Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being good pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 01.13.06

Skies are cloudy but the bases are high and visibility good.  You call Flight Service for a preflight weather briefing and, during the specialist’s presentation, he interjects that “VFR flight is not recommended.”  Can you still file a VFR flight plan?  Does this put a stop to your trip?

Who’s the boss?

When a pilot proposes VFR flight and clouds or visibility observed or in the forecast make completion of the flight doubtful (in the briefer’s opinion) then he/she is required to tell the pilot that “VFR Flight is not Recommended.” The briefer will describe the conditions leading to this conclusion, their location and extent, and whether the hazard is surface-based or aloft. This statement is purely advisory and does not prohibit VFR flight or filing a VFR flight plan. It’s up to the pilot-in-command to decide whether to attempt the flight.

Real-life experience: I lived in the Tennessee River valley between the Smoky Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau. Often I’d hear “VFR Flight Not Recommended” when briefing for a flight within the valley, because the mountains to either side were obscured near their tops 3000 feet above my planned cruising altitude.

If you hear “VFR Flight Not Recommended” during your weather brief, then, that should trigger not resignation and cancellation, but more questions about why and where conditions call for this recommendation. Don’t forget that forecasts can trigger the warning also, so find out if conditions are expected to get worse. Ultimately it’s your decision…so long as you’d be able to justify it to a review board or a jury!

Aero-Tip of the day: Respect the briefer’s words that VFR flight is not recommended, but don’t let that phrase alone decide whether or not you’ll fly. Ask targeted questions before making your go/no-go decision.

FMI: Aero-Tips