Flying Smart : Aviation Speak

Planning to take up a friend for a sightseeing trip, you've done your homework for the flight. Last night you charted your course, planned your fuel, calculated weight and balance, and reviewed the weather outlook using the Meteorlogix service at AOPA Online. All that remains is to talk to Flight Service this morning to verify what you already know. But hold on-things have changed overnight, and the briefer has some additional, not-so-good news. Then she utters the infamous phrase, "VFR not recommended." She's telling you that forecast sky conditions or visibilities make visual flight inadvisable.

When a briefer says "VFR not recommended," he or she will tell you the reason(s) why it is not: mountain obscuration; low ceilings caused by ground fog or mist; a line of thunderstorms along your route of flight.

Does that mean you can't go? Flight briefers can't order you not to fly. As pilot in command, you decide whether you can fly safely and legally to your intended destination. The decision-making process requires you to take a careful look at the weather systems that are brewing along your route, as well as current conditions. Then you balance that information against what you can and cannot do as a VFR pilot, as well as your expertise and personal comfort levels.

If, say, a scattered layer of clouds at 1,000 is present, a low-time pilot might opt to remain on the ground until ceilings change. A more experienced person who does not want to fly that low because of towers or other obstacles might consider requesting a special VFR clearance to depart, then flying VFR over the top to clear skies beyond.

Some pilots complain that flight service specialists are overly cautious. Others contend that the briefers are usually on the mark, and the smart pilot stays put when the warning is issued. Remember that a briefer can't predict the weather. He can give you all of the information he has to help you make an informed go/no-go decision. But the decision and the safe outcome of your flight rest with you, the PIC.