If you are reading today’s blog then you have already committed yourself to this mandatory 5-question pop quiz. Too late, you can’t leave now! Plus, who doesn’t love a good pop quiz to test your level of aviation meteorology knowledge. Meteorology you say? That’s right todays pop quiz is on clouds, so I hope you […]
Today we’ll review one of the fundamental concepts in aviation weather, understanding clouds. This post feature’s an excerpt from the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (8083-25B). Clouds are visible indicators and are often indicative of future weather. For clouds to form, there must be adequate water vapor and condensation nuclei, as well as a method […]
January 25, 2018 – 10:12 am
Ice sucks, unless of course you are a hockey player, figure skater, or just want a nice, cold, tasty beverage. But in terms of aviation, ice sucks. In general, icing is any deposit of ice forming on an object. In aviation icing is considered to be one of the major weather hazards affecting flight. We […]
January 22, 2018 – 9:40 am
Today, we’re featuring an excerpt from Bob Gardner’s The Complete Private Pilot. A weather front exists where air masses with different properties meet. The terms “warm” and “cold” are relative: 30°F air is warmer than 10°F air, but that “warm” air doesn’t call for bathing suits. Cold air is more dense than warm air, so […]
October 2, 2017 – 8:33 am
Today’s post is an excerpt from the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (8083-25B). Atmospheric pressure historically was measured in inches of mercury (“Hg) by a mercurial barometer. The barometer measures the height of a column of mercury inside a glass tube. A section of the mercury is exposed to the pressure of the atmosphere, which […]
September 18, 2017 – 8:53 am
We’re seeing rain for the first time in over two months in the Seattle area right now, so how about a refresher on precipitation today on the Learn to Fly Blog? Today’s post is excerpted from Aviation Weather (AC 00-6B). Precipitation is any of the forms of water particles, whether liquid or solid, that fall […]
What could be better than taking your significant other on a romantic sunset flight around your local airport? I’ll tell you what, taking your significant other on a romantic sunset flight during an absolutely epic sunset! Sounds awesome right, but just how are you suppose to know when an epic sunset is going to happen? […]
Today we will take Monday’s post on temperature inversions a step further with a discussion on atmospheric stability and the types of weather we can expect with a stable and unstable air mass. Atmospheric stability is defined as the resistance of the atmosphere to vertical motion. A stable atmosphere resists an upward or downward movement. […]
Today’s post on temperature inversions comes to us from The Pilot’s Manual: Ground School (PM-2C). Temperature normally decreases with altitude. In the standard atmosphere the temperature is assumed to decrease by approximately 1.98°C for each 1,000 feet climbed in a stationary air mass. In practice, we can assume a decrease, or temperature lapse rate, of […]
February 2, 2017 – 9:53 am
An important aspect of becoming a private pilot is having an understanding of weather. Even more important is having a thorough understanding of weather that could pose a potential risk to flight. The goal of this understanding is so you can identify and avoid these hazardous conditions as part of your preflight preparations and inflight […]
