Weather to Fly 1971 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Pilot Training Film

more at http://quickfound.net/

Originally a public domain film from the , slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/15_phak_ch13.pdf

In aviation, weather service is a combined effort of the National Weather Service (NWS), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Defense (DOD), other aviation groups, and individuals. Because of the increasing need for worldwide weather services, foreign weather organizations also provide vital input. While weather forecasts are not 100 percent accurate, meteorologists, through careful scientific study and computer modeling, have the ability to predict weather patterns, trends, and characteristics with increasing accuracy. Through a complex system of weather services, government agencies, and independent weather observers, pilots and other aviation professionals receive the benefit of this vast knowledge base in the form of up-to-date weather reports and forecasts. These reports and forecasts enable pilots to make informed decisions regarding weather and flight safety before and during a flight.

Observations

The data gathered from surface and upper altitude observations form the basis of all weather forecasts, advisories, and briefings. There are four types of weather observations: surface, upper air, radar, and satellite.

Surface Aviation Weather Observations

Surface aviation weather observations (METARs) are a compilation of elements of the current weather at individual ground stations across the United States. The network is made up of government and privately contracted facilities that provide continuous up-to-date weather information. Automated weather sources, such as the Automated Weather Observing Systems (AWOS), Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS), as well as other automated facilities, also play a major role in the gathering of surface observations.

 Surface observations provide local weather conditions and other relevant information for a specific airport. This information includes the type of report, station identifier, date and time, modifier (as required), wind, visibility, runway visual range (RVR), weather phenomena, sky condition, temperature/dew point, altimeter reading, and applicable remarks. The information gathered for the surface observation may be from a person, an automated station, or an automated station that is updated or enhanced by a weather observer. In any form, the surface observation provides valuable information about individual airports around the country. Although the reports cover only a small radius, the pilot can generate a good picture of the weather over a wide area when many reporting stations are viewed together.

Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC)

The Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) facilities are responsible for maintaining separation between flights conducted under instrument flight rules (IFR) in the en route structure. Center radars (Air Route Surveillance Radar (ARSR)) acquire and track transponder returns using the same basic technology as terminal radars...