Hazardous Weather Flashcards
What is a Crosswind?
- Wind that is not parallel
- to a runway
- or flight path.
What is a Gust?
- Sudden,
- short
- increase in wind speed.
What is a Tailwind?
- more than 90 degrees
- to the longitudinal axis
- of the runway
- or aircraft.
What is variable wind?
Frequent wind direction change.
What is Wind Shift?
- A narrow zone
- along which there is an abrupt change
- of wind direction.
What is Ceiling?
- lowest layer aloft reported as broken or overcast;
2. or the vertical visibility into an indefinite ceiling.
What is Indefinite Ceiling?
upward ceiling is a surface-based obscuration, (ex fog)
What is fog?
- minute water droplets
- reduce horizontal visibility to less than 5/8SM
- does not fall to the ground.
What is precipitation?
Any form of water that falls to the ground.
What is blowing snow?
- Snow lifted from the ground by wind
- 6’ up or more,
- reduces horizontal visibility to less than 7SM.
What is Volcanic Ash?
- Fine particles of rock powder from a volcano
2. may remain airborne for long periods.
What is Mountain Obscuration?
- when pilots can’t maintain visual contact with mountains or ridges
- due to clouds,
- precipitation, or
- obscurations.
What is Aircraft Turbulence?
- Irregular motion of an aircraft in flight,
- normally rapid up and down motions,
- caused by a rapid variation of wind speed.
What is Convective Turbulence?
- Turbulent vertical motions
- result from convective currents
- and the subsequent rising and sinking of air.
What is Mechanical Turbulence?
Turbulence caused by obstructions, such as trees, buildings, terrain, etc.
What is Mountain Wave?
- when stable air flow passes over a mountain or mountain ridge
- makes a disturbance
What is wind shear?
- A change in wind speed and/or direction
- in a short distance
- resulting in a tearing or shearing effect.
What is temperature inversion?
When temperature increases with altitude.
What is CAT?
Clear Air Turbulence.
What is Clear Air Turbulence?
- FL200 - FL500
- in cloud-free regions,
- associated with wind shear,
- can affect aircraft without warning.
What is Rime Ice?
- Rough, milky, opaque ice
- formed by the instantaneous freezing
- of small super cooled water droplets.
What is Clear Ice?
- glossy, translucent ice
- formed by slow freezing
- of large super cooled water droplets.
What is a Thunderstorm?
- produced by cumulonimbus clouds,
- always accompanied by lightning and thunder
- usually with strong gusts of wind, heavy rain, and sometimes hail.
What is a Downburst?
- strong downdraft
- creates damaging winds on or near the ground.
- Winds can be straight or curved
- Size, duration, and intensity varies.
- Can cause significant damage.
What types of winds are responsible for most weather-related accidents?
Adverse winds
What two phases of flight are the most vulnerable?
- Takeoff
2. Landing
What aircraft are most affected by adverse winds?
Small aircraft.
Why are smaller aircraft most affected by adverse winds in the takeoff/landing phase of flight?
They tend to have slower airspeeds in those phases.
Can adverse winds affect air traffic decisions?
Yes
In what two main ways can adverse winds affect air traffic decisions?
- Runway Changes
2. Slower arrival rates
What are the 4 types of adverse winds?
- Crosswind
- Tailwind
- Gusts
- Changing winds
In what direction, relative to the wind, do aircraft attempt to depart/land as much as possible?
Into the wind
Why do aircraft depart/land into the wind as much as possible? (2 reasons)
- Groundspeed is slowed
2. More lift is generated
What 3 effects can a crosswind have on an aircraft?
- Reduce aircraft performance.
- Can blow aircraft off course
- Can force aircraft to lean or drift on landing/takeoff
In what two ways can a crosswind force an aircraft to lean or drift on landing/takeoff?
- Cause Loss of Control.
2. Cause Landing gear to collapse.
What effect can a tailwind have on an aircraft?
drastically reduce aircraft performance.
How can an aircraft compensate for a tailwind during takeoff/landing?
Operate a higher speeds at those times
If an aircraft needs to operate at higher speeds at takeoff and landing, how does a runway need to be changed to allow this?
Runway length needs to increase.
How can a tailwind reduce aircraft performance during takeoff?
Slower climbs
In what 3 ways can gusts disrupt an airflight?
- Cause rapid changes in airspeed
- Airspeed changes again when gust dissipates
- Aircraft may maneuver unexpectedly.
If an aircraft speed rapidly changes (especially in response to a gust) what can that lead to?
Altitude change.
What are the 2 types of changing winds?
- Variable wind
2. Sudden wind shift
What problem can variable wind cause aircraft?
Aircraft can have difficulty aligning/adjusting
Where can sudden wind shifts typically be found?
Leading edge of storms
What is the characteristic of wind direction in changing winds?
Wind direction can change dramatically and rapidly.
IMC?
Instrument Meteorological conditions
What is the greatest cause of fatal accidents?
Visual flight into IFR weather.
What is the most common cause of visual flight into IFR weather accidents?
Vertigo
What are the 5 hazards of IFR weather/conditions?
- Fog
- Precipitation
- Volcanic Ash
- Indefinite Ceiling
- Mountain Obscuration
What is the primary hazard caused by Indefinite Ceiling?
Restricts slant range (air-to-ground) visibility.
What is the most common IFR weather hazard?
Fog
When does fog form?
When temp and dew point are the same
What is fog?
clouds that begin at the surface
Can fog form rapidly?
yes
What 3 forms of precipitation commonly produce IFR weather?
Rain
Drizzle
Snow
How low can heavy rain reduce visibility?
below 1 SM
How low can snow reduce visibility to?
zero
How much visibility is there in “whiteout” conditions?
zero
What type of snow is prone to being blown?
powdery
What can create whiteout conditions?
Blowing snow
What can ingesting volcanic ash provoke an engine to do?
Fail
What can volcanic ash on the ground cause?
Loss of traction