Definition
The toll-free telephone number used in the United States to reach a Flight Service Station (FSS) for preflight weather briefings, flight plan filing, and other pilot services provided by Flight Service.
Plain English
A free phone number pilots in the U.S. can call to talk to a weather briefer, file a flight plan, or get other flight planning help.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA material about Flight Service Stations and preflight weather briefings.
Derivation
The letters WX are the long-standing aviation and meteorology shorthand for 'weather,' and BRIEF refers to the weather briefing the pilot receives. The number spells out its purpose on a standard telephone keypad.
Why Pilots Care
Provides direct access to current, official weather and NOTAM data required for safe preflight planning and decision-making.
Intuition Check
Do not treat 1-800-WX-BRIEF as just a general weather hotline. In aviation use, it connects pilots with Flight Service for pilot-specific weather and flight planning support.
Example Sentence 1
Before departing on the cross-country, she called 1-800-WX-BRIEF to get a standard weather briefing and file her VFR flight plan.
Example Sentence 2
She used 1-800-WX-BRIEF to request an outlook briefing for her planned cross-country flight the next day.