The ugly side of non-convective LLWS Added on: December 23, 2018 Duration: 8 minutesA pilot rarely charges through adverse weather on purpose. There has to be a reason why a pilot makes a bad decision when weather is to blame. Ignorance plays a significant role in many weather-related aviation accidents or mishaps. Experience and skill don’t always protect a pilot from themselves. We can normally expect an inexperienced pilot to make a mistake, but... |
Added on: December 13, 2018 Duration: 8 minutes
When flying under instrument flight rules (IFR), knowing the freezing level before you depart is paramount no matter what the calendar says. But it is especially important to monitor the freezing level closely during the spring and fall when it tends to change the most on a day to day basis. Also during this time of the year, it is quite common for... |
Added on: November 11, 2018 Duration: 10 minutes
Unless you are flying an aircraft that has a certified ice protection system (IPS), the decision to fly into the clouds when the static air temperature is at or below 0 degrees Celsius often means some risk of structural icing. Whether or not structural icing is possible is completely dependent on... |
Added on: May 24, 2018 Duration: 12 minutes
Many pilots are taught to strictly avoid what is known as virga. Virga is created when precipitation in the form of rain or snow falling out of the base of a cloud evaporates in a dry atmosphere before reaching the surface. It has a wispy appearance hanging from the base of the cloud when viewed from a distance. Virga that occurs outside of convective activity is very common and ordinarily... |
Added on: January 27, 2018 Duration: 10 minutes
Pilots are taught that "upslope" stratus or fog occurs when moist air is forced up a mountainside to a level where condensation occurs. As the moist, but unsaturated air is lifted, it expands and cools dry adiabatically. The temperature eventually cools to the dewpoint temperature and fog or stratus can form somewhere along the mountain slope. The truth is that mountains... |