catch any updated TFR's or significant weather changes. That has always worked out well, and the few times I've done it they've been friendly and helpful. I got the feeling that when people call they're usually looking for something specific, but that's just a guess.
 
I usually just use the website, but occasionally call to make sure I understand a confusing TFR mess or iffy weather.

Computer graphics are great, but we lost something when you could walk into a FSS and talk to a briefer face to face and get an interpretation of the forecast based on his local knowledge and experience.
 
Dana said:
I usually just use the website, but occasionally call to make sure I understand a confusing TFR mess or iffy weather.

Computer graphics are great, but we lost something when you could walk into a FSS and talk to a briefer face to face and get an interpretation of the forecast based on his local knowledge and experience.
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It was bound to happen but that loss was added to with the consolidation. Even where there were no walk-in stations, a phone call had you speaking with someone who understood forecasts in the context of local weather patterns. A flight through the Colorado Rockies briefed by a flatland briefer who rarely deals with it never gave me the warm fuzzies.
 
Dana said:
I usually just use the website, but occasionally call to make sure I understand a confusing TFR mess or iffy weather.

Computer graphics are great, but we lost something when you could walk into a FSS and talk to a briefer face to face and get an interpretation of the forecast based on his local knowledge and experience.
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That was nice.
 
I prefer call in briefings. To me it takes about the same amount of time and if the briefer is good I can ask questions. Also, they keep a record of the briefing so if there is a question as to weather the pilot did due diligence before the flight the record of the briefing is proof that he did.
 
I mostly use FF for briefings. Sometimes I will call if there's something I don't quit understand. If I call I always ask for an "Abbreviated Briefing" Like others have said, the standard briefing can take forever! They keep you on the phone for so long that the weather has probably changed twice before they are done! I find an abbreviated briefing goes pretty quickly and they are always willing to explain any questions. You can tell, they are very passionate about weather!
 
William Pete Hodges said:
I prefer call in briefings. To me it takes about the same amount of time and if the briefer is good I can ask questions. Also, they keep a record of the briefing so if there is a question as to weather the pilot did due diligence before the flight the record of the briefing is proof that he did.
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I get an email from 1800wxbrief that contains all my online pre-flight activities for every filed flight plan.
 
William Pete Hodges said:
I prefer call in briefings. To me it takes about the same amount of time and if the briefer is good I can ask questions. Also, they keep a record of the briefing so if there is a question as to weather the pilot did due diligence before the flight the record of the briefing is proof that he did.
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Just about every EFB and the Liedos website keep a record of your briefing. Your preference for phone briefings is laudable. But evidence of due diligence is not is not a particularly good reason.
 
This is what I get every time I file. Not to pick on @William Pete Hodges, just so folks don't think there isn't a record when you do your briefing online

06/16/2021 17:06 UTC: Obtained Standard briefing via 1800wxbrief.com
06/16/2021 17:10 UTC: Filed Flight Plan via 1800wxbrief.com
06/17/2021 10:53 UTC: Obtained Standard briefing via 1800wxbrief.com
06/17/2021 11:00 UTC: Obtained Standard briefing via 1800wxbrief.com
06/17/2021 13:00 UTC: Estimated Departure Time, Summary Closed

As a reminder, all preflight activities performed through www.1800wxbrief.com or certified third party provider applications and websites are logged in Flight Services and can be accessed in your personal pilot history on www.1800wxbrief.com. Additional records not captured in this email summary may be found there. Pilots do not need to call Flight Services for logging purposes.
 
Hang 4 said:
This is what I get every time I file. Not to pick on @William Pete Hodges, just so folks don't think there isn't a record when you do your briefing online

06/16/2021 17:06 UTC: Obtained Standard briefing via 1800wxbrief.com
06/16/2021 17:10 UTC: Filed Flight Plan via 1800wxbrief.com
06/17/2021 10:53 UTC: Obtained Standard briefing via 1800wxbrief.com
06/17/2021 11:00 UTC: Obtained Standard briefing via 1800wxbrief.com
06/17/2021 13:00 UTC: Estimated Departure Time, Summary Closed

As a reminder, all preflight activities performed through www.1800wxbrief.com or certified third party provider applications and websites are logged in Flight Services and can be accessed in your personal pilot history on www.1800wxbrief.com. Additional records not captured in this email summary may be found there. Pilots do not need to call Flight Services for logging purposes.
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...and those certified third party provider applications and websites are...

upload_2022-10-24_8-43-29.png
 
Rgbeard said:
but when unintended adventure is looking possible, I call.
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I've been known to do the opposite: Get an unofficial briefing ahead of time and then call via the car's Bluetooth on the drive to the airport to verify that nothing's changed and/or that things are changing according to plan. For example, a TFR didn't suddenly pop up or the TFR that was supposed to expire did expire.
 
William Pete Hodges said:
I prefer call in briefings. To me it takes about the same amount of time and if the briefer is good I can ask questions. Also, they keep a record of the briefing so if there is a question as to weather the pilot did due diligence before the flight the record of the briefing is proof that he did.
Click to expand...

Doing an online briefing on 1800WXBRIEF or ForeFlight is also recorded and counts as getting your required briefing.
 
I'm a rusty old school pilot too... earned my instrument rating back in the days before internet and did most of my flying back in those days. I NEVER really felt great about the phone briefings. I guess I'm a visual learner and can digest things much better being able to read and ponder either text or graphics...
and I suppose bad handwriting + a poor short term memory always seemed to leave me a bit flustered....
 
RyanB said:
I still call. I prefer someone who’s highly knowledgeable to break things down for me while I follow along on my tablet.
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Wait, so who do you call then?
 
I call after checking online for an abbreviated briefing usually for late add on TFR's or sometimes if weather is difficult on the long cross country flights. Have had two occasions where a TFR occurred that was not in the 1800wxbrief.com ... I asked and the briefer indicated it was brand new ...
 
Verbal briefings over the phone can be too convoluted to follow for me. It’s just a fire hose of information read to you, seemingly without the specialist even taking a breath. I prefer to digest that much information via ForeFlight briefing packet at my own speed (and even the depth of that 70+ page FF packet is absolute overkill and information overload for most of my flights).

The only time I call now is when I have a pointed question that I’d like more information on (e.g., the first time I’d heard “center weather advisory” for turbulence on ATIS and wasn’t sure how concerned I should be - I called to get more information)
 
I recall one flight back in the days where you called or walked in. No internet briefing.

I called to return back to SE PA from Maine. A buddy and I had flown up in a GA-7 Cougar to visit his family. Sunday late afternoon I called and asked about IFR from Maine to PA.

The briefer chuckled and said, "So you want the long briefing, the short briefing, or the REALLY short briefing." I told him I was intrigued, so give me the really short one. He replied, "You aren't going."

I had never heard a briefeR say that. They say it is not recommended.

So I asked for the short one. Well, it was pretty much 60+ headwinds at all altitudes. Forecast and reported moderate to severe turbulence in the clouds. Forecast and reported moderate icing in the clouds. And the clouds were from 500 - 1000 feet all the way up to over 30,000.

Hmmm. I replied, "We aren't going." And we both laughed.
 
asicer said:
"Authorized=no" means it's not certified?
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No.

They are all certified providers. The checkboxes are for you to check yes to authorize them for you.

I'm a bit of an EFB geek. The ones I checked off are sites and EFBs I've used along the way.
 
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