Flight Training - November 2014 - 40

ends with, "Have a nice flight" or "VFR not recommended." The
briefing should be more than a box to check on your preflight
checklist. The more you put into it, the more information you'll
receive. While the briefer can't tell you what to do, you can ask
questions (it's OK to interrupt!) that will help you make a better
go/no-go decision.
If there is a specific weather concern along your route of flight,
have a radar map pulled up on a computer or mobile device so
that you can see what the briefer is talking about. If you are both
looking at the same information, it will help you understand the
briefing better and allow you to ask more specific questions.
For example, if there are thunderstorms, IFR conditions, or
gustier surface winds than you are comfortable with, ask the
briefer questions about how long the conditions are likely to last,
or if they improve farther to the north, south, east, or west of your
course if you're considering a route change.
3. IS THE WEATHER IMPROVING OR DETERIORATING? What

direction is it moving, and how fast? You'll want to look at the
weather and its trends to help you decide your next course of
action along each leg of the trip. By looking at weather maps,
checking aviation routine meteorological reports (METARs)
and terminal aerodrome forecasts (TAFs), listening to hazardous

inflight weather advisory service (HIWAS), and discussing trends
along your route with a flight service briefer, you can determine
how quickly the weather is expected to get better or worse.
If a line of thunderstorms is moving to the northeast at 35
knots, and you are flying west, you might be able to deviate to the
southwest well ahead of the storms and go around the system to
the south. A deviation of 50 miles isn't bad if you're flying across
the country-in the big scheme of things, that's a minor deviation.
If ceilings and visibility at your departure airport, en route, or
destination are marginal VFR, you'd probably want to stay on the
ground if flying at night-or during day or night, if the conditions
are trending toward instrument meteorological conditions. If
conditions are forecast to become VFR in a couple of hours, stay
put and wait it out-grab a bite at a nearby restaurant, relax, and
be ready when the conditions improve. Make sure you always
leave yourself an out. Conditions may change faster than forecast,
or you may run into something that wasn't forecast. When it
comes to safety margins, bigger is better.
4. YOU MAY START WITH FUEL STOPS and overnight destinations
planned, but be prepared for those to change. If you deviate
around weather, you'll need to recalculate your fuel range; you
might need to pick a different fuel stop. (If you are using a flight

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Flight Training - November 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - November 2014
