3.1 Aviation weather

• The elements of weather (wind, temperature, pressure, humidity, clouds, precipitation)
• The effects of weather on an aircraft in flight
• Types of clouds and their significance for flight
• Measuring weather elements

• explain the elements of weather in the atmosphere
• describe the effects of the elements of weather on an aircraft in flight
• analyse the types of clouds in flight operations
• measure the elements of weather
• appreciate the role of aviation weather in flight operations

“How does weather affect flying, and why must pilots understand it?”

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1. Aviation weather
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The elements of weather (wind, temperature, pressure, humidity, clouds, precipitation), how each affects an aircraft in flight, the main cloud types and their significance, how weather is measured, and why understanding weather is essential to safe flying.
2. Weather in the atmosphere
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Weather lives in the troposphere; Kenya sits on the equator with a deep weather layer, and MET watches it for KCAA aerodromes.
3. Wind as a weather element
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Wind is moving air: direction from which it blows, speed in knots, and headwind, tailwind or crosswind relative to the aircraft.
4. Wind on the runway
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Take-off and landing into wind, crosswind limits, gusts and wind shear at Kenyan aerodromes.
5. Temperature and humidity
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Hot air thins lift; freezing brings icing; humidity feeds fog, cloud and slightly thinner air.
6. Pressure and QNH
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Atmospheric pressure as a weather element, highs and lows, and QNH so the altimeter is honest.
7. Visibility and precipitation
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   How far you can see, and how rain, hail and fog cut that view and affect the runway and airframe.
8. Cloud families
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Clouds by height and shape: cirrus, alto, stratus, cumulus, and how METAR amounts and heights are written.
9. Thunderstorm clouds
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Cumulonimbus is the storm cloud: turbulence, lightning, hail, icing, wind shear and rain - avoid it, especially on Kenya highland afternoons.
10. Low cloud and fog
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Ceiling, stratus and fog hide the runway; Wilson mornings and Moi coastal cloud are local examples.
11. Measuring the weather
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Aerodrome instruments for wind, temperature, pressure, humidity, rain and cloud, and a classroom practical.
12. METAR basics
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Read a Grade 10 METAR: station, time, wind, visibility, cloud, temperature, dew point and QNH, using HKJK as the example.
13. Kenya weather hazards
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Thunderstorms over the highlands, Rift Valley turbulence, coastal weather at Moi, and Lake Victoria storms at Kisumu.
14. Weather and flight decisions
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    How weather changes the aircraft in flight, and the go, delay, reroute or no-go decision using METAR, TAF and the sky.
15. Aviation weather as a safety duty
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Why weather is a core flight-safety duty: MET, ATC, the pilot in command and KCAA, and the careers that live on that duty.