Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 91 states, in part, that before beginning a flight, the pilot in command (PIC) of an aircraft shall become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. For flights not in the vicinity of an airport, this must include information on available current weather … Read more
Dead reckoning is navigation solely by means of computations based on time, airspeed, distance, and direction. The products derived from these variables, when adjusted by wind speed and velocity, are heading and GS. The predicted heading takes the aircraft along the intended path and the GS establishes the time to arrive at each checkpoint and … Read more
Pilotage is navigation by reference to landmarks or checkpoints. It is a method of navigation that can be used on any course that has adequate checkpoints, but it is more commonly used in conjunction with dead reckoning and VFR radio navigation. The checkpoints selected should be prominent features common to the area of the flight. … Read more
Before a cross-country flight, a pilot should make common calculations for time, speed, and distance, and the amount of fuel required. Converting Minutes to Equivalent Hours Frequently, it is necessary to convert minutes into equivalent hours when solving speed, time, and distance problems. To convert minutes to hours, divide by 60 (60 minutes = 1 … Read more
It is important for pilots to understand the realization that the derived safety benefits of data link depends heavily upon the pilot’s understanding of the specific system’s capabilities and limitations which are listed below. Product latency – be aware of the time stamp or “valid until” time on the particular data link information displayed in … Read more
Many aircraft manufacturers now include data link weather services with new electronic flight display (EFD) systems. EFDs give a pilot access to many of the data link weather services available. Figure 1. Information page Products available to a pilot on the display pictured in Figure 1 are listed as follows. The letters in parentheses indicate … Read more
Although ATC systems cannot always detect the presence or absence of clouds, they can often determine the intensity of a precipitation area, but the specific character of that area (snow, rain, hail, VIRGA, etc.) cannot be determined. For this reason, ATC refers to all weather areas displayed on ATC radar scopes as “precipitation.” ARTCC facilities … Read more
Weather charts are graphic charts that depict current or forecast weather. They provide an overall picture of the United States and should be used in the beginning stages of flight planning. Typically, weather charts show the movement of major weather systems and fronts. Surface analysis, weather depiction, and significant weather prognostic charts are sources of … Read more
Observed weather condition reports are often used in the creation of forecasts for the same area. A variety of different forecast products are produced and designed to be used in the preflight planning stage. The printed forecasts that pilots need to be familiar with are the terminal aerodrome forecast (TAF), aviation area forecast (FA), inflight … Read more
Aviation weather reports are designed to give accurate depictions of current weather conditions. Each report provides current information that is updated at different times. Some typical reports are METARs and PIREPs. Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) A METAR is an observation of current surface weather reported in a standard international format. While the METAR code … Read more