Aviation Safety Research     "Technical Research in the field of Aeronautics"
                                   
Resources for Flight Operations

 

         
Part I (3 hours 36 minutes) explains
weather facts every pilot should know.
 


Part II (2 hours 12minutes) contains topics of special interest,
such as High Altitude, Arctic, Tropical, and Soaring Weather.


 

            2:47

ALBUM NOTES

Aviation Weather was published jointly by the FAA and the National Weather Service.
The publication began in 1943 as CAA Bulletin No. 25, "Meteorology for Pilots,"  which at the time, contained weather knowledge considered essential for most pilots.






As aircraft flew farther, faster, and higher and as meteorological knowledge grew, the bulletin became obsolete.


It was revised in 1954 as "Pilots' Weather Handbook"

 

and again in 1965 under its present title.

 

 

 

All former editions suffered from one common problem. They dealt in part with weather services which change continually in keeping with current techniques and service demands. Therefore, each edition became somewhat outdated almost as soon as published; and its obsolescence grew throughout the period it remained in print.

To alleviate this problem, the new authors have completely rewritten Aviation Weather, streamlining it into a clear, concise, and· readable book and omitting all reference to specific weather services. Thus, the text will remain valid and adequate for many years. A companion manual, Aviation Weather Services,  Advisory Circular 00-45, supplements Aviation weather.


AC 00-45 is periodically updated to reflect changes brought about by latest techniques, capabilities, and service demands. It explains current weather services and the formats and uses of weather charts and printed weather messages.

C. Hugh Snyder, National Weather Service Coordinator and Training Consultant at the FAA Academy, directed the preparation of Aviation Weather and Aviation Weather Services. He and his assistant, John W. Zimmerman, Jr., did much of the writing and edited the final manuscripts. Recognition is given to these meteorologists on the NWS Coordinator's staff who helped write the original manuscript, organize the contents, and plan illustrations: Milton Lee Harrison, Edward A. Jessup, Joe L. Kendall, and Richard A. Mitchem. Beatrice Emery deserves special recognition for her relentless effort in typing, retyping, proofing, correcting, and assembling page after page of manuscript. Many other offices and individuals have contributed to the preparation, editing, and publication of the two volumes.

Throughout the book, each aspect of weather as it relates to aircraft operation and flight safety are discussed.

Of the most fascinating publications in my aviation library. This book helped me get to know the clouds, learn about the creation and modification of weather, and how "The Weather Machine" works.

This fabulous book with it's funny 3-color palette illustrations prepared me with much of what I needed to know about aviation weather.

Because I loved this book it so much, I created an MP3 version in the summer of 2016.
Since it was first published, the laws of nature have not changed, and time has not diminished this book's wealth of knowledge.

"There is something special in this book. Maybe the way it was written? Certainly the colorful and amusing illustrations (appearing below), were one of the components which facilitated my falling in love with aviation."
-Tom Gorski 2267082CFI

AVIATION WEATHER PART I
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WEATHER
Select Picture to Listen  (MP3)
THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE
6:08
Composition
Vertical Structure
The Standard Atmosphere
Density and Hypoxia
TEMPERATURE
12:58
Temperature Scales
Heat and Temperature
Temperature Variations
In Closing
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE AND ALTIMETRY
27:05
Atmospheric Pressure
Altimetry
In Closing
 

WIND
25:16
Convection
Pressure Gradient Force
Coriolis Force
The General Circulation
Friction
The Jet Stream
Local and Small Scale Winds
Wind Shear
Wind, Pressure Systems, and Weather

 

MOISTURE CLOUD FORMATION AND PRECIPITATION
16:54
Water vapor
Change of State
Cloud Formation
Precipitation
Land and Water Effects
In Closing
STABLE AND UNSTABLE AIR
15:27

Changes Within Upward and Downward Moving Air
Stability and Instability
What Does It All Mean?
CLOUDS
9:39
Identification
Signposts in the sky
AIRMASSES AND FRONTS
23:35
Air Masses
Fronts
Fronts and Flight Planning
TURBULENCE
21:39
Convective Currents
Obstructions to Wind Flow
Windshear
Wake Turbulence
In Closing
ICING
17:04

Structural Icing
Induction System Icing
Instrument Icing
Icing and Cloud Types
Other Factors in Icing
Ground Icing
Frost
In Closing
THUNDERSTORMS
25:28
Where and when?
They Don't Just Happen
The Inside Story
Rough and Rougher
Hazards
Thunderstorms and Radar
Do's and Don'ts of Thunderstorm Flying
COMMON IFR PRODUCERS
19:23

Fog
Low Stratus Clouds
Haze and Smoke
Blowing Restrictions to Visibility
Precipitation
Obscured or Partially Obscured Sky
In Closing
AVIATION WEATHER PART II
OVER AND BEYOND

HIGH ALTITUDE WEATHER
19:44
The Tropopause
The Jet Stream
Cirrus Clouds
Clear Air Turbulence
Condensation Trails
Haze Layers
Canopy Static
Icing
Thunderstorms
ARCTIC WEATHER
18:30

Climate Air Masses and Fronts
Arctic Peculiarities
Weather Hazards
Arctic Flying Weather
In Closing
TROPICAL WEATHER
29:34
Circulation
Transitory Systems

                                    SOARING WEATHER
                                                    2:26

Thermal soaring
 39:35

Frontal soaring
1:35

 Sea Breeze Soaring
9:18


Ridge or Hill Soaring
5:10

Mountain Wave Soaring
& In Closing

9:24 


Produced by
ASR