Sport Pilot Talk

Following FLY8MA suggestion i look at metars everday and make a decision to fly or not. Then i look outside and follow the weather the rest of the day to determine if it would have been a good decision. I'm a zero hour pilot patiently waiting for the right plane to become available at the right price to start my training so I have plenty of time to knock out the written and chair fly.

I saw on a recent metar p6sm for visibility. What does the "p" stand for?

The definition of the P in a METAR is "indicated greater than the highest reportable value".

Here's a link to METAR abbreviations. https://www.weather.gov/media/wrh/mesow ... de_key.pdf

Ty shawn. I haven't seen such a complete list in my study materials. I wonder if i nees to memorize this list for the written.

Atrosa wrote: I wonder if i nees to memorize this list for the written.

The knowledge test questions focus less on memorizing obscure abbreviations, and mostly about recognizing the sequence. You should be able to identify airport codes, date, start and end times, ceiling, visibility, precip types, wind direction and velocity, temperature, dew point, and adverse conditions from a coded string of apparent gibberish. The questions will be mostly application- related ones like "which of these airports would be the best one to choose for an alternate, if landing at 1600 UTC?"

I never attempted to memorize all of that - just as drseti mentioned , my goal was ... can I understand what it says in terms of my ability to go up today .... frankly, even today all I ever look for in my metars is wind, ceilings and visibility and I know right away if I flying or not

Visibility is "plus 6 statute miles". https://www.aviationweather.gov/metar/d ... =0&hours=0 is a really good site for getting real time practice. Just put in the airfield code (i.e., KSEA, KOSH), try to read it, then select decoded to see how well you did. Good luck!

Warmi wrote:I never attempted to memorize all of that - just as drseti mentioned , my goal was ... can I understand what it says in terms of my ability to go up today .... frankly, even today all I ever look for in my metars is wind, ceilings and visibility and I know right away if I flying or not

I agree, those 3 things tell me "go or no-go" for local flying.

I'd suggest Aeroweather Lite as an app to install on your iPhone if you have one. They currently dont offer a android version. It's a great app for a very quick glance of the METAR's at surrounding airports around you. You can also select between RAW or DECODED versions. You can look at the RAW version and try to decode it yourself and then check you did it correct by selecting to see the DECODED version.

I love this app and it's my go-to app for METARS. You can even set it up to ask Siri "METAR (and your local airport name)" and she'll read it outloud for you.

https://www.lakehorn.com/products/aeroweather-lite/

I’ve never been big on the gibberish METARs... it’s 2020! Personally, I love ForeFlight because it provides everything: runway, headwind / crosswind, METAR, TAF, MOS, TFRs, overlays, and the ability to request a legal briefing and/or file a flight plan.,, plus updates on everything in the air (if equipped with a receiver) which comes in handy when you actually start “going places.”

Of course one shouldn’t rely extensively on apps, especially when learning. There is value in the process of learning everything old-school. The weather section of study was definitely the hardest for me. It’s literally all a bunch of hot air! LOL but it’s also one of the most important parts of actually flying safely.

Knowing weather trends in your area helps a lot! Are the weather conditions improving or declining?

If the tree branches are visibly swaying, chances are you’re NOT flying.
The same applies if you sit in your plane for preflight and watch the wings flex in the wind.

There are “GO” days, and “NO-GO” days, but the toughest days are “MARGINAL / MAYBE” days.

Then there are days that look great and suddenly everything changes!
It takes a good and brave pilot to turn a passenger and say, “I’m sorry, the weather isn’t looking good. We’ll have to do this another day.”

The first time I had to call off a flight was with a very lovely young lady sitting in my right seat. Weather changed. It’s your job to make the right decision, even when it hurts your pride a little!

Live to "flight" another day!

HAPPYDAN wrote:Live to "flight" another day!

^ I like this!