New FAA Advisory Circular AC 91-92 offers detailed guidance intended for establishing highly effective preflight briefings. The guidance in this 20-page circular goes far beyond the minimum preflight requirements outlined in FAR 91.103. The FAA said information in the circular serves as an “educational roadmap for the development and implementation of preflight self-briefings, including flight planning, weather interpretation, and risk identification/mitigation skills.”
The FAA believes that following these guidelines will better prepare pilots to properly “interpret and utilize real-time weather information before departure and en route, in the cockpit, via technology like ADS-B, and via third-party non-government providers, as well as Flight Service Stations. Despite their consolidation over the last few years, the FAA maintains FSSs “remain an important source of comprehensive weather and aeronautical information.”
Two appendices that follow the 15-page main section of the circular might be the most valuable takeaways. The first appendix contains a thorough list of preflight briefing elements, their specific value to the pilot, and the website links to the government resources for each of the elements. The second is a sample preflight checklist presented in a single-page format similar to that for other standard checklists familiar to pilots.