The Rulebook That Isn't Actually a Rule

Here's a genuine paradox in aviation: there's an entire category of FAA document that isn't legally binding, doesn't require compliance, and technically isn't a regulation at all, and yet ignoring it is exactly how pilots fail checkrides and get themselves into real trouble. Meanwhile, there's a completely different document that updates constantly, sometimes multiple times a day, and you're legally required to check it before every single flight, no exceptions.

Today we're covering Advisory Circulars, the FAA's official guidance that isn't actually mandatory, and NOTAMs, the ever-changing notices that absolutely are. Understanding the difference between "the FAA suggests this" and "the FAA requires you to check this constantly" is exactly the kind of distinction that separates a pilot who reads the FARs carefully from one who's just been told things secondhand.

Subscribe free to keep reading, what an Advisory Circular actually is (and isn't) is coming up next.