The Briefers Are Busy

While Dave Higdon’s comment in his article “Blue-Sky Briefings” (March 2012) on “how and why any pilot would fly without a weather briefing defies logic” is self-evident, I would take issue with what I find to be a very counterproductive attitude on the part of numerous briefers over the years. I fly VFR frequently in the western U.S., and, unless it is severe clear, most briefings are prefaced by a standard admonition that “VFR is not recommended” (usually due to mountain obscuration) before the actual briefing has begun. When the briefing is completed and it seems clear to me that VFR is certainly reasonable and safe, I’m made to feel like an idiot when I proceed to file VFR after I’ve just been given a host of reasons not to do so

Key Takeaways:

• A pilot expresses frustration with U.S. weather briefers who often issue "VFR not recommended" warnings prematurely, finding the attitude counterproductive when safe VFR corridors exist.
• A former Navy SEAL critiques the use of "Spare Air" for ditching, arguing that egress training is more critical for survivability than scuba devices, which can be impractical and distracting.
• The article includes corrections for a humorous error in previous turbulence handling advice and a pilot's concern about the limited and expensive options for ADS-B avionics upgrades.

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