FlightDecide vs 1800wxbrief: the safety-first answer. No app we make (or anyone makes) is an official weather briefing. Here's what 91.103 actually requires, what AC 91-92 permits, and where a decision-support app genuinely helps.
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FlightDecide is not an official weather briefing, and it doesn't try to be. 14 CFR 91.103 requires you to become familiar with all available information before every flight. The established ways to satisfy and document that are an official briefing through Leidos Flight Service (1800wxbrief.com or 1-800-992-7433) or a documented self-briefing using FAA/NWS primary sources per AC 91-92. FlightDecide is a decision layer that sits before and alongside that briefing, never in place of it.
The regulation is short and worth reading directly. 14 CFR 91.103 says each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, "become familiar with all available information concerning that flight," and it specifically calls out weather reports and forecasts, fuel requirements, alternatives if the flight cannot be completed as planned, known traffic delays, runway lengths, and takeoff and landing distance data for the aircraft.
Notice what the rule does not say: it doesn't name a phone number, a website, or an app. It sets an information standard, not a channel. That's why the practical question isn't "which app is legal"; it's "can you show you actually became familiar with all available information, using sources that are complete and current?" That's where the official briefing and AC 91-92 come in.
Flight Service in the contiguous U.S. is operated by Leidos. You reach it at 1800wxbrief.com or by phone at 1-800-WX-BRIEF (1-800-992-7433). An official briefing gives you things no third-party app fully replicates:
The FAA's AC 91-92 (Pilot's Guide to a Preflight Briefing) recognizes that pilots may self-brief rather than call Flight Service, and describes how to do it well. Its emphasis, fairly summarized:
Two cautions, because precision matters here. First, AC 91-92 is an advisory circular: guidance, not regulation; the binding requirement remains 91.103 itself. Second, "the FAA allows self-briefing" is not the same as "any app session counts as a briefing." The AC's acceptance is conditioned on primary sources, a systematic process, and documentation. If you self-brief casually, you haven't done what the AC describes.
FlightDecide is decision support: a structured second opinion you run before or alongside the official briefing, not a substitute for it. Its raw data comes from aviationweather.gov and FAA NOTAM sources, and it does three things a briefing doesn't:
What it is not: an official briefing, a logged 91.103 record, a TFR authority, or a decision-maker. The verdict is advisory; the decision is yours.
14 CFR 91.103 requires the PIC to become familiar with all available information before departure, and it names required elements (weather reports and forecasts, fuel, alternatives, runway and performance data) but no particular briefing channel. The FAA recognizes both official briefings through Flight Service and self-briefings from approved primary sources per AC 91-92. A decision-support app like FlightDecide can be part of your preflight information, but on its own it is not an official briefing, and FlightDecide does not claim to satisfy 91.103 by itself.
A briefing obtained from Flight Service (operated in the contiguous U.S. by Leidos via 1800wxbrief.com or 1-800-WX-BRIEF, 1-800-992-7433) in standard, abbreviated, or outlook form. It draws on FAA and NWS source data, covers adverse conditions and TFRs, and creates a logged record associated with your tail number: valuable documentation that you met your 91.103 obligation.
Yes. AC 91-92 (Pilot's Guide to a Preflight Briefing) recognizes that pilots may self-brief using approved primary sources such as aviationweather.gov and FAA NOTAM services, and it emphasizes a systematic process and retained documentation. It is guidance, not regulation; the binding requirement remains 91.103's "all available information." If you self-brief, do it deliberately: same sources, same structure, every flight, with a record.
Because the briefing gives you the data, and the failure mode is usually the interpretation: reading a marginal TAF optimistically because you want to go. FlightDecide scores the same raw METAR/TAF/NOTAM data against your aircraft's POH performance and your personal minimums, returning a GO / CAUTION / NO GO advisory with every AI statement verifiable against the raw products it displays. A structured second opinion alongside the briefing, never a replacement for it.
Different problems entirely: the industry-standard EFB versus a preflight decision layer, and why many pilots run both.
The wider landscape: EFBs, weather apps, and decision tools, and which job each one does.
A repeatable structure for the decision your briefing (official or otherwise) feeds into.
FlightDecide scores the same raw METAR, TAF, and NOTAM data against your aircraft's POH numbers and your personal minimums: a GO / CAUTION / NO GO advisory you can verify line by line before you commit. Free tier: 3 analyses a month.
Get FlightDecide on the App StoreThis page is educational and advisory only. FlightDecide is decision support, not an official weather briefing, and nothing here is legal advice or a substitute for an official briefing, your POH, or your judgment as pilot in command (14 CFR 91.3). Sources: 14 CFR 91.103; FAA AC 91-92 (Pilot's Guide to a Preflight Briefing); 1800wxbrief.com (Leidos Flight Service); aviationweather.gov. Last reviewed: July 17, 2026.