Weather

[TimW68]

I am just finishing up a class and we had a great project with regard to weather. It was a great opportunity to get familiar with all the available reports that I had gone over in ground training for PPL. The assignment was pretty in depth and it truly taught me how to correlate everything from prog charts to SIGMET's & PIREP's etc.. Now that I have a better understanding of these reports I got to wondering just how extensively other pilots view these on a daily basis. I'm guessing it depends on the job being done. I would appreciate hearing what reports are most commonly used by the different types of pilots from Med-evac, GOM, CFI/CFII, LE, etc. What are the first ones checked and is that the first thing you do to start the shift. Maybe which reports you found out the hard way to pay more attention to. As a PPL this info is really important and maybe some of the other students will be motivated to take the forecasts and reports more seriously than I initially did and be motivated to learn more about them and truly understand how important they are.

[ADRidge]

I'm not a working pilot, but every day the checklist for me is Prog Charts, Sigmets, Notams, TAfs then metars. This gives me a pretty good "big picture" view of what's going on. The metars will change before I get some breakfast and make my way to the heliport, but I can just re-check that stuff before I go fly.

 

Heck, I even do that on days I don't fly, just to stay fluent in weather-ese.

[Wally]

I am just finishing up a class and we had a great project with regard to weather. It was a great opportunity to get familiar with all the available reports that I had gone over in ground training for PPL. The assignment was pretty in depth and it truly taught me how to correlate everything from prog charts to SIGMET's & PIREP's etc.. Now that I have a better understanding of these reports I got to wondering just how extensively other pilots view these on a daily basis. I'm guessing it depends on the job being done. I would appreciate hearing what reports are most commonly used by the different types of pilots from Med-evac, GOM, CFI/CFII, LE, etc. What are the first ones checked and is that the first thing you do to start the shift. Maybe which reports you found out the hard way to pay more attention to. As a PPL this info is really important and maybe some of the other students will be motivated to take the forecasts and reports more seriously than I initially did and be motivated to learn more about them and truly understand how important they are.

 

All my flying is on the job (EMS) and in the local area. I need to know: How are things right now? When are they forecast to change? Which way will that forecast change? Sooner than predicted might mean more severe weather, or less... Later than estimated usually means longer duration bad weather, secure the aircraft before it's stuck unprotected somewhere and can't be moved.

 

The exact process all depends. And, it's kind of hard for me to say, it's a pretty much a process of keeping continuous awareness for me. which came first- the chicken or the egg? is the analogy for do I know what I know about the weather because I'm watching changes or checking changes against forecasts?

If there's nothing much happening weather-wise, I check the progs, area forecasts, TAFs, and METARS first thing. If all that's uniform and non-threatening, the METAR check is really a pure scan for anomalies. Then, I'll periodically eyeball the METARs in a graphic format (HEMS Tool is especially useful but needs a very careful interpretation.) to prevent the un-forecast surprise. And, watch the progs as they're updated. Summers in those same conditions require including radar composites against popcorn thunder and hail. Nights require special attention to temp/dew point spreads, which leads to ceilings and vis checks for station to station variation.

The principle is if nothing much is happening, it will change- keep an eye out for the onset of the trend downward. Then, track the changes in rate and timing of that tend versus what's forecast.

Active storm systems or marginal weather mean I continue the progs, FA, TAF, METAR and radar check more carefully and frequently.

 

Hmmm... Just reread this, and realized I forgot to mention what is probably my most uniform first source- a DUATS brief. I always include the full panoply of weather including SIGMETS, AIRMETS, CONV SIGMETS and NOTAMS. Kinda old school, but I keep that in my smart phone as a foundation and baseline.

Edited April 14, 2010 by Wally

[Gomer Pylot]

I have a few stored requests on DUAT, and the one I usually use covers everything I need for my area. I check the synopsis for an idea of the big picture, then the trend weather to see how things have been changing. Then the HEMS tool for a look at the conditions and forecasts for my local area. I want to see how the current conditions correlate with the forecast. That's mostly it, because if you fly every day, you tend to keep up with the weather patterns, and you only need to check for unexpected changes. I know more or less when fronts are due, it's just a matter of seeing if they have stalled or moved more quickly. The time of year has a large impact on this, because the weather changes a lot more, and more quickly, at some times than others.

[rick1128]

I use a couple of other items also. I like to see the radar and satellite pictures for my area. Especially if I can find a WSI terminal to use. They give a better visual outlook on what I have just read off DUATS. If the radar can also give me the tops and direction of movement, I have a better picture of where they are going and just how bad the could be.

[RkyMtnHI]

This thread is the reason i am on VR..

 

great stuff!!!!

 

dp

[kodoz]

No fans of the Winds Aloft text? A couple of days before this post, I made the case [link] for at least looking at Winds Aloft (FD). Might alert you to possible turbulence from wind shears.

 

After going to a couple of WINGS programs on weather, I developed the routine of looking first at the SIGWX, G-AIRMET graphic, and TFRs. (If the flight is the next day, I'll start with the SIGWX and an hourly forecast.) If the flight still looked good after that, I'd then go to the satellite and radar loops (tells you what might be heading your way), TAFs/METARs/FA. Last thing would be the FD and PIREPs. Right before the flight I'd look again at the latest TAFs/METARs and maybe the radar loop.

 

I'd like to learn how to use DUATS...instructor didn't know how, so I never learned. I'm assuming it's not that tough.

[Gomer Pylot]

I'd like to learn how to use DUATS...instructor didn't know how, so I never learned. I'm assuming it's not that tough.

 

There are actually two DUAT systems, run by competing companies. I've always used the DTC version at http://www.duat.com. The other one is http://www.duats.com. Notice that one is duat and the other is duats. They work similarly, and are easy enough to use. You have to sign up for both, and get a username and password. You have to have a pilot's or student license to use them. On DUAT you can either use an interactive page to get a briefing, or use a prestored item, set via an interactive page. Once you get your preferred info stored, you just log on, click on the saved item you want, and then read it. The systems started out years ago, before the worldwide web was invented, and worked like an old bulletin board, via dialup. These days it's one of the easiest ways there is to get a weather briefing.

[Shaun]

http://www.duats.com.

 

For some reason Duats always gives me an avalanche of text, much of which is weather and notams for places I am no where near or airports I am not going to.

 

I like graphical weather products http://aviationweather.gov/adds/airmets/

 

I was told that only places such as 1800WXbrief and duats are "legal" as they track the pilots access of the weather.

 

IE. proof of FAR preflight requirements.

 

Is that true?

Edited April 17, 2010 by Shaun

[pendulosity]

I just finished the same class a few days ago. I can honestly say I was challenged by the amount of information we had to sift through. Personally, I start by simply looking at an extended forecast. From there I can start getting more in depth by looking at METARs and TAFs. This can give me quick information about specific airports. Then I will have a look at aviationweather.gov under the standard briefing tab and check prog charts, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, ect. If I know I'm going to do a cross country flight I check DUATS to be sure I have NOTAMs. I also check TFRs on the FAA website so I can properly chart them. If you use DUATS remember you can get information in coded and decoded formats, but the coded formats are a pain to read. This may seem like a lot of information for a small task, but being prepared is part of the job. After some experience you will be able to sort through what you need and don't need. I can usually get through it all in about 15 minutes or less if things look good. Since you have taken this class I would bet you a better idea of how to get the right information than most private pilots.