One thing that I underestimate about flying airplanes is weather. Of course I knew that wind would affect the flight of an airplane, but there are many more things which can alter the performance of a plane in flight. First off, the way a pilot reads weather can seem alien to a person not involved with aviation. There’s an example:
KFRG 120053Z 22011KT23G 10SM OVC056 01/M07 A3063 RMK AO2 SLP374 T10111072
This is the current weather for my base airport. It looks confusing, but after reading and using it a few times, it’s easy to understand. “KFRG” is the airport decoder. K denotes that the airport is located in the US, and FRG is the airport (Republic. FRG because Republic airport is located in the town of FaRminGdale) 120053Z is the date time which the weather report was made. 12 means that the report was made on the 12th of this month, and 0053 is the time in Zulu. Zulu or Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) is Greenwich Mean Time. 22011K23G is the wind information. The first three digits, 220 is the direction from which the wind is coming, so south by southwest. 11 is the strength of the wind. K means the wind is measured in knots. The 23G means the winds are also gusting to 23 knots. 10SM means visibility is 10 statute miles. OVC056 means that the clouds are overcast at 056 feet or 5,600 feet. Next is the temperature. Which is 01 degree Celsius and the dew point is negative 07. The M denotes negative, or minus. There won’t ever be a “-” symbol. The last information in this weather report which applies to pilots is the A3063. A means altimeter and the altimeter is currently 3063 or 30.63 on the barometric sale.
There is an incredible amount of things which weather can tell a pilot. Another important which a pilot must keep in mind is the weather minimums. This will tell a pilot if they should fly Visual Flight Rules or Instrument Flight Rules. There are different regulations which pilots must adhere to in order to fly in either of these conditions. In a very general term, VFR means better weather than IFR. Only pilots who are instrument rated may fly during IFR conditions. For information about IFR and instrument ratings, go to the License page.
Weather itself affects the performance of an airplane. For example, when the temperature is hot, the air is less dense. This means that performance is decreased. The more air molecules there are, the better an airplane performs. Therefore, airplanes perform the best at low altitudes and in cold temperatures. During the summer, an airplane must roll longer to takeoff, and do a longer landing roll in order to slow down to a safe speed for taxiing. In addition, pilots must be careful of engine temperatures during summer months, or when in hot climates.
There are over 20 different types of weather reports. Some are more important than others. The report in the example at the top of the post is an example of a METAR or meteorological aviation report. These tell the current weather, from when the report was made for a specific location. The weather report which shows a forecast is a TAF or terminal aerodrome forecast the forecast is valid for a specific location for up to 24 hours. A PIREP or pilot report is a report which is made by a pilot in flight. These are valuable because they are good ways to knowing what the exact weather is like at the altitude which they are made. Other reports include AIRMETs and SIGMETs which report dangerous weather such as thunderstorms and tornadoes, winds aloft reports, and HIWAS or hazardous in flight weather reports.
Many people feel that weather is the most import aspect to flying airplanes. While it can be insignificant on certain situations, it is something which every pilot on every flight must pay close attention to and plan for.
KFRG 120053Z 22011KT23G 10SM OVC056 01/M07 A3063 RMK AO2 SLP374 T10111072
This is the current weather for my base airport. It looks confusing, but after reading and using it a few times, it’s easy to understand. “KFRG” is the airport decoder. K denotes that the airport is located in the US, and FRG is the airport (Republic. FRG because Republic airport is located in the town of FaRminGdale) 120053Z is the date time which the weather report was made. 12 means that the report was made on the 12th of this month, and 0053 is the time in Zulu. Zulu or Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) is Greenwich Mean Time. 22011K23G is the wind information. The first three digits, 220 is the direction from which the wind is coming, so south by southwest. 11 is the strength of the wind. K means the wind is measured in knots. The 23G means the winds are also gusting to 23 knots. 10SM means visibility is 10 statute miles. OVC056 means that the clouds are overcast at 056 feet or 5,600 feet. Next is the temperature. Which is 01 degree Celsius and the dew point is negative 07. The M denotes negative, or minus. There won’t ever be a “-” symbol. The last information in this weather report which applies to pilots is the A3063. A means altimeter and the altimeter is currently 3063 or 30.63 on the barometric sale.
There is an incredible amount of things which weather can tell a pilot. Another important which a pilot must keep in mind is the weather minimums. This will tell a pilot if they should fly Visual Flight Rules or Instrument Flight Rules. There are different regulations which pilots must adhere to in order to fly in either of these conditions. In a very general term, VFR means better weather than IFR. Only pilots who are instrument rated may fly during IFR conditions. For information about IFR and instrument ratings, go to the License page.
Weather itself affects the performance of an airplane. For example, when the temperature is hot, the air is less dense. This means that performance is decreased. The more air molecules there are, the better an airplane performs. Therefore, airplanes perform the best at low altitudes and in cold temperatures. During the summer, an airplane must roll longer to takeoff, and do a longer landing roll in order to slow down to a safe speed for taxiing. In addition, pilots must be careful of engine temperatures during summer months, or when in hot climates.
There are over 20 different types of weather reports. Some are more important than others. The report in the example at the top of the post is an example of a METAR or meteorological aviation report. These tell the current weather, from when the report was made for a specific location. The weather report which shows a forecast is a TAF or terminal aerodrome forecast the forecast is valid for a specific location for up to 24 hours. A PIREP or pilot report is a report which is made by a pilot in flight. These are valuable because they are good ways to knowing what the exact weather is like at the altitude which they are made. Other reports include AIRMETs and SIGMETs which report dangerous weather such as thunderstorms and tornadoes, winds aloft reports, and HIWAS or hazardous in flight weather reports.
Many people feel that weather is the most import aspect to flying airplanes. While it can be insignificant on certain situations, it is something which every pilot on every flight must pay close attention to and plan for.
