Ask a Flight Instructor

Posts Tagged ‘Weather’

Christian writes with a simple enough question we have all wondered at some point in our training:

Hello. I’m a student pilot. Could you do me favor please? Tell me the KBXK ASOS or AWOS and how to get it? Thanks in advance.

Hi Christian.  Thanks for your question.  Here are three quick ways to find the type of weather station for any given airport:

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This is one of those questions that everyone has asked at one point or another. Whether you are a pilot or a passenger, we all have wondered what would happen if the airplane that I’m flying would suddenly be hit by lightning?

In private pilot ground school we learned that friction causes drag.  What we may not have been told is that this same friction also creates static electricity.  As an airplane flies through the air it continuously creates a static charge, especially on the aircraft control surfaces.  This situation is only made worse when flying through any kind of precipitation or even worse, volcanic ash.   Static wicks which are attached to the trailing edges of control surfaces are designed to help dissipate this charge to the surrounding air.  Static wicks protect not only our flight instruments and radios but also the flight surfaces themselves.  Without the static wicks attached, the static charge on the surface would try to “jump” the unconductive control hinges to the rest of the aircraft.  This “jump” or arc could cause permanent damage to the surface itself if the static charge had the opportunity to build sufficiently.  To further protect against this damaging “jump”, manufacturers also attach conductive bonding strips to keep the static build-up to a minimum.

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Right now I’m sitting at an airport, and as I look out the FBO window it is all too painfully obvious, that winter weather is here.  Along with the snowy icy weather comes a new array of NOTAMS and their confusing contractions.  Here are some of the most commonly used winter weather NOTAM contractions and definitions:

• BERM – Snowbank/s Containing Earth Gravel
• BRAF – Braking Action Fair
• BRAG – Braking Action Good
• BRAN – Braking Action Nill
• BRAP – Braking Action Poor
• DRFT/DRFTD – Drift/Drifted Snowbank/s Caused by Wind Action
• FRZN SLR – Frozen Slush on Runway/s
• LSR – Loose Snow on Runway/s
• MU – Designate a Friction Value Representing Runway Surface Conditions
• PLW – Plow / Plowed
• PSR – Packed Snow on Runway/s
• RUF – Rough
• SIR – Packed or Compacted Snow and Ice on Runway/s
• SLR – Slush on Runway/s
• SNBNK – Snowbank/s Caused by Plowing
• SND – Sand / Sanded
• SNW – Snow
• WSR – Wet Snow on Runways
• WTR – Water on Runways
• IR – Ice on Runway

Another good winter weather review activity is to complete the NASA Aircraft Icing Training Course or watch the NASA Aircraft Icing Procedures videos:

Funny story for you with humor that only a pilot may understand. I was checking the ASOS at my home airport on the way in tonight and I heard something interesting on the radio:

Automated weather, time 2156 zulu, winds 290 at 9, visibility 10, sky clear, light rain, temperature 22, dewpoint 16, altimeter 30.22

Sky Clear and Rain? I’m confused. I’m not sure where the rain came from? I sure didn’t see any. Now here is the really funny coincidence, as I was listening to the radio on the way home, Creedence Clearwater Revival came on singing, “Have you ever seen the rain?” Now if you aren’t familiar with the lyrics, let me quote the chorus for you:

I want to know, have you ever seen the rain?
I want to know, have you ever seen the rain?
Comin down on a sunny day?

No, CCR, I haven’t seen the rain come down on a sunny day, but it sure wasn’t for the lack of trying.

Now, to turn this into an educational experience, I’m going to add a quick lesson. How do you seriously know when an ASOS might be reporting inaccurate or corrupted data? You can look for a “$” sign at the end of the METAR report. Here’s an example:

260256Z AUTO 19007KT 8SM FEW080 22/19 A3002 RMK AO2 56010 T02220194 LTG DSNT NW-NE SLP158 $

You know from the $ sign at the end of the report that maintenance is needed on the weather station system making this report. That is the station’s way of saying, “I’m in need of some attention.” You don’t know what is broke but you know that something may be inaccurate. I would recommend trying to find another surface observation in the area and compare it to the other to make sure they are reporting somewhat similar weather.

Fly Safe.