4

Weather

Reading the atmosphere, decoding the official weather products, and making the go / no-go decision before you ever start the engine.

  1. 1The standard atmosphere and pressureThe ISA reference model, how an altimeter actually works, and why temperature and pressure changes can put you lower than the dial says.13 min
  2. 2Air masses and frontsHow air masses form, what happens at the boundary between two of them, and the sequence of weather each type of front brings.14 min
  3. 3Clouds and VFR flyingHow moisture and temperature decide whether a cloud forms, what family it belongs to, and what that means for a ceiling and a go/no-go call.13 min
  4. 4Density altitudeThe invisible performance thief: how pressure, temperature, and humidity combine into the number your airplane actually performs at.12 min
  5. 5Icing, hail, and turbulenceThe en route hazards that are not thunderstorms: structural ice, hail falling in clear air, mechanical and wind-shear turbulence, and the microburst.14 min
  6. 6ThunderstormsThe three-stage life cycle, the difference between an ordinary and a severe thunderstorm, and the 20-mile rule for staying out of trouble.14 min
  7. 7METAR, TAF, and PIREPDecoding a real METAR, TAF, and PIREP field by field, plus the AIRMET, SIGMET, and briefing products built on top of them.15 min
  8. 8NOTAMs and preflight informationWhat a NOTAM is, how to read its coded format, and the 91.103 obligation to check it before every flight.11 min
  9. 9Weather products beyond METAR and TAFThe winds aloft forecast, the surface analysis and the charts built on it, the Graphical Forecasts for Aviation, the Convective Outlook, the weather that arrives on the flight deck by data link, and the in-flight sources that decide a diversion.18 min