Briefing Dilemma

Duats. I fly in the same space. It freaks them out when you call and say I
just want the TFRs...

It was too beautiful today!

Deb

--
1946 Luscombe 8A (His)
1948 Luscombe 8E (Hers)
1954 Cessna 195B, restoring (Ours)
Jasper, Ga. (JZP)
"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
...


There are days (like today) where the idea is just to fly the airplane.
No specific destination, but if something looks interesting on the ground,
or if I need a Diet Coke or feel the need to unload one, I may land at any
of a dozen nearby airfields... How do you explain this to a FSS briefer?
Here's the discussion I had with the FSS this morning (more or less):

Me to the Briefer: Good Morning, I'll be flying N46KB an Experimental
RV-6 today, VFR. Departing at 9:00 local, returning by 3:00 PM, Flying
over North Georgia and East Alabama. Requesting Standard Briefing...

Briefer: What is your destination and cruise altitude?

Me: I don't really have either one. I'm just going flying.

Briefer: I need an altitude so I can provide winds aloft.

Me: I don't really need winds aloft.

Briefer getting frustrated: But it only takes a second. How about 3 &
6k ft?

Me: I don't really need the information, but go ahead.

Briefer..... Blah, blah, blah at 3 and 6..

Briefer: Also, I need your destination...

And this continued for the next five minutes....

Is there a way to escape this? What I really needed was "VFR projected
over that area all day long, No TFR's or Notams, surface winds out of the
NE 10 knots. Have a nice day."

KB

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
...
[...]
Is there a way to escape this? What I really needed was "VFR projected
over that area all day long, No TFR's or Notams, surface winds out of the
NE 10 knots. Have a nice day."

As Steven wrote, ask for an "area briefing". They'll want your point of
departure and radius for the briefing.

IMHO, you are wrong to say that you "don't really need winds aloft". Just
because you are aren't going on a cross-country, that doesn't mean that
information isn't useful. Even in the absence of airmets about wind shear
or turbulence, winds aloft will inform you about possibilities of both, and
they also provide information about movement of air masses, allowing you to
do a reality check on the forecast. You also get temperature information
with the winds aloft.

If you want someone to just tell you "VFR all day long, winds out of the
NE", tune in to the Weather Channel. There's a reason that aviation
briefings contain more detail than that. Ignore that detail at your own
peril. Ninety nine flights out of a hundred, it probably won't matter. But
that hundredth flight will be a real doozy.

Pete

Kyle,

You asked for something specific, "Standard Briefing" this means that the
person providing you weather information is required to give you certain
information. To then tell the briefer, "I don't care about that", "I don't
need that" doesn't sound very professional. You didn't ask for what you
really wanted. Think of this this way:

You call the briefer and ask for a "standard briefing" then say I don't need
this and that and the other thing when he asks questions needed to give you
what you just asked for. (not professional) So he shrugs and doesn't give
you the information. You take off and fly into a mess (even on a clear
day), your wings fall off and you crash. Where do you think that the law
suits will go? You asked for a standard briefing and didn't get all of
those elements... Okay, dumb story but there is a point in there somewhere.

As others have pointed out either, (1.) ask for an area forcast and give
them a block of altitudes that you suspect that you might play in or (2) ask
for an abrieviated forcast and list the things you want to hear.

Everybody is happy.

Carl

do it online at DUATS.. get an "area briefing".. and make sure you get the
notams for the airports you just might pop into... you would not be
surprised at the number of pilots that show up at airports that have been
closed for airshows.. or do not know a runway is closed by NOTAM.. or even
know the runway numbers... very unprofessional

BT

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
...


There are days (like today) where the idea is just to fly the airplane.
No specific destination, but if something looks interesting on the ground,
or if I need a Diet Coke or feel the need to unload one, I may land at any
of a dozen nearby airfields... How do you explain this to a FSS briefer?
Here's the discussion I had with the FSS this morning (more or less):

Me to the Briefer: Good Morning, I'll be flying N46KB an Experimental
RV-6 today, VFR. Departing at 9:00 local, returning by 3:00 PM, Flying
over North Georgia and East Alabama. Requesting Standard Briefing...

Briefer: What is your destination and cruise altitude?

Me: I don't really have either one. I'm just going flying.

Briefer: I need an altitude so I can provide winds aloft.

Me: I don't really need winds aloft.

Briefer getting frustrated: But it only takes a second. How about 3 &
6k ft?

Me: I don't really need the information, but go ahead.

Briefer..... Blah, blah, blah at 3 and 6..

Briefer: Also, I need your destination...

And this continued for the next five minutes....

Is there a way to escape this? What I really needed was "VFR projected
over that area all day long, No TFR's or Notams, surface winds out of the
NE 10 knots. Have a nice day."

KB

On Sat, 5 Feb 2005 18:37:16 -0500, "Kyle Boatright"
wrote:

There are days (like today) where the idea is just to fly the airplane. No
specific destination, but if something looks interesting on the ground, or
if I need a Diet Coke or feel the need to unload one, I may land at any of a
dozen nearby airfields... How do you explain this to a FSS briefer? Here's
the discussion I had with the FSS this morning (more or less):

Me to the Briefer: Good Morning, I'll be flying N46KB an Experimental RV-6
today, VFR. Departing at 9:00 local, returning by 3:00 PM, Flying over
North Georgia and East Alabama. Requesting Standard Briefing...

Instead of asking for a "Standard Briefing", just ask for what you want.

"Standard Briefing" is a very specific request.


Ron (EPM) (N5843Q, Mooney M20E) (CP, ASEL, ASES, IA)

Kyle Boatright wrote:
There are days (like today) where the idea is just to fly the airplane. No
specific destination, but if something looks interesting on the ground, or
if I need a Diet Coke or feel the need to unload one, I may land at any of a
dozen nearby airfields... How do you explain this to a FSS briefer? Here's
the discussion I had with the FSS this morning (more or less):

Me to the Briefer: Good Morning, I'll be flying N46KB an Experimental RV-6
today, VFR. Departing at 9:00 local, returning by 3:00 PM, Flying over
North Georgia and East Alabama. Requesting Standard Briefing...

I think this may be where you went wrong, asking for a standard briefing. Just
ask for an "abbreviated briefing", and tell him what information you want.