For some time COPA has been
asking Nav Canada to stop using the term "VFR Not Recommended" during weather
briefings because it has become known to most pilots as a "cry wolf" statement
on many occasions when the weather is suitable for VFR operations.
COPA has long believed,
pilots are properly trained to make their own weather decisions and, while
advice from weather briefers is valuable and welcome as part of the
decision-making process, making such statements that may be more motivated by
perceived liability than flight safety can actually work against safety, in that
it will be ignored and along with it perhaps some vital information.
NAV CANADA has examined the
issue and has agreed. The requirement to include the term will be removed from
the procedural document at Nav Canada, but we understand that this will not take
place until April 2005, due to publication constraints with the AIP and an
Aeronautical Information Circular that is ready to be published in the AIP.
In the meantime, members may still hear the term being used. Nothing should change about the information you are provided or how you should use the information. The decision to fly remains with you.