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12 1 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK TAFs and METARs In the northern hemisphere, if you stand with your back to Contents the wind, where is the higher pressure air?

Weather information is passed to aircrew by Termi- Only essential knowledge and key revision a) On your left. b) In front of you. nal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs) and Meteorologi- points have been included in this manual. c) On your right. d) Above you. Chapter 1 Units cal Actual Reports (METARs). Standard codes are You must have a thorough knowledge of its used for brevity. Where on this pressure diagram will the be contents before the examination. Vertical Distance and Speed greatest? Aircraft and Fuel The code CAVOK (cloud and visibility OK) means Read each page, then read the questions and Fuel Conversion the visibility is at least 10 km and there is no cloud a) A underline or highlight the correct answer. below 5000ft. b) B Pressure c) C

Revise the questions and answers as they d) D TAF and METAR Decodes will constitute a high proportion of the ac- Chapter 2 Flight Planning tual examination questions (typically 23 out If the wind indicated by the isobars on a weather chart is 200 BR Mist FZ Freezing SN Snow degrees / 20 kts, what would you expect the surface wind to of the 25 questions!). Triangle of Velocities DZ Drizzle TS Thunderstorm be? Flight Planning HZ Haze FG Fog RA Rain Ensure your answers are correct before us- Fuel Planning FU Smoke SH Shower a) 175/15 b) 175/25 ing them in your final revision. - Slight + Heavy Safety Altitudes c) 230/15 d) 200/20

How does the pass information about airfield Chapter 3 Position Fixing weather to aircrew?

Visual Fixing a) By using TAFs and METARs. b) By television. Radio Aids c) By radar. VOR/DME and TACAN d) By TEMPOs and BECMGs. Astro Navigation Radar Navigation The main difference between a TAF and a METAR is:

Long Range Fixing a) One is a report, the other is a forecast. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) b) One TAF is more reliable. c) One never includes the wind velocity. Active / Passive Systems Conclusion d) One is for a longer time period than the other.

If you saw the term CAVOK in a weather report, what Chapter 4 Map Reading would it mean to you?

a) Visibility 5 km, cloudbase 10,000 ft. Aircraft Altitude b) Combat all-terrain vehicles OK. Contrast and Colour c) Visibility better than 5 km and no cloud below 10,000 ft. d) Visibility better than 10 km and no cloud below 5,000 ft. Map Scales Timing Marks In a TAF what would -SHSN mean?

Chapter 5 Weather a) Heavy snow. b) Snow all day. c) Sleet. Water Vapour d) Light snow showers.

Thunderstorms

Isobars

TAFs and METARs TAF and METAR Decodes

Dec 06 Final revision – no changes since May 05

2 11 CHAPTER 5 WEATHER What is the major variable in the atmosphere that affects weather? CHAPTER 1 UNITS In which two countries would you expect to be told by air

Pure air consists of 79% nitrogen, 20% oxygen and traffic control to fly at a height of 300 instead of a) Water in all its forms. b) Cigarette smoke. 1000 feet? 1% other gases, however the major variable in the Vertical Distance and Speed c) Pressure. d) Temperature. atmosphere that affects weather is water in all its a) Russia and China. forms. What causes the air pressure at sea level? Despite metrification, most countries still use feet b) UK and Ireland. to measure aircraft height and altitude. Only in c) Australia and New Zealand. The air pressure at sea level is caused by the a) Depression. Russia and China are you expected to fly and d) USA and Mexico. weight of the air above us. With altitude, pressure b) The weight of the air above it. report altitude in metres. c) All the aircraft flying around. reduces and so does the temperature. Why must you be very careful if using an OS map to work d) The movement of highs and lows on the weather out safety altitudes? Despite still using feet to measure aircraft altitude, chart. Water Vapour most countries have adopted metres to show ele- a) The map does not cover a large enough area. When the temperature drops to the dew point, but is still vations on maps - the British OS map is an ex- b) The map is out of date. Air holds water vapour as an invisible gas, the above freezing, what kind of weather can you expect? ample. Great care is needed because an aircraft c) The elevations are in metres. warmer the air, the more water vapour it can hold. being flown in thousands of feet can be in a very d) The grid is based on kilometre squares. If the air is cooled below its dew point it can no a) Fog. b) Rain. dangerous position if a navigator reads a mountain c) Sleet. d) Thunderstorms. longer hold water as a vapour and droplets start to top as being 2000 feet instead of 2000 metres! An aircraft is flying at 2000ft above sea level, towards a hill whose peak is 1000 metres above sea level. If the pilot form. Dew, mist, fog or clouds will start to form. The 4 main reasons that air moves vertically are known as (One equals approximately 3.3 feet.) takes no action, will the a/c: the trigger actions. What are these? There are four ‘trigger actions’ which cause air to The calculation of safety altitude (above which we a) Hit the hill more than half way up the slope. rise, turbulence, convection, orographic uplift and a) Conduction, precipitation, thunderstorms, convection. must fly if there is any doubt about terrain clear- b) Miss the hill by 1000 metres. frontal uplift. In each case, pressure and tempera- b) Turbulence, convection, orographic and frontal uplift. ance) is the navigator’s number one priority. c) Miss the hill by 1000 ft. ture fall until the dew point is reached and at that c) Turbulence, conduction, orographic, fiscal. d) Hit the hill near the peak. d) Market forces, radiation, x-rays, frontal uplift. altitude the base of the cloud is formed. At high Vertical speed is measured in metres per minute in The Navigator’s No 1 priority is: levels clouds consist of ice crystals (cirrus) but The base level of clouds is normally the pint at which Russia and China, feet per minute elsewhere. most clouds are visible droplets of water. rising air has cooled to what temperature? a) Calculation of safety altitude. Most countries except the USA use metric units b) Keeping the a/c above safety speed. Thunderstorms a) 0 degrees C. b) Its dewpoint. for meteorological reports. c) Navigating with a sextant. c) 0 degrees F. d) Its condensation. d) Calculating a/c altitude in metres. Thunderstorms present a variety of hazards to an Aircraft and Fuel What are clouds made of? aircraft and are best avoided by a large margin. The units used for vertical distance and speed in most countries are: Some of these hazards are: icing, precipitation American built aircraft measure fuel in pounds or a) Visible droplets of water. b) Water vapour. (usually hail), turbulence, lightning and severe c) Scotch mist. d) Steam. imperial , whereas most others use kilo- a) Metres and metres per minute. downdrafts. Modern aircraft carry weather radar to grammes (kg) or metric . In theory, fuel b) Metres and knots. assist in avoiding thunderstorms and turbulence. What is the best thing for an aviator to do about thunder- should be measured by mass as the amount of c) Feet and knots. storms? thermal energy in one unit of fuel relates directly d) Feet and feet per minute. Isobars to its mass. Unfortunately, you cannot weigh fuel a) Avoid them by a wide margin. when an aircraft is airborne, so the alternative is to The country which is changing to metric units most b) Use the radar to go through the centre. slowly in aviation is: Isobars join points of equal pressure and help measure its volume. c) Pass downwind of them. meteorologists and pilots to understand how the air d) Stay on the ground. a) Russia b) USA is moving. In the northern hemisphere it circulates c) UK d) France clockwise around anticyclones (high pressure Which of the following is not one of the hazards to a/c areas) and anticlockwise around cyclones (low that is found in thunderstorms? What units of fuel would you expect to see on the gauges pressure areas). The easy way to remember this is of a Eurofighter (Typhoon) aircraft? a) Icing. b) Lightning. that if you stand with your back to the wind, the c) Isobars. d) Turbulence. a) Kilogrammes. area of Low pressure is on your Left. b) U.S. Gallons. What form of precipitation is commonest in thunder- c) Imperial gallons. Isobar patterns represent the wind at 2000 ft above storms? d) Pounds. the surface. The direction of the lines gives the direction of the wind and the closer the lines are a) Drizzle b) Snow Why do we use units of volume for a/c fuel, even though together, the stronger the wind. At the surface the c) Hail d) Showers it would be more correct to measure its mass? wind is approximately 25% less strong than at What do aircrew use to avoid thunderstorms? a) It is impossible to weigh the fuel in the air. 2000 ft and will have backed by about 25°. For b) The Americans don't like doing it that way. instance, if the 2000 ft wind is 270/20 the surface a) Radio beacons. b) Seaweed. c) The mass of the fuel depends on its type. wind will be 245/15. c) Radar. d) Weather forecasts. d) The fuel is affected by outside air temperatures.

10 3 Fuel Conversion If an a/c fuel tank was filled with water, it would contain What is the main difference between map reading on the 5000 pounds of water. If this water is now replaced with CHAPTER 4 MAP READING ground and in the air? Different types of fuel each have a Specific Grav- fuel at an SG of 0.80, how heavy would the fuel be? Limitations ity (SG). This is a measure of the ratio between a) There is no time in the air to discuss where we are. a) 4000 pounds. b) You don't have to wear an oxygen mask on the ground the weight of the fuel and the weight of the same b) 400 gallons. You can make the same mistakes map reading in volume of water. Water has an SG of 1.0; typi- c) You do not need waterproof maps in the air. c) 8000 pounds. the air as you can on the ground, but with the d) The scale of maps is so different. cally jet fuel has an SG of 0.8 - this means that a d) 5000 pounds. extra mental pressure that there is no time when litre of jet fuel will weigh only 80% of the weight What is the essential requirement of a feature for use in If the fuel tanker has its gauges calibrated in different you are flying to have a discussion about your of a litre of water. location. low level map reading? units from the receiver aircraft fuel gauges, what method of conversion would the crew use? Conversion of fuel weight to volume, or between a) It must be a different colour from the background. Aircraft Altitude b) It must be a water feature. various types of units (lbs, kgs, gallons, litres etc) a) A DR computer. can be done on a calculator, a DR computer or c) It must be large enough to be seen at high speed. b) A fuel weight and volume conversion chart. The best features for map reading depend on d) It must have vertical extent. using a chart in the RAF Flight Information Hand- c) A calculator. whether the aircraft is at high or low altitude. At book. d) Any of the last three answers. What is the major difficulty with map reading from an a/c low level it is important to choose features which have vertical extent, chimneys, hills etc. At high at high level? Pressure What causes the air pressure at sea level? level vertical features cannot be seen and larger a) The weather. a) The movement of highs and lows on a weather chart. features are needed (lakes, woods, islands). b) The maps are not accurate enough. Atmospheric pressure is caused by the weight of b) All the aircraft flying around. the air above us. c) Vertical features cannot be seen. c) Depression. The most important characteristic of a map read- d) Everything looks so small.

d) The weight of the air above it. ing feature is that it is unique. The higher we go, the less air there is above us. What is the most important characteristic of a map reading Which units are used to measure pressure in the atmos- Atmospheric pressure is greatest at sea level and Contrast and Colour feature? reduces as we climb up through the atmosphere. phere throughout Europe?

a) It must be small enough. a) Inches of mercury. Of the natural features used in map reading, rivers b) It must be tall enough. Pressure can be measured in pounds per square b) Millibars. and coastlines are generally the most useful be- inch (psi), inches of mercury (the method used in c) It should be unique. c) Atmospheres. cause they show the greatest contrast and colour d) It must be large enough. the USA), in mm of mercury, or in millibars (mb). d) Hectonewtons. change between themselves and the land. When choosing natural (rather than man-made) features Outside the USA, which units are used to measure atmos- Millibars are used everywhere outside the USA. Map Scales for map reading, what characteristic is most important? pheric pressure?

The average sea level pressure is 1013 millibars. a) How they are shown on the map. a) Inches of mercury. Special maps are produced for map reading from b) Their contrast and colour. The table below shows how the atmosphere thins b) Pounds per square inch. the air. Emphasis is placed on features more easily with altitude. c) Their size. c) Millibars. identified from the air and the maps are made to a d) Whether they are frozen or not. d) Millimetres of mercury. much smaller scale, typically 1:500,000. Altitude (feet) Air Pressure (millibars) In a simple a/c, what piece of equipment do we rely on to What is the typical atmospheric pressure at sea level? Timing Marks assist with map reading? Sea level 1013 a) 200 millibars 10,000 700 a) The radar. b) 1013 millibars Before embarking on a flight in an aircraft without 18,000 500 b) The watch. c) 29.98 millibars sophisticated navigation aids, a student will put 24,000 400 c) The gyro magnetic compass. d) 1013 inches of mercury timing or distance marks along each of the legs of d) The magnifying glass. 30,000 300 his route. If he loses his place along his track he 34,000 250 Flying at a typical cruising level of 34000 feet, Why do we put timing (or distance) marks on a map to what would you expect the atmospheric pressure outside need only consult his watch, work out the time in 39,000 200 minutes since the last , and that will tell assist with map reading? the aircraft to be? him where to look on the map. Note that at a commercial airliner’s typical cruis- a) To calculate ETA. a) One half of sea level pressure. b) To monitor the groundspeed. ing height of 34,000 ft, the air outside has only b) One tenth of sea level pressure. about one quarter of the air pressure at sea level. c) In case we lose our place. c) Three quarters of sea level pressure. d) To check fuel consumption. Consequently the amount of oxygen available is d) One quarter of sea level pressure. only one quarter of that at sea level. If it were not Most large a/c have cabin pressurization to maintain air for the pressurisation system which maintains a higher air pressure inside the aircraft, those on pressure inside the a/c fairly close to sea level pressure. Why is this? board would lose consciousness. a) It maintains the oxygen level. b) It reduces the a/c fuel consumption. c) It keeps the cabin warm. d) It helps the stewardesses keep the passengers calm.

4 9 CHAPTER 2 FLIGHT PLANNING In the triangle of velocities, which vector represents the Radar Navigation wind velocity? In the Tornado GR variants, a computer generated low The Triangle of Velocities a) The angle between track and heading. Airborne radar has been refined to such a stage level map can be superimposed over the radar picture. What does this enable the navigator to do? b) The vector with one arrowhead. that ground returns received by an aircraft are c) The vector with two arrowheads. matched to a ‘computerised map’ enabling an a) Avoid carrying paper maps. d) The vector with three arrowheads. accurate fix to be obtained simply at the press of a b) Take quick, accurate fixes. button. c) Spot the golf courses he/she would like to play. In the triangle of velocities, which vector represents the d) Use look down, shoot down missiles. track and groundspeed?

One disadvantage of this system is that the radar a) The longest one. transmissions can be detected by the enemy. What is the major disadvantage of radar in combat a/c? b) The vector withy two arrowheads.

a) It only works at night. c) The vector with one arrowhead. Long Range Fixing b) You need a weapon systems operator to use it. d) The shortest one. c) It gives away your location. During the 1950’s and 1960’s a number of long d) It only works at low level. In this diagram of the triangle of velocities, the In the triangle of velocities, which vector represents the heading and ? range ‘area’ navigation systems were developed vector with one arrow represents heading and true All long range nav aids work on a similar basis. What (Gee, Decca, Loran and Omega). All worked on a airspeed. The vector with two arrows represents a) The angle between track and heading. similar principle, measuring the time it takes two does the equipment use to calculate position? track and groundspeed. Windspeed and direction b) The vector with one arrowhead. synchronized signals to arrive from two different a) Old Moore's Almanac. is shown by the vector with three arrowheads. c) The vector with two arrowheads. transmitting stations to give a fix. b) Time interval between synchronised signals. d) The vector with three arrowheads. c) Time interval between successive fixes. Drift is the angle between the track and heading Global Positioning System (GPS) d) Phase difference on various radials. vectors. How is drift shown in the triangle of velocities?

Only one long range Navigation System gives accuracies a) The angle between heading and wind direction. With airborne microcomputers and the network of Each vector constitutes two pieces of information, b) The angle between track and heading. Global Positioning satellites, it is now possible for of about 100 metres. Which is it? a direction, and a value indicated by the length of c) The angle between track and wind direction. even an unskilled operator to obtain fixes with a) GEE. each arrow. As long as we have four of the ele- d) It is not shown at all. accuracies of a few metres. b) DECCA. ments of the vector triangle, we can find the other c) GPS. two. The solution can be found by a variety of How many elements of the vector triangle are needed in Active / Passive Systems d) LORAN. methods, but the quickest is to use the Dalton DR order that the triangle may be solved?

Computer. What is the best defence against enemy detection of active a) 3 b) 4 The development of radar-homing missiles has c) half d) 6 necessitated the development of even more so- navigation systems in fast jet a/c? Flight Planning phisticated electronic warfare (EW) countermea- a) Use only astro navigation. What is the quickest and most accurate way of solving the sures. EW is a growth science and is the subject of b) Climb to service ceiling. In the world of the private pilot and light military vector triangle? a constant development race between nations. c) Scramble/unscramble the signals. trainers, flight planning is carried out using the d) Use only passive systems. Pilot Navigation Log Card. a) Mentally. b) Using a sheet of graph paper. EW measures are used to protect ‘active’ naviga- The best passive navigation system is: c) Using a word processor. tion systems, but another approach is to use only d) Using the Dalton DR Computer. ‘passive’ systems. Passive systems do not trans- a) Astro alone? mit, merely receiving signals such as those trans- The diagram shows a vector triangle for a flight along an b) Loran with astro? mitted by GPS satellites and combining that infor- c) Triple inertial with GPS? easterly track. With an N.E. wind, which of the following mation with up to three inertial navigation sys- is true? d) Twin inertial with Omega? tems (GPS + triple INS). In the early stages of training, students are made to con- Conclusion centrate on which method of navigation?

a) Astro navigation. Despite the availability of very accurate naviga- b) Air plot. tion systems, a great deal of aviation training time c) Map reading. a) The TAS is less than the groundspeed. is devoted to old fashioned methods such as map d) Mechanical track plot. b) The a/c experiences port drift. reading, particularly in a student’s early stages of c) Without doppler radar, nothing is certain. training. d) The heading is approximately 080 degrees.

What is the purpose of the Pilot Navigation log card?

a) It records the instrument readings every 6 minutes. b) It enables the pilot to plan the flight. c) It tells the pilot where the a/c is. d) It is an accurate record of the flight for squadron statistics. 8 5 The pilot must enter important details on the log What must a pilot do in order to complete the Pilot Navi- CHAPTER 3 POSITION FIXING In the early days of aviation, what did pilots have to rely card for each leg. He must measure the tracks with gation log card? on for navigation? a protractor and the distances using dividers. a) Extract the tower frequencies from the navigation In the pioneering days of aviation aircraft could a) Map reading. b) The navigator. handbook. not fly unless the crew could see the ground, as c) The observer. d) The stars. Temperature is required in order to calculate the b) Measure the tracks with a protractor and the distances map reading was the only means of navigating. (TAS) from the with dividers. What is the name of the first long range navigation system (CAS). c) Measure the tracks with dividers and the distances Although big strides forward were made during to give world-wide fixes? with a protractor. and after the Second World War, it was not until Fuel Planning d) Ensure that the a/c has the correct equipment fitted. the 1970’s that world-wide coverage was achieved a) Sputnik. b) Omega. c) Loran. d) GPS with a fixing aid known as Omega. More recently Why do you need to know the outside air temperature at The time for each leg and the fuel required is also operating altitude in order to complete your flight plan- this has been superseded by Satellite Navigation The system in the last question is now being replaced by calculated and logged on the card. Running out of ning? (SATNAV) and the Global Positioning System what modern system? fuel in a car is inconvenient, in an aircraft it is (GPS). disastrous. a) To ensure that the passengers meals stay frozen. a) ILS b) TCAS b) To calculate the TAS from the CAS. Visual Fixing c) LORAN d) GPS The timings on the log cards also help pilots pass c) To calculate IAS from Mach No. d) To ensure that the engines will work. The name of a fix that you get from reading a map is accurate estimates of time of arrival (ETA’s) at By using a map to positively identify a feature on known as: or destinations. As well as solving the triangle of velocities, what other the ground below, you are making a visual fix information is logged on the Pilot Navigation log card? known as a pinpoint. The pinpoint is still a very a) Pinpoint. Safety Altitudes reliable method of fixing one’s position, particu- b) Pinprick. a) Amount of fuel received from tanker. larly in the early days of training. c) DR position. The safety altitude is calculated by adding 1000 ft b) Time for each leg and a/c registration. d) Air position. to the highest elevations (mountains, TV masts c) Met forecast of icing and thunderstorms. Radio Aids etc) on or near the track, and rounding up to the d) Time for each leg and fuel required. The radio compass works on the same principle as which of these equipments: nearest 100 ft. If meteorological conditions dete- For what reasons do we need to calculate leg times and The next time you listen to a small portable radio, riorate, the pilot must always be prepared to climb ETA's on our pilot navigation card? try turning the radio through 360° in the horizon- a) A Radio 1 transmitter? above the safety altitude. tal plane. You will find that there are two points in b) A gyro magnetic compass? a) Fuel and de-icing fluid. the circle where reception is poor, and two points c) A small portable radio? Air Traffic Control Flight Plan b) To calculate safety altitude and variation. where reception is best. The Radio Direction d) A radio sonar buoy? c) Fuel and Air Traffic. Finder (DF or radio compass) works on the same Before a pilot commences his flight he must sub- d) Air Traffic and for astro calculations. The radio compass enables you to take what kind of fix? principle to find the direction of the aircraft from mit an ATC Flight Plan so that ATC units along If the highest obstacle near your track is 1750', what is a beacon. By using lines from two further beacons a) VOR/DME fix. b) 3 position line fix. his route and at his destination have details of his your safety altitude? (preferably at about 60° from each other), a ‘three c) Tacan fix. d) Astro heading fix. intended flight. position line fix’ can be plotted to accurately a) 2700 ft locate the position of the aircraft. In a 3-position line fix what is the ideal angle between The ATC Flight Plan will include the aircraft b) 1800 ft position lines? callsign, type of aircraft, time and place of depar- c) 3800 ft VOR/DME and TACAN ture, speed and altitude, intended route and ETA d) 2800 ft a) 30° b) 45° c) 60° d) 90° at destination. It will also include safety informa- If you are flying an a/c at 2000' and you fly into cloud, to A more modern method of position finding util- The civilian equivalent of TACAN is known as: tion, such as, the number of people on board and what altitude must you climb? ises VOR/DME (civilian) or TACAN (military) the types and quantities of emergency equipment beacons. Both give the same information, namely a) LORAN b) OMEGA carried. a) 3000 ft the magnetic bearing from the beacon to the air- c) ADF d) VOR/DME b) To safety altitude or higher. craft, and the range. c) 40 Both VOR/DME and TACAN give the same information. d) Maintain altitude. Is it:

Astro Navigation Which of the following would you not expect to find on a) Magnetic track and groundspeed? an Air Traffic Control flight plan? Astro navigation works on the principle of using a b) True heading and range to the beacon? sextant to measure the angle of the sun or stars to c) centreline and distance? a) Destination. determine position. Perhaps its only advantage d) Magnetic bearing and range to the beacon? b) Callsign. nowadays is that it cannot be jammed. It has been c) Persons on board. superseded by GPS. What is the major advantage of Astro Navigation over d) Wind forecast. more modern systems?

a) It is more accurate. b) It can only be used by naval aviators. c) It cannot be jammed. d) It is easier to use.

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