Tag Archive
Answers: Aircraft altimeter errors
Q: Can you help me understand in very simple terms altimeter error when flying from high to low pressure areas and from low to high areas? I am studying it but its just not clicking.—Mark, Noblesville, Ind. A: To answer your question I'll begin with some basic information about aircraft altimeters and then use the diagram below to help you see... »
Pilot answers: Upper air data and forecasts
Q: I use RUC soundings for flight planning, but I am befuddled by the following: When I enter a station, load the Op40 soundings, and hover with my mouse over the loaded graph I see bold numbers on the far-left near the Pressure (mb) line, and light numbers appear directly underneath my cursor with a dynamic pink line drawn from... »
Answers: Weather balloons and airplanes
Q: Hi, I enjoyed "Rise Up" in the March 2010 AOPA Flight Training magazine. I wonder about the danger of those weather balloons and noted your comments about there being "no danger" as it's floating down under parachute. But really, hasn't there ever been an incident or accident associated with one of these balloons where one of them (either... »
Answers: Inside Weather Fronts
Q: In the November issue of AOPA Flight Training, you discuss extratropical cyclones, including the movement of cold air under warm air and vice versa. If I understand this correctly, the fronts themselves do not discriminate between the cold or warm air ahead of them. How do you explain movement under (cold into warm) or movement over (warm into cold)? Kevin,... »
