AviationWeather information
Before a VFR flight, you get a weather briefing, work out what it means for the departure, the route and the destination, and decide whether to go. It is Task C of Area I, Preflight Preparation, in the FAA Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards, the checkride every private pilot flies.
Free to startThe steps
- Use the aviation weather resources available to get an adequate weather briefing.
- Analyze what at least three weather conditions mean for the flight, with actual weather or conditions the examiner gives you.
- Correlate the weather information to make a go/no-go decision.
Safety rules that stop the station
- When the examiner picks the weather products or the meteorology, they check at least three of their parts.
- Failing to exercise risk management is unsatisfactory.
- If you do not use sound aeronautical decision-making, including single-pilot resource management, the examiner marks the task as failed.
To pass
- An adequate briefing, at least three conditions analyzed and a sound go/no-go decision.
- Know the sources of weather data, METAR, SPECI and PIREP, the surface analysis and ceiling and visibility charts, TAF, the Graphical Forecasts for Aviation, winds and temperatures aloft, the convective outlook and inflight advisories such as AIRMET and SIGMET, the meteorology from stability, wind and fronts to clouds, thunderstorms, icing, fog and frost, digital weather in the flight deck, personal minimums and when to divert.
- Missing the standard on this task fails the task and its area of operation.
Official source
Private Pilot for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-6C)
The FAA publishes the Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards free: every task of the checkride with its knowledge, risks and tolerances.
Making Synapses is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by the Federal Aviation Administration or any aircraft manufacturer. Aircraft and document names are named only to describe the content.