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BriefingBriefing
A good preflight briefing is reading the right documents in the right order. These guides walk through NOTAMs, flight plans, the AIP and the AIRAC cycle, and the bulletins that pull it all together, so the codes and abbreviations stop getting in the way.
11 guides
- Briefing
ICAO vs IATA codes explained
The difference between the 4-letter ICAO location indicators used for flight planning and weather and the 3-letter IATA codes on your boarding pass, plus airline codes and callsigns.
3 min read Read - Briefing
Understanding NOTAMs
What a NOTAM is, how the ICAO format and Q-line are built, the difference between NOTAMN, NOTAMR and NOTAMC, and how to deal with NOTAM overload.
4 min read Read - Briefing
The offline-first preflight briefing
What the rules require you to check before flight, how to build a self-brief, and the honest difference between offline-first and working fully offline.
4 min read Read - Briefing
How to read a PIREP
Decode a pilot weather report field by field, understand the UA and UUA types and the slash-coded elements, and see how a PIREP fills the gaps between weather stations.
4 min read Read - Briefing
The AIP and the AIRAC cycle
What an Aeronautical Information Publication is, how its GEN, ENR and AD parts are organised, and why aeronautical data changes on the fixed 28-day AIRAC cycle.
4 min read Read - Briefing
Decoding the ICAO flight plan
How the ICAO flight plan form is built, with a field-by-field decode of Item 10 equipment and capabilities and Item 18 other information, plus the codes that trip filers up.
4 min read Read - Briefing
How aviation data goes stale
Every weather and NOTAM product has an issue time and a validity, and once you are offline you hold a snapshot. Here is how METARs, TAFs and NOTAMs expire, and why the timestamp matters.
7 min read Read - Briefing
What is in a Pre-flight Information Bulletin
What a PIB is, how it packages the NOTAMs for your route, the difference between aerodrome, area and route bulletins, and why it is a snapshot you have to refresh.
7 min read Read - Briefing
Choosing an alternate aerodrome
When an alternate is required, the FAA 1-2-3 rule and alternate minimums, the EASA planning-minima approach, and the practical checks of weather, approaches, runway and services.
7 min read Read - Briefing
NOTAM categories and time windows
How NOTAMs are sorted by scope and subject, how the validity fields B, C and D set the time window, and what PERM and EST mean, so you can triage a long briefing package.
8 min read Read - Briefing
Decoding NOTAM Q-codes and abbreviations
A deeper guide to the NOTAM Q-line: the five-letter Q-code, the traffic, purpose and scope qualifiers, the height and coordinate fields, and the contractions NOTAMs are written in.
8 min read Read