Other Met Conditions ATPL Flashcards
Describe effect of volcanic ash on aircraft operations (4)
•Fan blades eroded
•Poor radio reception
•St. Elmo’s fire (blue electrical tendrils)
•Fire warning alarms may go off due to smoke sized particles
Explain development of visual-illusion type whiteout and sector whiteout
- Whiteout already covered
•Sector whiteout – occurs in overcast conditions above dust, sand, mud flats, or glassy water
•Creates flat light conditions
•Lose depth-of-field and contrast in vision
With reference to space wx, list different types of space wx (5)
•Coronal Mass Ejections, 24 hours to reach earth
•Solar Flares, 8 minutes to reach earth
•Solar Energetic Particles, continuous
•Galactic cosmic rays (from distant supernovae outside of solar system)
•Solar radiation has 11 year cycle in intensity
What is coronal mass ejections
Large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from suns corona (outermost layer of star’s atmosphere)
What is a solar flar
Sudden flash of increased brightness on the sun
Accompanied by a coronal mass ejection
What are solar energetic particles
High-energy particles flowing from continuously from the sun
What does space wx do on aircraft navigation
- Degraded performance of navigation and surveillance that rely on GNSS
•Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) anomalies
•Sporadic loss-of-lock of GNSS
•Solar and galactic
What does space wx do on aircraft comms
- Unexpected loss of communications
•HF voice and HF data link can fail (3-30 MHz)
•VHF less likely to be impacted
•Caused by solar flares enhancing electron density in the atmosphere and also galactic cosmic rays
What does space wx do on ATC coverage
Ghosting of radar coverage. Position of aircraft different to what is being shown on radar
•Caused by solar and galactic
What does space wx do to pilot and pax
- High doses of ionizing radiation
•Can develop skin cancer, especially on exposed skin
•Enhanced at higher altitudes and higher latitudes
•Caused by solar and galactic
