Relative humidity, and dew point are important factors to you as a pilot, as it can help you determine what possible weather you may encounter en-route, and where the dangers lurk.
The fact is, apart from your aerodrome, it is unlikely that you will find windsocks conveniently placed on your route, nor will every area be covered by ATIS reports, so how do you determine wind direction?
When starting flying lessons, we are given a lot of sound advice, but over time, especially if you don’t fly longer cross country trips on a regular basis, the warnings become faded and are sometimes forgotten. One of these wicked phrases that we were all taught is ‘High to low, careful go!’, but understanding what this means can be a challenge.
If you have ever flown over, or near, any big city on a cold winter’s morning you may have noticed a ‘dirty’ layer of air in your path. This is most likely an inversion layer, and without understanding the causes leading to its presence, it could challenge your piloting skills
RVR, or Runway Visual Range is something that you will usually hear on an ATIS report or see on the Metar when visibility is on the poor side, it is also the main criteria for instrument approaches, but what exactly is it?
When crosswinds present themselves, these can quickly throw you off the runway if you are not prepared. Here’s how to calculate how much of a crosswind you have…
