Your Flight Service User Guide

One way to deal with this torrent of poorly presented information is to call Flight Service, ask for an abbreviated briefing and query the briefer about Notams for your proposed flight, and especially if theres any new FDC Notam affecting the airspace or procedures you anticipate. Listen to the briefer; there might be some nuggets you didnt know about. And at least youll be on the record when FAAs enforcement apparatus asks you about a TFR bust. -J.B.

Eric Lyn

Sunday, June 02, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

"One instructor thought he merely 'had a confidence problem.' Another, less charitable, called him a 'train wreck.' " Courtesy YMP

Key Takeaways:

Notams contain critical safety-related flight information, but due to their volume and complex format, pilots should contact Flight Service for an abbreviated briefing, specifically querying about regulatory FDC Notams.
Filing a VFR flight plan guarantees search and rescue services for cross-country flights over rural or unfamiliar terrain, and it is crucial to remember to close the flight plan upon arrival.
Pilots can contact Flight Service via discrete frequencies listed on sectionals or the universal 122.2 MHz, understanding how to identify voice capability on VORs and making proper initial radio callups.

See a mistake? Contact us.

You’re On Notice

From navigation and communication outages, to runway closures to misprinted charts and to identifying every structure in your county over 200 feet high—in other words anything new that could affect the safety of flight, you’ll likely find in a Notam.

Automation also has changed the way we can process Notams during our flight planning, and old distinctions between local and distant Notams have blurred. Not so the FDC Notam—named because of its source, the FAA’s Flight Data Center—which can be regulatory in nature.