NIFE Weather 6-4-1 Planning and Resources Flashcards
Define flight visibility
Average forward horizontal distance from cockpit in SM at which a pilot can see and identify prominent unlighted objects by day and prominent lighted objects at night.
Define prevailing visibility
Greatest horizontal visibility in SM, equaled or exceeded throughout over half a horizontal, circular area; may not be continuous
Define slant range visibility.
The distance on final approach at which the runway environment is in sight.
Difficult to estimate from the ground.
Only known from the pilot or NFO viewing the runway from the cockpit
Define runway visual range (RVR)
The horizontal distance, expressed in hundreds of feet or meters, a pilot will see by looking down the runway from the approach end. The most important when IFR
Describe the sky coverage terms that define a ceiling
Judged by altitude (multiple levels of clouds) Clear 0/8 Few >0/8 to 2/8 Scattered 3/8-4/8 Broken 5/8-7/8 Overcast 8/8 Obscured (fog) 8/8
Describe the use of Pilot Weather Reports (PIREPs)
- Used to supplement ground station weather observations
- Required: ceiling at or below 5000’ AGL, Visibility at or below 5 statute miles, thunderstorms or related phenomena, light icing or greater, moderate turbulence or greater, wind shears
Describe In-Flight Weather Advisories
- AIRMETs and SIGMETs available on ADDS website and provide info on potential hazardous weather
- Shows 3000sq miles, accounts for turbulence, icing, visibility less than 3 miles, and volcanic ash clouds
Describe the use of Surface Analysis Charts
- Depicts pressure centers, fronts, and barometric pressure lines
- Shows Observed weather, meaning that the chart represents past history, and is not a forcast
Describe prognostic charts
Available on the prog charts section of the NOAA aviation digital data service site. Include the latest surface analysis along with multiple forecasts for up to a week
Interpret Surface Analysis Charts
- Valid time (VT) is observed time of the information and is given in UTC at top right
- Isobars are at 4-millibar intervals
- The observed barometric pressure at pressure centers are also shown
Describe the use of Weather Prognostic Charts
- Available on NOAA Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS) site
- Include latest surface analysis along with multiple forecasts for up to a week
- Predicted positions of fronts and pressure centers, as well as forecasted weather across the country
Identify the information displayed on station models
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Describe the use of METARs in flight planning
- Aviation Routine Weather Report
- Most widely used for interpreting weather and forecasts (teletype)
- Uses only letters and numbers
- Determines if field conditions are IFR or VFR
- Used to determine weather trends
Describe the use of TAFs in flight planning
- Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts
- Shows surface forecast weather conditions (helps with planning IFR/VFR)
- Shows everything METARs does plus wind shear, temperature, icing, and turbulence groups
Interpret forecast weather conditions from a TAF
https://o.quizlet.com/c8VQ0hXcpAcZLBaei7OTdw.jpg
Describe displayed data METARs)
-Scheduled observations taken 55-59 minutes past the hour and used in flight planning to determine areas of IFR/VFR and to determine the min ceilings en route
Advisory: WW
Severe Weather Watch
Advisory: AWW
Alert weather watch
Advisory: WS
SIGMET
Advisory: UWS
Urgent SIGMET
Advisory: WST
Convective SIGMET (thunderstorms)
Advisory: WA
AIRMET
Describe the use of Winds-Aloft Forecasts
- Wind coding rules 1: 4-6 digit groups/left column (reporting station) top row(altitude in feet MSL)
- Wind is 4 digit/first 2 are true wind direction and the last two are wind in knots. e.g. 1733 is a 170T/33kts
- Temperature is added with a + or - the temperature in Celsius and above 24000’ all temperatures are negative so the - is dropped i.e. 251744 is 250T/17kts/-44C
Exceptions to Winds Aloft Forecasts
- 99 in direction is variable wind direction
- Less than 5kts is listed as 9900
- Above 100kts is shown by adding 500T to the direction and subtracting 100kts from the velocity. 7409 is 240T/109kts
- Wind is never forecasted within 1500’ AGL
- Temp is never forecasted within 2500’ AGL