Every student training for their private pilot license will have to complete a cross-country flight. As part of planning that flight, you’ll need to learn how to obtain a weather briefing.
Watch the video below or continue reading for our quick guide on obtaining a weather briefing and the weather briefing types you should use.
How to Obtain a Weather Briefing
The two main ways to obtain weather briefings are to call a flight service station and take notes on an oral briefing or connect online to find weather briefing sites like the Aviation Weather Center and 1800WXbrief.
Types of Weather Briefings
There are three types of weather briefings you can request: A Standard briefing, Outlook briefing, or Abbreviated Briefing.
A standard briefing is requested for flights that are due to depart within six hours, and requires the following information:
- Type of flight (VFR or IFR).
- Aircraft identification.
- Aircraft type
- Cruising true airspeed.
- Departure airport.
- Proposed departure time.
- Proposed cruising altitude.
- Route of flight.
- Destination.
- Estimated time en route.
- Remarks
- Fuel on board
- Alternate airport.
An Outlook briefing is requested if your proposed departure time is six hours or more in the future.
And an abbreviated briefing is requested to update an earlier briefing.
Each of these briefings will give you current weather information for airports along your route, forecasts and winds aloft.
What is No-Go Weather
No-go weather is when weather conditions are too bad to fly. What constitutes as no-go weather can be determined by your local flight environment and skill level, but here are some general no-go weather conditions:
- Visibility less than 3 miles
- Ceilings below 1000 feet
- Crosswinds over 20 knots
- Severe turbulence
Weather is a big factor in having a safe and successful flight, so make sure you take the time to get accurate weather briefings before each flight.
Whether you’re just learning how to become a pilot or your gearing up to become an airline pilot, knowing how to obtain a good weather briefing and understanding the weather briefing types are essential skills every pilot should master.
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Liz Brassaw is a first officer for a regional airline and the former Chief Pilot and Chief Flight Operations Officer for Thrust Flight. She holds an ATP, CFI, CFII, MEI, AMEL, ASES with over 2,500 hours of flight instruction given. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the Utah Valley University School of Aviation Sciences. She’s passionate about flying and enjoys instilling that love in the instructors on her team and the new students she trains.
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