Departure Briefing Stations

[kshaw]

It would be helpful if hours of attendance were posted on all the departure briefing stations and some VFR/IFR signs left there for pickup when the station is closed.

[FlyingRon]

The departure briefings are a quaint anachronism. Years ago, before the airshow each day, there was a fly-by pattern pretty much continuously in effect on 18/36. The main point of the departure briefing was to key you in to how to avoid the flyby pattern. The flyby pattern has been gone for years. There is nothing the departure briefing booths tell you that is not EXPLICITLY stated in the NOTAM. They do not staff the booths before 730 in the morning nor after 2 PM.

For a VFR sign, READ THE NOTAM. You make these yourself.

For IFR departures, READ THE NOTAM. There's far more than either having a briefing or a sign.

[Kyle Boatright]

The departure briefings are a quaint anachronism. Years ago, before the airshow each day, there was a fly-by pattern pretty much continuously in effect on 18/36. The main point of the departure briefing was to key you in to how to avoid the flyby pattern. The flyby pattern has been gone for years. There is nothing the departure briefing booths tell you that is not EXPLICITLY stated in the NOTAM. They do not staff the booths before 730 in the morning nor after 2 PM.

For a VFR sign, READ THE NOTAM. You make these yourself.

For IFR departures, READ THE NOTAM. There's far more than either having a briefing or a sign.

I agree with all of this. However, I remember a couple of years ago they were intent on you doing a formal departure briefing and having a little colored (yellow?) half sheet of paper to put in your window to confirm that you'd been briefed. I was glad to see that go away - I'd rather self brief from the notam.

[Auburntsts]

This year there were briefers walking through HBC giving departure briefings right at the plane. However, I think the briefing itself is not useful unless you are one of those idiots that never reads the NOTAM because all they do is go over the applicable sections of the NOTAM.

[Grum.man]

Yea departure briefing was a bit of a joke. Read the notam and print the signs like you are supposed to do and you can skip it all together.

[DaleB]

Last year was the first time I had flown in. I found the departure briefing useful, simply because they explained to me the part about getting ready to leave, then just pulling the airplane out into the row and and waiting for the scooter. This year I didn't bother, having done it already, but I think for fisrt timers it's not a bad idea.