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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.
19 guides
- Briefing
The flight information service
What the flight information service is under ICAO, the UK's basic, traffic, deconfliction and procedural menu, and what none guarantees: separation.
9 min read Read - Briefing
Reading an aerodrome chart
How an aerodrome chart maps the runways, taxiways, holding positions, hot spots and aprons, and how to use it to plan a taxi and avoid a runway incursion.
7 min read Read - Briefing
ICAO vs IATA codes explained
The 4-letter ICAO location indicators used for flight planning and weather versus the 3-letter IATA codes on your boarding pass, plus airline codes.
3 min read Read - Briefing
Temporary airspace restrictions
What temporary flight restrictions are, why they are imposed, and how the US TFR compares with the UK restricted area and emergency restriction of flying.
7 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
VOLMET and recorded weather broadcasts
What VOLMET is, how HF and VHF broadcasts deliver weather to aircraft in flight, and how it differs from ATIS and the automated surface observing systems.
7 min read Read - Briefing
Decoding the ICAO flight plan
A field-by-field decode of the ICAO flight plan: Item 10 equipment and capabilities, Item 18 other information, and the codes that trip filers up.
4 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
Decoding a SNOWTAM
What a SNOWTAM reports, how it carries the runway condition code for each third of the runway under the global reporting format, and how to read one.
9 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
How to read a PIREP
Decode a pilot weather report field by field, the UA and UUA types and the slash-coded elements, and see how a PIREP fills the gaps between stations.
6 min read Read - Briefing
Significant weather (SIGWX) charts
What a significant weather chart forecasts, the CB, turbulence, icing and jet-stream symbols it uses, and how it differs from a surface analysis chart.
8 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 weather and runway checks.
8 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 to refresh.
8 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 for triage.
9 min read Read - Briefing
Reading an IFR enroute chart
How an IFR enroute chart depicts the airway network: the airways and their tracks, the minimum altitudes, the fixes, navaids and frequencies.
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 contractions.
8 min read Read - Briefing
Reading a VFR aeronautical chart
How a VFR chart depicts airspace, terrain and aerodromes, why the legend is the key to everything, and how an ICAO chart and a US sectional differ.
7 min read Read - Briefing
How aviation data goes stale
Every weather and NOTAM product has an issue time and a validity. Here is how METARs, TAFs and NOTAMs expire once you are offline, and why timing matters.
8 min read Read