FAA Safety Briefing - Mar-Apr 2024

March/April 2024 1

March/April 2024

Weather

Wisdom

8 Release Y our Inner

Weather Briefer12 Weather Forecasts 101 16 Meet the New FAA

Administrator,

Michael WhitakerFederal Aviation

Administration

2 FAA Safety BriefingU.S. Department

of Transportation

Federal Aviation

Administration

ISSN: 1057-9648

FAA Safety Briefing

March/April 2024

Volume 63/Number 2

Pete Buttigieg Secretary of Transportation

Michael Whitaker Administrator

David Boulter Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety

Larry Fields Executive Director, Flight Standards ServiceTom Hoffmann Editor

James Williams Associate Editor / Photo Editor

Rebekah Waters Associate Editor

Nicole Hartman Associate Editor

Paul Cianciolo Associate Editor / Social Media

Sunghee Cho Art Director

Published six times a year, FAA Safety Briefing, formerly

FAA Aviation News, promotes aviation safety by discussing current technical,

regulatory, and procedural aspects affecting the safe operation and

maintenance of aircraft. Although based on current FAA policy and rule interpretations, all material is advisory or informational in nature and should not be construed to have regulatory effect. Certain details of accidents

described herein may have been altered to protect the privacy of those involved.

The FAA does not officially endorse any goods, services, materials, or products of

manufacturers that may be referred to in an article. All brands, product names,

company names, trademarks, and service marks are the properties of their

respective owners. All rights reserved.

The Office of Management and Budget has approved the use

of public funds for printing FAA Safety Briefing.ABOUT THIS ISSUE…

The March/April 2024 issue of FAA Safety

Briefing focuses on aviation weather and its critical effect on safe GA flying. Articles review some of the many resources and tools pilots use to gather weather information as well as explore some of the trends revealed from weather-related accident data. We also sit down with the new FAA Administrator, Michael Whitaker, to discuss his take on general aviation safety.

Contact Information

The magazine is available on the internet at:

www.faa.gov/safety_briefing

Comments or questions should be directed to the staff by:

• Emailing: SafetyBriefing@faa.gov

• Calling: (202) 267-1100

• Tweeting: @FAASafetyBrief

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March/April 2024 1The FAA Safety Policy Voice of Non-commercial General Aviation

8Building Confidence with the Conditions

How to Unleash Your Inner Weather Briefer

by Jeff Arnold

12Pushing Your LuckHow Gambling on Weather Can Be Deadly

by James Williams

15Expanding the Envelope with Aviation Weather A Balloon Pilot’s Perspective on

Microscale Meteorology

by Adam Magee

19 A Fresh Forecast

Aviation Weather Under the Microscope

by Nicole Hartman and Rebekah Waters

24 Aviate, Navigate, Communicate

An Interview with FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker

by Tom Hoffmann

27 Roll of Honor 2023’s Master Pilot and Master Mechanic Award Winners

DEPARTMENTS

2 Jumpseat: an executive policy

perspective

3 ATIS: GA news and current events

5 Aeromedical Advisory: a checkup on

all things aeromedical

31 Checklist: FAA resources and

safety reminders

32 Drone Debrief: drone safety roundup

33 Nuts , Bolts, and Electrons:

GA maintenance issues

34 Vertically Speaking: safety issues for

rotorcraft pilots

35 Flight Forum: letters from the

Safety Briefing mailbag

36 On Final: an editor’s perspective

Inside back cover

FAA Faces: FAA employee profile

2 FAA Safety BriefingJUMPSEAT an executive policy perspective

LARRY FIELDS, FLIGHT STANDARDS SERVICE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

FORECASTING SAFE SKIES

With winter nearly behind us, pilots

who have patiently hunkered down

for the season can soon look forward

to longer and warmer days to get back

in the cockpit. As you shake off the

rust and prepare for more routine flying, I encourage you to take some

time to shore up your meteorological

moxie. Spring weather patterns can

often take pilots by surprise, so being prepared and knowing where and how

to use the information at your dis-

posal is key. This issue of FAA Safety

Briefing is one way to help boost your

weather wisdom.

Accident data shows a clear pattern

of just how lethal weather-related accidents can be. In the feature article

“Pushing Y our Luck, ” we dive into the

data to see where pilots most often fall

short in their planning and execution

when trying to avoid inclement condi-tions. VFR flight into instrument

meteorological conditions is a top

contender, but you may be surprised to see how some other areas ranked.Preflight weather briefings are

essential to safety, so we asked Jeff

Arnold, Leidos Flight Service’s

Director of Innovation and Outreach,

to give readers an update on the flight

planning site 1800wxbrief.com and how to make the most of your next

online self-briefing.

Whether you’re a student pilot

learning the ropes, or a veteran flyer, it’s vital to know what types of

weather information are available

and which weather reports are best to

review. The amount of information can sometimes be a bit overwhelm-

ing and difficult to decipher. Check

out the feature “ A Fresh Forecast” for a primer on how to glean useful

and practical information for your

flight from METARs, TAFs and other

weather reports.

Hearing a different perspective

on weather can be enlightening and extremely valuable. Fixed-wing flyers

could very well benefit from some of the micro-meteorology nuances that

lighter-than-air pilots deem most useful in

their practice. Hot air

balloon pilot/instructor and FAA Safety Team

Representative Adam

Magee “opens the

envelope” on some

of this critical atmo-spheric insight in his

feature “Expanding

the Envelope with Aviation Weather. ”

In this issue we also

introduce the FAA ’s new Administrator, Michael Whitaker. Hear more about Michael’s prior -

ities for the aviation industry as he embarks on his five-year term in the feature “ Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. ”

Finally, we honor the hundreds

of airmen who have been recog-

nized as FAA Master Pilot and

Master Mechanic award winners in 2023. These esteemed awards are a

tribute to achieving 50 years of safety

and professionalism as a pilot or

mechanic. Please join me in congratu-lating these men and women for their

amazing achievements. Check out the

full list of award winners in this issue’s

“Roll of Honor” along with helpful information on how to nominate

someone you know.

Before I go, allow me to leave you

with a few weather-related resources you may find helpful. First is the

From the Flight Deck (FTFD) Spring

Pilot Workshop from 2023 bit.ly/

FTFDSpring23, which covers a host of helpful advice for pilots returning to

the skies. I recommend you also have

a look at the main FTFD webpage, faa.gov/flight_deck, for a list of videos

on airport-specific safety issues and

other challenge areas such as complex

airport geometry, phraseology, and

wrong surface landings.

Two messages from our Fly Safe

campaign also cover some important weather topics. There’s one on develop-

ing personal minimums and leveraging

the FAA ’s expanding weather camera program (bit.ly/FlySafe_WXcam)

as well as another on making the

most of available weather resources

(bit.ly/FlySafe_UseofWx).

I hope these resources. along with

the insightful content within this

issue, can help expand your weather

wisdom and provide guidance on

making more well-informed decisions before your next flight.

Safe flying!

March/April 2024 3

ATISGA news and current events

AVIATION NEWS ROUNDUP

Protecting Your Pilot Certificate

The FAA and Aircraft Owners and

Pilots Association (AOPA) discuss

protecting your pilot certificate in the new WINGS-credit course ALC-1093, Cost Sharing, Time Building, and

Posting on Social Media.

The first chapter of the course

covers important information that

pilots and aircraft owners need to know and understand regarding

flying passengers and property safely and legally. The second chapter is

about time building, which is not

as intuitive as cost sharing and

pertains to flying to build time and

experience. It explores topics like whether you can fly your airplane

on company expenses and be reim-

bursed. The third chapter covers

important information that pilots

and aircraft owners need to know

and understand when it comes to

posting on social media, holding out for compensation or hire, and

what may be used as evidence should

safety regulations be compromised.

Take the course at bit.ly/alc-1093

and get WINGS pilot proficiency credit.

Operation ICICLE

In 2019, the FAA led the In-Cloud

Icing and Large-drop Experiment

(ICICLE) to collect data and evaluate the accuracy of current and devel-

opmental icing forecast tools and

products for terminal and en route

flights, as well as further understand

the physical details of clouds. ICICLE prioritized large drop icing environ-ments, which include freezing drizzle

and freezing rain, because despite the substantial threat they pose to aircraft, they are not explicitly diagnosed or

forecasted in icing products.

The experiment was a success,

earning the 2022 National Weather

Association’s Aviation Meteorology

Award , and led the FAA to internally

change how the Current Icing Product (CIP) and Forecast Icing Potential

(FIP) algorithms are producing

Supercooled Large Drops (SLD - the insidious freezing drizzle and freezing rain). ICICLE data showed that some

of the internal CIP and FIP algorithm scenarios provided little to no value, while a new formation mechanism

was identified based on ICICLE in

situ observations and was added to

CIP and FIP . This new mechanism,

“Recirculation, ” was identified for 7-9%

of ICICLE SLD observations.

The FAA is currently in the process

of transitioning software code to our National Weather Service (NWS)

partners for both CIP and FIP that

consider “Recirculation” along with the

use of higher resolution (i.e., smaller horizontal grid spacing and vertical

level spacing) weather prediction

model information. This will result in

CIP and FIP output being available in finer detail. Efforts over the next year

will focus on calibrating the software

to run efficiently on NWS platforms,

finalizing assessments, and developing

guidance for users on how to interpret

and use the finer detail. Operational availability of the enhanced FIP is

scheduled for the second quarter of

fiscal year 2025 with enhanced CIP

following in the third quarter.

The ICICLE program also sup-

ported the development of a new

terminal area icing tool. Using data

collected, a first version of this tool has been developed and is undergoing

evaluation and adjustment. This tool

provides a gridded output of small drop, freezing drizzle, and freezing rain

likelihood, which can also be displayed

in a simplified way for each terminal

area. An FAA technical document

describing the first version of the tool

is anticipated in the coming year.

To learn more, read “Operation

ICICLE” in the Mar/Apr 2020

issue of FAA Safety Briefing at

bit.ly/Op_ICICLE.

Service Difficulty Reporting System

The FAA recently published Advisory

Circular 20-109B, Service Difficulty

Reporting System (Air Operator/Air

Agency/General Aviation/Unmanned

Aircraft Systems), for reporting

in-service product and article failures,

malfunctions, and defects. The AC

solicits Service Difficulty Reporting

participation from all segments of the

aviation communities that operate

in the National Airspace System

and promotes the use of the Service

Difficulty Reporting System (SDRS)

database accessed at sdrs.faa.gov.

The overarching purpose of Service

Difficulty Reporting is to promote

safe operations and improve the oper

ational performance and reliability of products and articles produced under

14 CFR part 21.

Y ou can find this AC on the

Dynamic Regulatory System at

drs.faa.gov .

Instruments attached to the wing – including (counterclock -

wise from upper left) a forward scattering spectrometer

probe, Rosemount air data probe, and cloud droplet probes

– measure different cloud particle sizes and concentrations.

4 FAA Safety Briefing

ATIS GA news and current eventsUpdated Arrival Alert Notices

The FAA is taking several proactive

steps to address wrong surface events,

reduce the potential for pilot con-

fusion, and help improve

safety in the NAS.

To manage

wrong surface

events where

an aircraft

lines up to

or lands on

the incor -

rect runway, taxiway, or

airport, the

FAA is releas-

ing Arrival

Alert Notices

(AAN) at airports with a history of

misalignment risk.

AANs are graphics visually depict-

ing the approach to a particular airport

with a history of misalignment risk,

and language describing the risk.

The FAA recently published 28 new airports for a total of 40 AANs. The

complete list of AANs is available at

bit.ly/3w8u8Ch.

For additional information, check

out the FAA ’s From the Flight Deck

video on AANs and other important

topics at faa.gov/flight_deck.

A Check-up on Checklist

Customization

Checklists are a fundamental part of

any safe flight. They provide import-

ant structure to the things we check

often, usually in a prescribed order of priority, like inspecting an aircraft’s components and systems for proper

operation and structural integrity and

confirming the airplane and engine

are functioning properly and are con-

figured appropriately for each phase

of flight. Bottom line: checklist usage

is a sound and proven way to reduce

errors and improve flight safety.

But just like airplanes change with

upgrades or modifications, so too

should checklists to include those

new items and procedures or omit

those that are obsolete. Maybe you’ve

added some new avionics equipment

or installed a new fire extinguisher.

Or perhaps you’ d like to reorder your

instrument and gauge checks in a

more logical manner. Or maybe you’ d

prefer to use a more specific term to

verify a desired state than the some-

times vague “check and set” response. The question for some might be —

how exactly do I modify a checklist?

While there is no approval required

from the FAA to modify or customize

a checklist, pilots and aircraft owners

should start by consulting their

aircraft’s Pilot Operating Handbook

(POH) or Airplane Flight Manual

(AFM), or panel placards with some

older aircraft. These steps should con-

stitute the baseline for your checklist.

If there is a manufacturer-prescribed

task or procedure you wish to omit

— perhaps due to concerns about

mechanical wear and tear on a partic-

ular component — you should consult

directly with the manufacturer to

ensure safety is not compromised.

The FAA issued a Safety Alert

for Operators (SAFO) in 2017 that

addresses safety concerns with using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or personally developed checklists. Y ou

can review the SAFO at bit.ly/3Sfcx3T.

The notice was prompted by an

accident involving a landing gear

failure in which the pilot used a COTS

checklist that lacked key steps regard-

ing manual gear extension. The SAFO

urges pilots to ensure any COTS or

personal checklist is consistent with

what the manufacturer states.

Another important reason for

this consistency is apparent during

practical exams for a pilot certificate

or rating. Designated pilot examiners

may require an aircraft manufactur -

er’s procedure is demonstrated when testing applicants. Those who use a

checklist that differs from the man-

ufacturer may omit or incorrectly

perform an important step, impact-

ing their ability to successfully pass the exam. If you are providing flight

instruction, it is essential that you

show, demonstrate, and explain any

omitted items to students to avoid this

potential pitfall. The student should

be able to demonstrate the procedure

and be able to explain why it has been

omitted from the modified checklist

and is not performed routinely.

Having checklists that are efficient,

logical, and that account for changes

to an aircraft’s systems can greatly

improve safety and even increase the

likelihood of them being used. Just be

sure the information you use for those

revised checks is correct, complete,

and consistent with the manufactur -

er’s safety standards.

If you have any questions regarding

this information, please email 9-AFS-800-Correspondence@faa.gov .

#FLYSAFE GA SAFETY ENHANCEMENT TOPICS Please visit bit.ly/FlySafeMedium for more information on these and other topics.

MARCH

Pilot Proficiency and

WINGS —

How proficiency training programs, like WINGS, can

help improve flight safety.

APRIL

Best Glide Speed —

The importance of obtaining and maintaining best glide speed during emergency descents, approaches, and landings.Sample Arrival Alert Notice

March/April 2024 5

AEROMEDICAL ADVISORYa checkup on all things aeromedical

DR. SUSAN NORTHRUP , FAA FEDERAL AIR SURGEON

REPORTING DISABILITY COMPENSATION

Recently, there has been a lot of

discussion in many different forums

regarding the FAA and pilots who

receive disability compensation,

especially from the Department of

Veterans Affairs (V A). Some pilots are concerned that a high disability rating

can jeopardize medical certification.

This is not true. Our determination is based on the condition and treatment,

not the amount of compensation.

While the likelihood of a significant

medical issue does increase with a

higher rating, the correlation is not as strong as you might think. In fact, we

have pilots who have a 100% disabil-

ity rating from the V A, yet qualify for a Class I or II medical. On the

other hand, some conditions, such as

a seizure disorder, can have a rating

from the V A, as low as 10%, yet not

be safe for flight. For this reason, even a 0% disability rating should be

reported. I want to emphasize though

that we consider each pilot individu-

ally with the goal of issuing a medical

when it is safe to do so.

I would like to address the respon-

sibility that we pilots have for report-ing disability compensation on the FAA medical application (FAA Form

8500-8). I would also like to remind

you that you need to report any form of disability benefit, including from a private insurer, workers’ compensa-tion, or Social Security disability.

Question 18y, Medical Disability

Benefits, is answered incorrectly by many pilots. The purpose of providing

medical history on the 8500-8 form

through MedXPress is to identify areas

of potential aeromedical concern and

to ensure adequate and aeromedically acceptable mitigation. Sometimes

these concerns can be addressed by

the aviation medical examiner (AME)

while you are in the office, and you

leave with your medical in hand; other times additional information and

testing might be necessary to ensure

aviation safety. This is just as true for a history of medical disability benefits as

any medical condition.

Why are we concerned about pilots

receiving medical disability? The short

answer is that even though pilots should annotate their medical con-

ditions in other parts of question 18,

they may not believe that an under -

lying medical condition or treatment

falls within another question on FAA

form 8500-8. Additionally, question

18y can serve as a helpful reminder of

medical conditions that the applicant did not think about when answering

other parts of question 18. Remember

that our goal is to ensure the safety

of the national airspace system. This

question helps us ensure that all underlying medical conditions are

disclosed, adequately controlled (or

resolved), and that the treatment is aeromedically acceptable.

For those of you who have been

granted disability compensation

since your last medical application,

I recommend that you gather the paperwork you have for that disability

compensation and bring it with you to show your AME at your next FAA

medical examination. If it’s a V A dis-ability, bring the V A decision letter(s).

Consider making an appointment

with your AME prior to the exam-

ination to review the information for

completeness. For those of you who have been granted disability compen-

sation prior to your last FAA medical

but did not report it, I recommend

that you provide this to the FAA now

even if you are not due for an exam-ination. Y our AME can help with this.

Make sure that you bring copies of all

the disability evaluations, not just the most recent ones. This will expedite

your review.

Should your disability compen-

sation change, you will also need to

report this. Generally, you will do so at the time of your next medical

application. Second, independent of

any reporting requirements, remem-ber your obligations under 14 CFR

section 61.53 (bit.ly/14CFR61_53).

The bottom line is that question 18y is

like any other question about medical

history. We simply want to ensure that the underlying condition is well-con-

trolled and that the treatment is

aeromedically acceptable.

Dr. Susan Northrup received a bachelor’s degree in chem-

istry, a medical degree from The Ohio State University, and

a master’s degree in public health from the University of

Texas. She is double board-certified by the American Board

of Preventive Medicine in Aerospace Medicine and Occupa-tional Medicine. She is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a former regional medical director for Delta Air Lines. She is

also an active private pilot.PILOTS NEED TO REPORT

ANY FORM OF DISABILITY BENEFIT ON THEIR MEDICAL, INCLUDING THAT FROM A

PRIVATE INSURER, WORKMAN’S

COMPENSATION, OR THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.

6 FAA Safety Briefing

08:30 – 09:30 10:00 – 11:00 11:30 – 12:30 1:00 – 2:00 2:30 – 3:30

TUESDAY

APRIL 9Hypoxia Awareness

Ezekiel "EZ" Duran

FAAHow to Navigate

Four Weather

Seasons

Dr. Ian Johnson

Brandon Smith

Gary PokodnerMost Common Cause

of Fatal Accidents:

Loss of Control

Ed Verville

DPEFatigue Human

Factors and Main-

tenance Related

Accident Case Study

Mike Millard

FAALow and Fast: Is it

Safe, Is it Legal?

Jeff Edwards

AvSafe LLCJoin us!

for daily forums

at the

FAA Safety

CenterBK

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WEDNESDAY APRIL

10Flying to Switzerland

Kim Miller

Jacques Astre

IASFEffective Preflight

Planning for

Enhanced Runway

Safety

Andrew Applegate

Dane Guynn

FAAHuman Factors &

Exp Aircraft

Mike Millard

FAALoss of Control and

Seaplane Operation

Steve Guetter

Wipaire/CFIFlying to the

Bahamas

Kim Miller

Jacques Astre

IASFJoin

John and

Martha King

tomorrow!

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THURSDAY APRIL

11FAA Accident

Investigation

Updates

Patrick Hempen

FAAStraight Talk About

Aviation Safety

John & Martha King

King SchoolsHuman Element in

Weather Related

Accidents

Dr. Ian Johnson

Brandon Smith

Gary PokodnerTBD

Stephanie Wiles

FAA Air Traffic

OrganizationCAMI will be our

early morning

star tomorrow!

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FRIDAY

APRIL 12Aeromedical

Certification Updates

Dr. Brett Wyrick

FAAPreflight Briefing

Breakdowns

Jeff Arnold

Leidos

FAA Charles Taylor

Master Mechanic

and Wright Brothers

Master Pilot Awards

CeremonyNavigation During

GPS Outage

Vince Massimini

JoAnn Ford

Rick Niles

FAAHumility and

Wisdom 101

Lee Stromenger

FAA

AFS0125912 BK3

AFS0125913AK1

AFS0125914BK3

AFS0125915

SATURDAY

APRIL 13Flight Illusions

Mike Stretanski

Senior AMEAircraft Maintenance

“Have You Ever Seen

Anything Like This

Before?”

Mike Millard

FAAIFR Tools for VFR

Pilots

Tom Slater

FAASTeam

RepresentativeWill it Kill You or Just

Leave a Mark

Ray Heyde

Orlando FAASTeam RepIs Your Cockpit a No

Distraction Zone?

Katherine Wilson

NTSBSee you

next year!

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AFS0125920FAA SAFETY CENTER FORUMS

April 9–13, 2024

Appropriate AMT / WINGS credit will apply to events by using the associated #AFS012XXXX listed in each box.

Access FAASTeam Safety

Brochures here:

bit.ly/FAAST_pamphletsFAA Forum & FAA Exhibit Hall Opens Daily at 8:30 a.m.

Schedule is subject to change. For updates, check the

QR code to the right or go to Sun ‘n Fun Forums:

bit.ly/FAA_Forums

Meet the FAA

FAA Leadership

6 FAA Safety Briefing

March/April 2024 7

bit.ly/HFcourses

Go to FAASafety.gov for more pilot and mechanic safety training.

Scan to Take Our Online Courses

Break the Accident Chain

With Human Factors Training

The Fin al Frontier

HUMAN

FACTORS

BUILDING CONFIDENCE

WITH THE CONDITIONS

How to Unleash Your Inner Weather Briefer

By Jeff Arnold

For the past two years, I’ve been presenting at flight

schools, Experimental Aircraft Association chapters,

webinars, and airshows about aviation weather and

how to use Leidos Flight Service in the modern age. Each presentation left me with the same impression — there are

numerous opportunities for the GA population to expand their grasp on weather. Here are some ways pilots can

develop or improve their weather interpretation skills.

Why Self-Briefing?

The title of my presentations for the last few years has

been, “How to Co-Exist with Weather, ” but in my

travels, I've observed that only about 20% of pilots feel

confident or comfortable co-existing with weather-related

aspects of flying.The question to audiences was simple: “How comfort-

able are you with the weather and making a go/no-go

decision based on what you’ve seen?” For what it’s worth, it

took an uncomfortable amount of arm twisting to get 20%

of the room(s) to raise their hands.

I can only summarize it with this: Many pilots I’ve

spoken to have self-identified as being uncomfortable or inexperienced with weather. This response, which has been

the same no matter where I’ve gone (with few exceptions),

has bothered me since I began asking the question.

8 FAA Safety BriefingHow comfortable are you with the

weather and making a go/no-go

decision based on what you’ve seen?

March/April 2024 9One of the examples I like to use with students is the

muscle memory, comfort, and familiarity that most of

us have, or develop while driving our personal vehicles.

Wouldn’t it be great if you had the same amount of comfort

and familiarity with the weather as you do with your car?

It’s by no means impossible, but to do that, we need to understand how we got so comfortable with driving in the

first place. The simplest answer is regular interaction, day

in and day out. To that end, it’s been said that flying is a perishable skill, something that I can certainly relate to, but

so is weather know-how.

In this writer’s humble opinion, the only way to make

lasting and meaningful impacts on how pilots obtain, per -

ceive, and interpret weather is to change the way we teach,

approach, and think about weather.

Advisory Circular (AC) 91-92 – An Educational Roadmap

I’ve jokingly referred to 14 CFR section 91.103, Preflight Action , as, “one of the vaguest regulations in the book, ” but

not without cause. Section 91.103 states:

“Each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight,

become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. This information must include … ”

The regulation goes on to list a few paragraphs for

visual flight rules (VFR) and instrument flight rules (IFR) requirements, but still somewhat falls short of the mark of being specific.

In recognition of this, the FAA produced Advisory

Circular (AC) 91-92, which provides guidance for required

preflight actions under 14 CFR section 91.103. These guide -

lines include preflight self-briefings, flight planning, weather

interpretation, and risk identification and mitigation actions.

Additionally, this AC guides the use of technologies like

ADS-B, third-party apps, and electronic flight bag (EFB) providers. It also emphasizes using Leidos Flight Service

in a consultative capacity, aiming to enhance pilot comfort

and proficiency with weather information and related

products via increased exposure.

Lastly, but most importantly as it pertains to 91.103,

it’s logical to ask: “Where do I start?” and “Where do I stop?” when it comes to obtaining all available info perti-

nent to your flight.

The answer: AC 91-92 provides a Sample Preflight

Briefing Checklist in Appendix B of the document. This is a great place to start implementing a preflight weather

routine, anchored to a process and checklist.

I've discovered, through various surveys and other out-

reach efforts, that most pilots are not aware of AC 91-92. Y ou can read it at bit.ly/AC91-92.

Becoming Comfortable with Weather and Self-Briefing

So how does the industry begin training pilots to be com-

fortable with the weather? Weather comfort means more

than just accumulating knowledge — it refers to and implies

some level of practical application and adaptability. As with

everything else aviation, comfort and experience comes from

routine exposure, which is no easy (or cheap) task these days.

Leidos Flight Service has developed a beginner’s process

for implementing a preflight weather routine, with the hope that pilots will tailor it into a process that fits their

specific needs. Here are a few tips to bridge the gap:Practice

Process

Participation ProficiencyPrecaution

Self-Briefing & WX

Comfort StrategiesWouldn’t it be great if you had

the same amount of comfort and

familiarity with the weather as you

do with your car?

Figure 1: On 1800wxbrief.com, try using the graphical checklist on the interactive map as

part of your flight planning process.

10 FAA Safety BriefingRecommendation What It Brings …

PracticeI’ve been recommending that pilots practice with the weather daily, or more realistically, as much as life allows, even if not plan -

ning to fly. The logic here is simple — if we can’t get routine exposure, we manufacture it.

By going online and generating a quick briefing from a saved flight plan, you can run through the briefing with your preferred

checklist. I encourage pilots to do two things while practicing self-briefings:

1. W rite down any weather questions and a go/no-go decision after you run through your briefing.

2. Check the w eather later that day to see if your decision would have been a good one.

This allows you to focus your efforts on weak areas while learning weather products or concepts and builds experience with making go/no-go decisions.

Consider this: if you were to spend 5-10 minutes a day just twice a week, or whatever you can manage, the dividend payout

you’ll receive at the end of a year from investing in yourself and your skills is considerable.

Lastly, don’t make this harder on yourself than you have to — use a familiar route of flight while starting out. Comfort and

familiarity, remember?

Process Make sure you’re utilizing a process or a self-briefing checklist. As mentioned previously, AC 91-92 Appendix B offers a great

sample preflight briefing checklist. 1800wxbrief.com also provides a graphical checklist on the interactive map (Figure 3). A bonus

of using and logging the graphical checklist: if pilots still have questions about the weather and need to call a Leidos Flight Service

specialist, they will receive priority call queue handling.

ParticipationHow many times have you gotten a briefing and absorbed exactly zero of it? Know and work with your resources, but more impor -

tantly, invest in the briefing. AC 91-92 does a great job of listing these resources, but here are a few more to consider:

• Flight instructors

• Flight school support

ProficiencyWeather is a lot like aviation; it’s not hard … it’s just a lot. Make an active effort to continue learning, and utilize free educational

resources, such as WINGS courses or FAASTeam events.

Two WINGS courses of note, ALC-683: Conducting Preflight Self-Briefings for Student and VFR Pilots and ALC-889: Conducting

Preflight Self-Briefings for IFR Pilots, are quite frankly some of the best scenario-based weather training tutorials out there (in this author’s opinion, of course).

PrecautionWhen in doubt … sit it out! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in an FBO, or an office, or an airplane, and forced myself to say, “If I’m thinking about it this hard, the answer probably needs to be no. ”

That’s both saved my bacon and very nearly burned it the few times I’ve ignored it.• Flying community

• Online resources• L eidos Flight Service specialists

March/April 2024 11WX Timeline

For a sneak peek at next year’s presentation content, I’ve

been recommending that pilots keep a “weather timeline, ” as

they brief themselves and fill it in with current or forecast

conditions along the route. It doesn’t have to be anything

fancy, just a reminder of what you previously looked at while

you were on the ground. See figure 2 for a sample of mine.

Flight Service Updates

Leidos Flight Service is looking forward to an exciting 2024 that brings new updates to 1800wxbrief.com, including expanded help

tools, YouTube tutorials, and weather product upgrades. Make sure

you check out our new FAA WX Camera Layer and the Local Area

Knowledge tools on our interactive map to learn more about the

weather by using the same training material as our specialists!

Weeding Out Your

Weather Worries

It’s incredibly difficult

to train yourself to

recognize countless

weather variables and

respond accordingly,

mostly because these variables appear as a

multitude of individ-

ually overwhelming tasks to complete. By

thoroughly immersing

yourself in new and

unfamiliar environ-

ments, these individual

variables slowly begin to transform into a

fluid mental percep-tion, via experience.

The comfort and

experience with

weather that we collec-

tively strive for is about more than just embrac-

ing new technologies and products; it’s

about developing a working understanding of the weather,

complimented with experience in practical application

and good decision-making. That’s something that takes

time, maybe even a lifetime. It’s our sincere hope that this

approach will lead to safer and more confident pilots in the skies. Call us when you need us; the phones are on.

Jeff Arnold is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, has held flight & ground instructor

certificates for over 16 years, and is a former Leidos Flight Service Weather Briefer & Air

Operations Manager. Jeff currently serves as the Director of Innovation & Outreach for

Leidos Flight Service.

Any personal opinions expressed in this article belong to the author, and do not necessarily

reflect the position of Leidos Inc.

Leidos Flight Service has developed a

beginner’s process for implementing

a preflight weather routine, with the

hope that pilots will tailor it into a

process that fits their specific needs.Figure 2: Creating a weather timeline can help pilots better keep track of weather conditions along their route.

LEARN MORE

AC 91-92: Pilot’s Guide to a Preflight Briefing

bit.ly/AC91-92

ALC-683: Conducting Preflight Self-Briefings for Student and VFR Pilots

bit.ly/ALC683

ALC-889: Conducting Preflight Self-Briefings for IFR Pilots

bit.ly/ALC889

12 FAA Safety Briefing

PUSHING YOUR LUCKPUSHING YOUR LUCK

How Gambling on Weather Can Be Deadly

By James Williams

What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever been through in

an airplane? For me, pretty much every one of those

stories involves weather. Even though my weather

gambles paid off, they are still seared into my memory as moments where my life, and in my experiences, the lives

of others, teetered on the edge of a knife. Those “good” outcomes rank among the most dangerous moments of

my flying experience. That’s one of the reasons I’ve always

had a particular interest in weather accidents and watching those trends over time. I’ve written numerous articles over

the years on the topic, and my process has always involved

reading through general aviation (GA) weather accident

reports from the National Transportation Safety Board

(NTSB). Reviewing individual reports gives me a feel for details that aren’t easily discernable with a simple numer -

ical count. One trend I noticed declining in a recent data review was the number of pilots without instrument ratings who were filing and flying on IFR (instrument flight rules)

flight plans. Let’s look at the numbers.By The Numbers

For this article I reviewed accident data between 2017 and

2021. This yielded 177 accidents with 83% fatal and 321

lives lost. The rate hovered around 30 to 40 accidents per

year, with 2017 being the highest (40) and 2018 being the

lowest (29). Of these accidents, 75% resulted in loss of

control (LOC) and 25% were controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) or obstacle strikes.

March/April 2024 13More than half of all the accidents I reviewed involved

visual flight rules (VFR) operation into instrument metro-

logical conditions (IMC), and a third of them involved a

failure to prepare for the flight properly in terms of a weather

briefing. More than a third of the pilots did not possess an

instrument rating. Other weather-related factors, such as icing (12%), thunderstorms (10%), and turbulence (6%),

were noteworthy but not a significant driving force. A larger

area of concern was the 29% of accidents involving a failure to follow instrument procedures and air traffic control

(ATC) instructions. The percentages don’t equal 100% as

more than one factor may be involved in each accident.

The Devil in the Details

While it is time-consuming to skim more than 200 NTSB reports (there are more than a few accidents that were

mechanical in nature and had to be excluded), it does give

you an excellent feel for how these accidents are happening.

As I mentioned earlier, a notable trend in prior decades saw

a surprising number of non-instrument-rated pilots filing and flying IFR and ending up in an accident report. By the

turn of the century, these incidents had all but disappeared.

The failures to obtain a preflight briefing are more chal-lenging to detect with the rise of a host of new resources

not all of which track usage. But in many cases, we can tell

either by conversations with friends, family, and bystand-

ers or by other actions that the pilot was cognizant of the

weather. So, the cited third of those accidents involving a failure to properly prepare for a flight only includes

those who disregard the need for a weather briefing rather

brazenly, meaning there is no record of any other corrobo-rating evidence of weather awareness.

Speaking of brazen, there’s something I’ve noticed in

the reports. There seems to be a growing trend of non-in-

strument-rated pilots who take off into IMC with no flight

plan despite other pilots, friends/family, or airport denizens strongly urging them not to. In these cases, we know the pilot

is well aware of the dangers. In one case that involved an air -

plane with multiple owners, the non-instrument-rated owner sought advice from an instrument-rated owner regarding the

flight. The instrument-rated owner reviewed the planning and weather and told the accident pilot the flight could not be conducted under VFR. Unfortunately, he was right.

In another accident case, an aviation maintenance

technician who had just completed repairs to the airplane strongly encouraged the pilot to delay his take-off as the

field was experiencing low IMC. The pilot declined this

advice and disappeared into the clouds just after lift-off, with fatal results a few minutes later. These aren’t cases

where there’s even a chance of staying below the clouds or

mistaking the conditions. I have not dug deeply enough to quantify whether this might be a few outliers presenting

as a trend or something else entirely, but I will be taking a

closer look at it in the future.

When in Doubt

So, how do we address these issues? The first corrective action would be to step up your weather briefing skills.

Review the checklist developed by Jeff Arnold in the article

"Building Confidence with the Conditions" for more infor -

mation on specific self-briefing advice. But in more general terms, you need to emphasize weather briefings and make them more than just a box-checking exercise. While there

were exceptions, overwhelmingly, the weather conditions

that would prove fatal in so many cases were forecasted before the flight departed. One step that may help would

be to use a weather log. This is a method of recording the

contents of your briefing in an easy-to-reference format.

By categorizing the weather, you force yourself to consider

it more deeply than if you just scan the briefing page. Y ou are also creating a record of the conditions that you found

acceptable on launch to have something to compare to if

you run into unforecasted conditions. Another solution is to crowd-source your decision-making.

With the rise of electronic communications, your brief-

ing data is nothing more than a few virtual keystrokes to

send your proposed flight’s weather log to a fellow pilot for

a quick review. Ideally, this would be a mentor with more experience than you, but any other rated pilot still offers

a huge benefit; they aren’t invested in making the flight.

“Get-there-itis, ” especially when combined with the sunk

cost fallacy (I paid for a hotel/vacation), does a number on

our decision-making capabilities. It's still hard to combat even when we’re aware of it. Using a neutral party who

doesn’t have that kind of investment is an excellent reality

check. Another great benefit of using a weather log is the It's crucial to approach flying in the

weather with the respect it’s due

because when things go wrong, it

can easily turn fatal.

reminder that a go/no-go decision is a continuous process

that can be reversed or amended if circumstances change.

While a weather log gives you an excellent mechanism

to fall back on, it isn’t required for you to reevaluate your

decision. If you feel things aren’t going to plan, ask for help

and turn around.

Another area of concern is instrument procedures and

processes. The failure to follow these critical procedures has a few different causes but primarily boils down to a lack of IFR proficiency and task saturation during IMC. The

ideal solution to these problems is more IFR practice in

IMC with an instructor. However, both cost and practical

considerations, like trying to schedule the weather, make

that a challenge.

I’ve always advocated for simulation as an additional tool

for this situation. Whether in a formalized environment like a flight school or even at home on a desktop computer, the ability to practice procedures without risk in an IMC

environment is a big win. There are even services that employ air traffic controllers to guide you in the sim just as

if they were working in an actual approach control envi-ronment. This gives you the chance to practice procedures

and learn weaknesses in your IFR proficiency that you can

work on with an instructor. It’s also an excellent chance

to improve radio proficiency and get more comfortable

working with controllers.

It's crucial to approach flying in the weather with the

respect it’s due because when things go wrong, it can easily turn fatal. But also, because many of these accidents are so easily avoided. Focus on knowing the conditions you’re

expecting, and the capabilities of both you and your air -

craft. And avoid thinking about the go/no-go decision as a singular point in time. Y ou can always change your mind if

things don’t seem to be going to plan.

Gambling can be a fun pastime in a casino, but you

shouldn’t do it in an airplane when the odds are stacked

against you. Instead, make your own luck and keep the odds

in your favor by following the recommendations above.

James Williams is FAA Safety Briefing’s associate editor and photo editor. He is also a pilot

and ground instructor.

LEARN MORE

“Make Your Weather Briefing as Easy as 1, 2, 3” FAA Safety Briefing, May/Jun 2022

bit.ly/48LLROf

14 FAA Safety Briefing

Weather logs can help record the contents of your weather briefing in an easy-to-reference format and force you to take closer notice of the conditions.

March/April 2024 15

EXPANDING

THE ENVELOPE

WITH AVIATION

WEATHER

EXPANDING

THE ENVELOPE

WITH AVIATION

WEATHER

A Balloon Pilot’s Perspective on

Microscale Meteorology

By Adam Magee

16 FAA Safety Briefing

Have you ever encountered unexpected instrument con-

ditions, marginal VFR, just been surprised by weather,

or been fearful of experiencing unexpected weather?

Y ou’re not alone. Aviation weather is complex. There are PhDs in meteorology after all! It’s no wonder pilots, at

every skill level, struggle with weather knowledge. One study even graded properly rated instrument pilot’s perfor -

mance on instrument flight rules (IFR) and VFR knowl-edge and skills a “D. ” One thing I always love about the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam), and this magazine, is the

sharing of knowledge from all different areas of aviation to

improve overall aviation safety. Microscale meteorology is

one such area that provides an opportunity for myself and

my fellow balloonists to share knowledge of how we fly.

I’ve explained in a previous article (“Teaching the

Unknown, ” Nov/Dec 2018 issue) that balloons are unique

aircraft. Given their unique flight characteristics, like being

susceptible to winds and without an engine or mechanical directional control, balloons truly are a part of weather. If

you think about it, a balloon aloft is nothing more than a

particle in the sky susceptible to the forces of nature. That’s why it’s so important for balloon pilots to know and under -

stand weather on a small scale. When we fly, we become one with the weather. The slightest miscalculation on weather —

winds, fog, clouds, thunderstorms — puts a balloon at risk

of an accident. Once a balloon is in bad weather, there’s no getting out of that until the weather changes.

As pilots, we know 14 CFR section 91.103 states: “Each

pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that

flight. ” FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 91-92, Pilot’s Guide to

Preflight Briefing, provides guidance that aids in meeting

the regulatory requirements of 91.103. The problem for

balloon pilots though is that many available weather resources are too broad. Many weather forecast tools cover

large geographic areas and apply mostly to the upper layers

of the atmosphere. Here are some microscale resources that

provide balloonists the additional safety data we need for

safe flight, but may also benefit aviators in any aircraft type.

Wind

When you think about a forecast, specifically for winds, you may focus on surface winds and winds aloft, but

winds are so much more than that. Maybe during take-off or landing in an airplane you’ve had the feeling of being rocked around a bit or faced an unexpected loss of lift.

After that encounter, you might have reviewed the weather

again for the airport and realized there weren’t any gusts

reported or forecasted. Y ou might wonder, what just hap-pened? As a balloonist knows, winds can change constantly

on a microscale level, both in speed and direction as you

move up the wind profile. While the observed winds and

forecast could be for calm winds, the winds not far off the

tops of the trees could be 20 knots.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA) has a Rapid Refresh (RAP) model that provides a forecasted wind profile. A balloon pilot, Ryan Carlton, created RyanCarlton.com to display the contents of the

RAP hourly wind profile model based on the user-identi-

fied location. This microscale wind profile provides great

data points, which I often refer to as a simplified Skew-T.

It provides hourly wind direction, speed, and temperature/dewpoint for the specified altitude.

In the example shown in figure 1, you can see there is

a temperature inversion. In ballooning, we always want to know what time the inversion is predicted to weaken

because when it does, the strong surface winds will mix

downward to the surface and make landing difficult. A

good rule of thumb is to find the temperature at the top of

the inversion (around 46 degrees in the example) and know that once the surface temperature heats up to at or near the

inversion temperature, the winds will pick up. If you were to There are several microscale weather

resources that provide balloonists

the additional safety data they need

for safe flight, but which may also

benefit aviators in any aircraft type.

Figure 1: RyanCarlton.com displays the contents of the Rapid Refresh model (RAP), which

provides an hourly wind profile model based on a user-identified location.

March/April 2024 17

advance the hourly forecast, you would see this trend. This

simplified Skew-T also has other benefits we’ll discuss later.

It’s interesting to note that gusts need to be 10 mph

greater than the sustained wind to be added to a forecast.

Winds just above the trees can often be greater (15-20

mph) and create a strong speed gradient that can affect the aircraft’s performance on takeoff and landing.

It’s important for all pilots to know that a reported calm

wind isn’t always calm. There’s likely a wind direction above the surface or during the profile to landing, which

is impacting aircraft performance. Any tailwind does have

a significant impact on your landing roll-out and has the

same effect as excess airspeed on touchdown in no-wind

conditions, so beware. A tailwind compounds your landing roll-out distance by the square of the ratio of the tailwind

component plus your actual touchdown speed over your

normal touchdown speed. Y ou could also experience a loss of lift from a

sudden headwind reduction. This

might cause you to hit the ground a

little harder than anticipated.

Fog/Clouds

My meteorologist friends always say

that pinpointing exactly where fog

and clouds will develop is incredibly

challenging. It’s no surprise that finding

an accurate microscale forecast on

fog and clouds is equally challenging. Flight into IFR is incredibly problem-

atic for any aircraft, but especially for a

balloon, which is a part of the weather once airborne. The National Weather

Service has an excellent hourly weather

graph that provides good data. It’s

easy to see when the temperature and

dewpoint might be close and when the relative humidity is high. There is also

a fog weather element check box, which

can be checked to show the likelihood of fog by the hour.

The simplified Skew-T found by

looking at RyanCarlton.com also

provides good data points to consider

when analyzing microscale weather. The temperature and dewpoint spread

provided hourly at the various altitudes

does a good job of letting the pilot visu-

alize fog or low clouds. Sometimes there’s

that pesky low-level cloud deck that has pilots hanging out around the airport

wondering when it will lift. Using

resources such as RyanCarlton.com allows pilots to advance the forecast and see when the clouds might lift to visual meteorological conditions (VMC) while

also analyzing the macro weather factors impacting the fog/

cloud development and prolonged occurrence.

When dealing with unexpected fog and low clouds

during flight, it’s important to remember that they likely didn’t appear out of nowhere. Instead, it was likely the result of a missing microscale forecast. It’s always better

to err on the side of caution. Sometimes an AIRMET

(Airmen's Meteorological Information) isn’t issued, but

the fog is there and visibility is low. It’s important to Whether a fixed-wing flyer or

balloon pilot, give thunderstorms

the respect and space they deserve.

Figure 2: The National Weather Service hourly weather graph is a nice tool to help spot potential fog. To access this, go to

weather.gov, enter your location or ZIP code, and then click the Hourly Forecast link.

18 FAA Safety Briefingunderstand the local environment — lakes, rivers, rain

the night before, etc. — that can impact fog development.

Use microscale weather sources to supplement your

weather forecasts and help you in spotting fog or low

clouds. Finally, avoid the hazardous attitude of impulsivity,

where pilots feel the need to do something immediately. Remember to think first and not rush through decisions

when faced with observed or forecasted fog or low clouds.

Thunderstorms

One of the biggest realizations that balloon pilots make is

that radar apps could be deceiving you. The radar image

you see could be delayed by 15 minutes. Projecting out

to compensate for the delay is likely not telling the whole

story. For example, you can’t tell if the storm is building or

dissipating, or what else might be developing that you can’t see. Sometimes the outflow from thunderstorms can be

seen on radar, and sometimes it can’t.

For balloon pilots, a

good rule of thumb is to give thunderstorms

space of 100 miles.

Outflow winds are

often felt more than 100 miles away, and

the outflow winds can

be in any direction. Give thunderstorms

the respect and space

they deserve.

Whether you’re a

fixed-wing flyer, or rely on hot air to get

you there, I hope these

weather resources

and tips are useful to

you as you prepare for your next flight.

Everyone in the avia-

tion community has unique skill sets and

knowledge, which if

shared, can improve

safety for all of us.

If you’ d like to help, I encourage you to volunteer with the

FAA Safety Team and share your experience and expertise.

Adam Magee is a commercial hot air balloon pilot and flight instructor, designated pilot

examiner, and FAASTeam Lead Representative. He was named the 2021 National FAASTeam

Representative of the Year. He is co-founder/president of The Balloon Training Academy, a

501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and industry member of the FAASTeam, as well as serves

as a member of the board of directors and treasurer of the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI).

Experience a New Level of Safety

#ADSB

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

WWW.FAA.GOV/GO/EQUIPADSBVisit the Equip ADS-B Website to:

• Find out if your ADS-B Out equipment is

working properly

• Review the top five things pilots should

know about their ADS-B system

• Learn more about the FAA’s Privacy

ICAO Address program

• See aircraft equipage levels by category

• Report an issue with TIS-B, FIS-B, or

other aspect of the ADS-B system

Produced by FAA Communications | 2023-AJM-012

This radar image depicts a strong outflow south of

a storm near EAA Airventure in Wisconsin, the green

line running from Waupaca to the west of Angel.

March/April 2024 19

A Fresh Forecast

Aviation Weather Under the Microscope

By Nicole Hartman and Rebekah Waters

Every summer for over thirty years, Paul Hamilton, a

seasoned pilot with 38 years of flying experience, flies

his family from the Washington, D.C., area to Sandy

Island, N.H. This journey requires accurate timing because there is a scheduled boat to the island. Many parts of this

trip are unchanging. Every year the departure airport, Potomac Airfield (VKX), and the preferred destination,

Moultonborough Airport (4MB), are the same. Every year

the van meets them at the airport to take them to the dock to meet the boat that will take them to the island. However,

one thing that might change is the weather. Hamilton relies

on weather data and forecasting tools before and during

these flights to make sure he and his family arrive safely

and on time. We will discuss these tools and check in with Hamilton again to see how his trip went last August.

The Field of Forecasting

Since the beginning of civilization, humans have used recurring meteorological and astronomical events to

anticipate weather patterns and plan for seasonal changes.

Originally based on mostly inaccurate observations of the

sky, wind, and temperature, these forecasts have evolved to

be more advanced and reliable. More recently, new technol -

ogy has revolutionized the field of forecasting.Today, almost everyone relies on weather forecasting

to anticipate weather and schedule their day accordingly

— particularly when it comes to flight planning.

Weather conditions significantly impact aircraft flight

time, performance, and safety. The weather we

experience on the ground and in the air affects every decision made in aviation.

Meteorological Minutiae

Pilots cannot make good decisions based on incomplete or missing information. Fortunately, there are numerous

weather and flight planning products available to aid in

safe decision-making. These products assist with flight

planning and highlight potentially hazardous weather.

Meteorological Aerodrome Report (METAR)

The METAR is the international standard code format for

hourly surface weather observations. These reports are

generated by an airport’s weather observation system and

are specific for that aerodrome (aka, airport), depicting the

weather conditions within a 5-mile radius of the center of

the field. METAR reports are issued frequently (every hour at a minimum), and since they deal with current weather

conditions, they are observations, not forecasts.

20 FAA Safety Briefing

When the weather changes rapidly, more frequent

updates to METARs are reported and referred to as special

reports or SPECIs. When a METAR is labeled as a SPECI,

pilots should take note that the winds, visibility, or precip-

itation levels have changed appreciably within a shorter

timeframe than an hour.

Coded Conditions

Here is an example of a METAR:

METAR KRDU 010150Z 10009KT 10SM -SHRA OVC050 23/15 A2982

RMK RAB40 FQT LTG DSNT SW SLP094

Translation:

Aviation routine weather report for Raleigh-Durham Airport,

observation the first day of the month at 01:50 Zulu time, wind from

100 degrees true at nine knots; visibility 10 statute miles; light rain

showers; ceiling 5,000 feet overcast, temperature 23 C; dewpoint 15 C; altimeter 29.82 inches. Remarks: Rain began at 40 minutes

past the hour; frequent lightning to the distant southwest; sea level

pressure 1009.4 Hectopascals/millibarH.

Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAF)

TAFs are issued for specific airports and are valid for a 5-statute-mile radius from the center of the runway complex.

They contain information on the expected surface winds,

visibility, weather, obstructions to vision, and cloud coverage

and heights. TAFs are issued four times a day and each fore -

cast is amended according to prescribed criteria, as required.

Coded Conditions

Here is an example of a TAF:

KBOS 041145Z 0412/0518 34015G25KT 5SM -SHSN SCT010 BKN018

TEMPO 1215 1/2SM SHSN VV008 FM 041500 33012G22KT P6SM

BKN050

Translation:

Boston Aerodrome Forecast for the 4th day of the month, valid time

12:00 Zulu. Surface wind from 340 degrees at 15 knots with peak

gusts to 25 knots; visibility five statute miles; light snow showers; scattered clouds at 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL); ceiling 1,800

feet broken AGL; occasionally, visibility one-half mile in moderate

snow showers; indefinite ceiling 800 feet (an indefinite ceiling

represents surface-based phenomena obscuring the whole sky).

Changes expected on the 4th 15:00 Zulu surface wind from 330 degrees at 12 knots with gusts to 22 knots; visibility greater than six

miles; ceiling 5,000 feet broken.Airman’s Meteorological Information (AIRMET)

An AIRMET is a concise description of the occurrence or

expected occurrence of specified en route weather phe-

nomena that may affect the safety of aircraft operations,

but at intensities lower than those requiring the issuance

of a SIGMET. AIRMETs are intended to inform all pilots,

especially those under visual flight rules (VFR) and operators of sensitive aircraft, of potentially hazardous

weather phenomena.

Significant Meteorological Information (SIGMET)

A SIGMET is a concise description of the occurrence or

expected occurrence of specified en route weather phe-

nomena, which is expected to affect the safety of aircraft

operations. SIGMETs are intended for dissemination to all

pilots in flight to enhance safety.

Pilot Report (PIREPS)

A PIREP is a report of the actual weather conditions

encountered by an aircraft in flight. Traditionally, these

reports are transmitted by radio to an appropriate ground

station for dissemination, but when necessary, they can

be made by telephone after landing. The ground station

receiving the PIREP will format and disseminate the infor -

mation to all concerned parties.

Five Things Y ou Should Know About PIREPs:

1. A PIREP is a pilot ’s report of actual weather conditions encountered

while airborne.

2. T he main purpose is safety — it helps weather forecasters update

their data and improve quality of forecast.

3. A PIREP file t o report good weather is just as important as a PIREP

file to report bad weather.

4. Y ou can submit them electronically — check out the electronic

PIREP submission tool at the National Weather Service’s Aviation Weather Center Digital Data Service (ADDS) website.

5. D on’t be overly concerned with strict format or phraseology. The

important thing is to relay info beneficial to other pilots.

Radar and Satellite Imagery

Like METARs, radar and satellite imagery are not fore-casts. They display a near real-time picture of the current

weather at given locations. They are used as tools in

producing forecasts, but more importantly, they help to

evaluate current conditions — the first place a pilot should

start. Radar and satellite imagery provide a great deal of useful information. However, it’s vital aviators know how to

use it. Understanding when and how to analyze the differ -

ent imagery available is key to utilizing these valuable tools

for evaluating flight conditions.

Commonly known as Doppler radar, the WSR-88D

NEXRAD (Next-generation Radar) provides comprehen-sive observations that inform about impending weather. It

operates in two modes: clear air and precipitation. Clear

Air Mode is the most sensitive operational mode, with a

slow antenna rotation allowing for extended atmospheric sampling. Images are updated approximately every 10

minutes in this mode. In Precipitation Mode, the radar

operates with a faster antenna rotation due to stronger

return signals from precipitation targets. This allows

images to update faster, approximately every 4-6 minutes. The intensity values in both modes are measured in

dBZ (a metric related to precipitation intensity) and are

depicted in different colors, based on echo intensities, on the radar image.

Another important factor to understand is the type

of radar image you are viewing. Radar can be displayed

in Base Reflectivity or Composite Reflectivity. Base

Reflectivity is a display of echo intensity (reflectivity), showing the amount of transmitted power returned to

the radar receiver at a single elevation. Images are used

to detect precipitation, evaluate storm structure, locate atmospheric boundaries, and determine hail potential.

Composite Reflectivity displays the maximum echo inten-

sity (reflectivity) from any elevation angle at every angle from the radar. When compared with Base Reflectivity, Composite Reflectivity can reveal important storm struc-ture features and intensity trends of storms.

Satellite imagery is another good tool to better under -

stand current and short-term expected flight conditions and is available in multiple image types. Infrared (IR)

imagery senses the surface temperature of an object, like a

cloud top, ocean, or ground surface. IR images are inde-

pendent of visible light and thus available day and night.

Looping a series of these images together can offer valuable clues as to whether a system is strengthening or weakening

based on whether the cloud tops are cooling or warming.

Visible imagery presents clouds using the visible part of the spectrum. The display is similar to what you would see

with your naked eye and allows you to distinguish low-ly-

ing fog and stratus clouds, which the IR imagery may not

detect. Visible imagery is valuable for detecting smoke

plumes, dust, and thin layers of volcanic ash, which are usually too warm to be easily seen on IR imagery. However,

these images are only available during the day when the

sun illuminates the features.

Water vapor imagery highlights the presence of water

vapor in the upper atmosphere and provides the ability to identify the presence of jet streams and headwinds aloft

and the possibility of mountain wave turbulence even

under clear skies. Rivers of atmospheric water vapor will often be visible on the water vapor images even when the

IR and visible imagery indicate clear skies.

March/April 2024 21Example of a radar scanning one single elevation angle (base reflectivity). Example of how composite reflectivity is produced.

Image What Pilots Should Be Able to Identify Why to Use Caution with Image

VisibleFog/stratus extent. Determine difference between stratus/fog and

snow-covered peaks. Be able to infer low-level wind flow.Difficult to tell snow from clouds.

InfraredDetermine areas of cold/warm air advection as well as precipitation trends or areas.Cold air mistaken for stationary clouds or precipitation.

Water VaporSee upper features that may affect inversions. Watch for dry air advection, which is good precursor for nighttime fog.Hard to determine which areas are precipitation as may just be thick clouds.Images from NOAA.gov

22 FAA Safety BriefingCurrent Cautions & Conversions

Winds shown on a METAR, TAF, winds aloft table,

or surface analysis chart are represented in true head-

ings, whereas winds represented through an Automatic

Terminal Information Service (ATIS), Automated

Surface/Weather Observing System (ASOS/AWOS), or

PIREP are in magnetic headings. It’s important to be cognizant of wind direction when determining wind

components and to make conversions as necessary.

Runways are always identified in the magnetic direction, so to accurately figure out all wind components you must

convert the wind from true to magnetic. To do this, deter -

mine the magnetic variation for the airport, which can be found in the chart supplement. As a reminder, westerly

variations are added, easterly are subtracted, from the true direction. A useful adage is that “If you read it, it

must be true. If you hear it, it’s magnetic. ”

Hamilton Family Vacation, August 2023

Now let’s look at how Hamilton used some of these

tools for his family’s trip in the summer of 2023. Keep

in mind that because there was a scheduled boat ride,

timing was important. Since the destination airport

(Moultonborough) is VFR only, he needed an alter -

nate airport. Laconia Airport (LCI) with an instrument

landing system (ILS) approach and weather reporting, is

just across the lake. It’s a long drive around the lake from Laconia to the boat dock though. Laconia lacks a TAF, so

he needed an official alternate, which was Manchester,

NH (MHT). These factors add complexity to weather

planning. Air and ground transport had to be coordinated over four outcomes:

1. Laconia reports VFR — fly to Moultonborough.

2. L aconia reports marginal VFR — shoot an ILS to get

below the clouds and continue to Moultonborough.

3. L aconia is IFR — land there, change shuttle pickup

location, and allow extra time.

4. L aconia is below minimums — go to a distant airport

(MHT) and arrange transportation.

Before the Flight

No weather forecast is good at 10 days out. However, Hamilton’s more than 30 years of experience let him reason-

ably estimate the probability of each outcome. The Aviation

Weather Center Prog Charts give a look at the highs, lows,

and fronts a week out. The Area Forecast Discussion pre-

dicts four days out and discusses flight conditions, winds, and storms. This is when Hamilton started thinking about

his flight. The nearest aviation TFR forecast site, Concord,

N.H., issues a 24-hour forecast. That was a key point in his planning. Summertime is thunderstorm time, typically

driven by midday heating of moist air. Takeoff is 7 a.m., and

storms usually are a factor only when there is frontal activ-

ity. The same goes for adverse winds. Morning fog, however,

is common in the New Hampshire mountains.

Hamilton used the grid winds in his electronic flight

bag to determine how long it would take and planned a departure time that would put him and his family at the destination in time for the scheduled van pickup.

The initial forecasts indicated IFR conditions with possi-

ble thunderstorms. Four days before departure, all indica-

tions pointed to no thunderstorms but possible sub-VFR

conditions. The convective forecasts agreed. This was better than the forecast for the day before the planned departure.

When the TAFs came out, they looked good enough to con-

tinue with the original plan to land at the destination at 10

a.m. Hamilton went to bed and slept comfortably. He had

plans for all contingencies and the next day looked good.

Right Before Takeoff

At this point, TAFs are very reliable and NEXRAD and METARS are highly relevant. There’s now enough data to

Weather conditions significantly

impact aircraft flight time,

performance and safety.

A WSR-88D NEXRAD Doppler weather radar system being repaired after severe storm

damage in 2017.

March/April 2024 23make a go/no-go decision. Hamilton needed to decide:

Is it safe to depart? Will he need an arrival alternate or a

departure alternate? Should he tell the van company to pick

him and his family up at Laconia instead? Does he change

his departure time based upon the weather?

There was no major precipitation on NEXRAD. The first

half of the trip was marginal VFR with spots of IFR condi-tions. The second half was marginal VFR to VFR. Laconia

was in IFR in low clouds and fog. The Concord forecast called for it to lift by an hour after the 7 a.m. takeoff and

be in VFR by arrival time. No forecast is perfectly reliable,

but Laconia was definite, and Moultonborough was highly

probable. So far, conditions were substantially as forecast

the night before.

Enroute

Here is where datalink weather really pays off. Hamilton uses XM satellite weather. It provides several weather prod-

ucts, and it works even when the airplane is on the ground.

(ADS-B weather gives an adequate suite of products. It

can only receive data when the airplane is high enough to

pick up a station. This is a few hundred feet at his airport.) NEXRAD weather is one of the best products that XM

delivers. Hamilton recommends using NEXRAD with

caution though because there can be a lag of 5-10 minutes or more, but it is still his best strategic planning tool. He

backs up the NEXRAD with his Stormscope, which detects

lightning in real time.

Hamilton and his family departed their home airport in

marginal VFR conditions with plenty of cloud clearance. Air traffic control (ATC) cleared him on course and up to

7,000 feet. The winds were a bit less favorable than planned,

but he was above the clouds into sunglasses weather.

“One of the good things about being a pilot is that we

see a good deal more sunshine than nonpilots, ” states Hamilton. “The cloud tops on this day were brilliant in the

morning sun. ”

An hour out, passing Atlantic City, N.J., the undercast

started to break up. Passing New Y ork City, Hamilton had a broken deck. Best of all, the METAR at Laconia

now showed good VFR conditions. Not only was he

not going to Laconia, but he also didn’t need to do an

instrument approach.

Arrival

The Laconia METAR indicated south winds, so Hamilton anticipated an approach to Runway 20. That’s a steep descent

on final to a short runway, so he prepared for it mentally

“It was good VFR the rest of the way and we spotted the

mountains surrounding the lake when they were 15 miles

away, ” he said.

There was some haze as he approached the lake. At 3,000

feet overhead Laconia, he canceled his IFR flight plan and descended to cross the lake 1,000 feet above the water. He and his family made it to the boat with time to spare.

Sunset

Whether you are new to flying or a seasoned aviator like Hamilton, weather planning is essential. The evaluation

products we discussed are just a few of the products avail-

able to support an exhaustive weather briefing and inform

good judgment for all aviators. Make sure to familiarize

yourself with all the tools available and understand how each product fits into your flying timeline to develop a total

awareness of the atmospheric conditions.

Nicole Hartman and Rebekah Waters are F AA Safety Briefing associate editors and technical

writer-editors in the FAA’s Flight Standards Service.

Pilots cannot make good decisions

based on incomplete or missing

information.

LEARN MORE

METARs

aviationweather.gov/data/metar

TAFs

aviationweather.gov/data/tafAIRMETS

aviationweather.gov/gfa/#gairmetSIGMETS

aviationweather.gov/gfa/#sigmetPIREPS

aviationweather.gov/data/pirepRadar and Satellite Imagery

aviationweather.gov/gfa/#obs

InFO 14011, Electronic Submission of PIREPs

bit.ly/InFO14011

Prog Charts

aviationweather.gov/gfa/#progchart

AVIATE, NAVIGATE,

COMMUNICATE

An Interview with

FAA Administrator

Michael Whitaker

By Tom Hoffmann

Michael Whitaker was appointed FAA Administrator

in October of 2023. Y ou may recall Michael as the

former Deputy Administrator from 2013 to 2016.

In addition, he has experience as an airline and advanced air mobility (AAM) industry executive and is an active

general aviation (GA) pilot. This background has provided an excellent foundation for understanding the complex and

dynamic world that makes up aviation transport.

The FAA Safety Briefing magazine team got the oppor -

tunity to sit down with Administrator Whitaker in early January. We were eager to hear about his priorities for the

aviation industry and his vision for the future of GA as he

embarks on his five-year term.

Tell us a little bit about your background and what experiences

have prepared you for your role as FAA Administrator.

My dad was in the Army, so I moved around a lot as a kid

and kept moving around as an adult. I don’t have a natural

home base, although I do consider New England home,

specifically Vermont, where I’ve spent the last 20 years. I

took ground school and my first flying lesson in college,

but unfortunately, that project wound up being put on hold for about 30 years. I’ve always had an interest in aviation though and have been in the industry full-time for about

32 years. After law school I practiced for a short period

of time, then joined TW A [Trans World Airlines]. I later

worked with United Airlines in Chicago, starting out in

regulatory matters, and ended up in charge of commercial alliances, joint ventures, and international affairs.

I learned to fly 10 years ago when I was the Deputy

Administrator, flying out of Freeway Airport in Maryland. I later worked on my instrument rating back

in Vermont. I passed my written exam and was preparing

for my checkride when COVID-19 hit. I have suspended

that training for now, but I do plan to get back to it. The

purpose of getting my certificate and instrument training

24 FAA Safety BriefingThe purpose of getting my certificate

and instrument training was to help

me understand the system better

from all sides. It was very useful in

being able to understand how ATC

works and better appreciate the

role of GA.

March/April 2024 25

was to help me understand the system better from all

sides. It was very useful in being able to understand how

ATC works and better appreciate the role of GA. It con-

nected a lot of dots for me.

For our readers, this article might serve as your introduction to

them. What would you like them to know about your stance on the

importance of GA?

I think there are a number of layers to that answer. We

have 5,000 airports across the U.S. that are a national trea -

sure. As new forms of aviation are developing, like AAM or electric fixed-wing aircraft, those airports are going

to become increasingly important. I think they’re going

to be a boon to GA and should lower the cost of becom-ing a pilot. Electric aircraft are much cheaper to operate,

much simpler in design once they’re in the market, and

of course, there are the environmental advantages. From a workforce point of view, we need to do everything we

can to encourage a robust GA ecosystem along with flight

training and all the components that go with it. GA is a

really important part of our system.

(Editor’s note: Michael enjoyed visiting the annual Sun

‘n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Fla., during his tenure as Deputy Administrator and hopes to attend again to meet

more members of the GA community.)

How do you envision a national airspace system (NAS) that

safely integrates new entrants given the complexity and diver -

sity of GA operations?

Some of the new entrants out there, like eVTOL [electric

verti c al takeoff and landing] aircraft, can be incorporated

into the NAS under the existing rules. But to fully accom-

modate and integrate what those sectors may become,

we’re going to need a vision for how we accomplish that,

which will be heavily reliant on technology. Part of my role will be to work with stakeholders and industry to

help fill in the blanks on what that’s going to look like

going forward. And that will certainly be part of what we tackle starting this year.

What do you think will be the most challenging task?

My principal focus is safety. Because things are changing so quickly, it’s important we don’t just rely on doing things the

way we’ve always done them. While that may have deliv-

ered a safe outcome in the past, we can’t count on it doing

so in the future. So, I think we must become a culture of

continuous improvement and be alert for clues that maybe what we’re doing isn’t enough and that we may need to go

above and beyond that.

Can you talk about your first 100 days at the FAA?

So far, it’s been safety, safety, safety. My discussions with the

management team and employees at the FAA have been

framed using the aviation mantra pilots learn early on in

training: aviate, navigate, communicate. That’s in order of

priority. And the first 100 days have been all about aviat-

ing. For us this means asking ourselves: Are we meeting our mandate on safety, are we identifying the risks in the

system, how are we addressing close calls, and how are we

dealing with controller fatigue? If you look at the things we’ve done in the first 100 days, from 25-hour cockpit

voice recorders to drug and alcohol testing at foreign repair

stations, everything has been safety-focused. I’ve also met

with a fair number of employees so far. I have been to

control towers in Boston, Philadelphia, D.C., and Dallas, and visited our Tech Center in New Jersey. We’ve focused

our attention where it needed to be these first 100 days, but

this year we’ll start to focus on some of our longer-range priorities as well.

What do you most enjoy about working at the FAA?

I had a very positive experience before and enjoyed working closely with former Administrator Huerta. I

learned a lot from his management style, and I think we

had a well-run organization during that time. Not only did

the people here know me, but I knew them. I really enjoy

meeting and spending time with employees, and that’s truly my happy place. The extent that people go above and

beyond at the FAA is just extraordinary.

We must become a culture of

continuous improvement and be

alert for clues that maybe what we’re

doing isn’t enough and that we may

need to go above and beyond that.

26 FAA Safety Briefing

You’ve been Administrator for a few months now. What’s been

your biggest surprise so far in this role?

I think it’s being in the limelight even more than when I

was here before. I’ve been here 10 weeks, and we’ve been

the lead story in the New York Times twice. That’s a lot of

public attention. I don’t think that’s necessarily a good or bad thing, it’s just how it is and something you have to

manage. My preference is to be down in and do the work. I try to limit distractions that come from outside and give

the significant work we do the attention it needs.

This issue will be focused on the importance of aviation

weather. Can you recall a time when your personal weather

know-how and/or technology played a significant role in the

safe outcome of a flight?

Weather is a topic I pay a lot of attention to. When I was

learning to fly and training for my instrument rating, I

found weather to be a complex and sometimes challeng-

ing topic. I have a lot of respect for those who intuitively

understand it or can easily explain what to expect with cold

or warm fronts or temperature inversions before you even get into the deep analytical matters.

My focus at FAA before, and again now, is to make sure

we’re pushing as much of that data out to pilots as possible and letting the marketplace develop apps or programs that

can be used inflight.

My first “ah-ha” moment about weather technology

occurred when I was getting my certificate 10 years ago

and was with my instructor for a cross-country evening flight. We got up in the air and were able to look at ADS-B

In data — we were flying to Lancaster, Pa. — and saw the

enroute weather was not as forecasted. We realized the risk

of complications on the return leg, so we ended up scrap-

ping the trip and coming back.

I think having that information at your fingertips is

really key so you don’t get in a situation where you’re not just able to avoid weather, but also anticipate what it’s going to look like two hours ahead so you can adjust your plans

accordingly. It’s hard to overstate the importance of getting

that data out in a usable format to pilots.

What are some things you like to do in your free time?

I have always wanted to make sure I saw the world from every angle since I was a kid. I’ve kind of systemically

explored all those areas by doing some deep-sea diving,

sailing, skydiving, mountain climbing, and of course,

flying. It’s not really a bucket list thing but rather a genuine

desire to explore the world. I’m focused on what I’m doing in my new position, so I enjoy just walking the dog more

than anything else at the moment.

Is there anything that we didn’t ask you about that you’d like to

share with our readers?

Go to faa.gov/jobs! We’re hiring. We need pilots, we need

mechanics, we need all kinds of folks. I know a lot of

people spend their careers in aviation, and I hope we could

become a place where people say: “I’ve done a lot of things

in aviation, and I'd like to spend a few years at the FAA. ”

We want to make it easier to come work here and make it a place of choice to work.

LEARN MORE

Michael Whitaker, FAA bio page

faa.gov/about/key_officials/whitaker We need to do everything we can to

encourage a robust GA ecosystem

along with flight training and all the

components that go with it. GA is a

really important part of our system.

March/April 2024 27Roll of Honor 2023

Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award

The FAA ’s most prestigious award for pilots is the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.

It is named in honor of the first U.S. pilots, the Wright brothers, to recognize 50 years of

exemplary aviation flight experience, distinguished professionalism, and steadfast com-

mitment to aviation safety. In 2023, we recognized the following Master Pilots. For more

about the award, go to FAASafety.gov/MasterPilot.

Peter Blackmon AK

Garland Dobson AK

Rex Gray AK

Paula Huckleberry AK

Ronald Klemm AK

Edward Kornfield AK

Thomas Ruppert AK

Charles Slagle AK

Thomas Thibodeau AK

Glen Barker AL

Walter Clolinger AL

Jameel Joseph AL

Jack Lynn AL

John Murphy AL

David Rothenanger AL

James Rutland AL

Jeffery Smith AL

Rickey Smith AL

Ronald Williams AL

John Young AL

Billy Bean AR

Lewis Casey AR

Garland Goodwin AR

Larry Kline AR

Steven Archbold AZ

Bruce Arnold AZ

William Chambless AZ

Michael Chittick AZ

Louis Clark AZ

Charles Crinnian AZ

Mark Donnelly AZ

James Fangman AZ

John Fay AZ

Warren Flies AZ

Aldo Galvanoni AZ

Fred Gibbs AZ

Dennis Granquist AZ

Scott Hein AZ

Clovis Jones Jr AZ

Keith Lamb AZ

Kelly McMullen AZ

Robert Mittelstaedt Jr. AZ

Thomas O'Reilly AZJerry Owings Jr. AZ

Timothy Tarris AZ

William Walker AZ

Robert Way AZ

Arthur Wenger AZ

Thomas Anderson CA

Michael Berryman CA

John Calcara CA

Edward Crouse CA

Jim Dalton CA

George Deeter CA

Richard Duste CA

Scott Dweck CA

Allen Ehrke CA

Richard Escola CA

John Fisher CA

Robert Forbes CA

Stephen Greene CA

James Gregory Jr. CA

Barry Hansen CA

Steven Hart CA

Robert Haygooni CA

Willam Heyland CA

Peter Hudes CA

Ronald Kelly CA

Charles Kemp CA

Charles Kerber CA

John Kern CA

Vladimir Lange CA

Richard Launey CA

Garrick Lee CA

Henry Lee CA

Robert Lenox CA

Paul Likens CA

Elver McClelland CA

James McCrory CA

Martin Michaud CA

Lawrence Miles Jr. CA

Martin Murdock CA

Robert O'Connor CA

Charles Raines CA

Sidney Rockwood CA

Hal Savage Jr. CA

Robert Scherzinger CA

Julian Steffenhagen Jr. CASteven Steinhoff CA

Thomas Tingley CA

Douglas Triplat CA

Walter Wilson CA

Arthur Wilson CA

Frank Anthony CO

Raul Boerner CO

Philip Brown CO

Nicholas Cerretani CO

Ralph Cerretani CO

Michael Daciek CO

Philip Fleming CO

Larry Hawkins CO

David Hurley CO

Howard Janzen CO

Robert Kinney CO

Kenneth Maples CO

Lynn McCullough CO

Jan McKenzie CO

Rex Miller CO

Per Naess CO

Leslie Noall CO

Terrance O'Neill CO

Clement Silvers Jr. CO

Harold Smethillis Jr. CO

Frank Watson CO

Richard Woodward CO

Kurt Fisher CT

Santo Galatioto CT

Edward Jepsen CT

David Sampl CT

Thomas Sessa CT

Michael Shea CT

Robert Wilson CT

James Allen DE

Robert Cooper DE

Joseph Czachorowski DE

Arnold Itzkowitz DE

Richard Speck DE

Craig Wheel DE

William Allyn FL

Peter Bales FLJames Barnhart FL

Donald Beach FL

Marcel Belleville FL

Richard Bender FL

Frank Benedetto FL

Gene Bennett FL

Chester Bennett FL

Frank Bernaby FL

Michael Boyce FL

Joseph Braden FL

Allen Brinckerhoff FL

Steven Bryan FL

Steven Bulwicz FL

Joseph Burnside FL

Arthur Chausmer FL

George Coats FL

Randel Compton FL

Dennis Daley FL

Ursula Davidson FL

James Davis Jr. FL

James Dent FL

Jack Duelks FL

Richard Duke FL

Malcolm Easterling FL

Joseph Ellis FL

Roberto Escobio FL

Don Etchison FL

Janes Ferrari FL

Robert Frangione FL

Donald Franklin FL

Glynn Frets FL

Miguel Gil FL

Carol Gosling FL

Robert Haynes FL

Thomas Johnson FL

Lee Kraus Jr. FL

Donald Kronen FL

Robert LeBlanc FL

Robert Linenweber FL

Gaynell Logue FL

Johann Lutz FL

James Lynch FL

Jeffrey Macuga FL

Joseph Manor FL

Mario Mastrandrea Jr. FL

Andrew Mikos FLRoger Molitor FL

Ralph Moser FL

Ralph Moulton FL

Roy Myers FL

Janice New McWilliams FL

Mark Nichols FL

Austin Norton II FL

Osvaldo Ojito FL

Roger Olson FL

Scott Parks FL

John Posey FL

Jan Potter FL

Ronald Reese FL

Charles Renuart FL

Donald Rise Jr. FL

Charles Rucquoi FL

Charles Septer FL

Allen Simmons FL

Jeffrey Siskind FL

Joaquin Solano FL

Harlan Sparrow III FL

Ricky Spencer FL

James Stasny FL

John Sullivan FL

Ernest Taylor Jr. FL

James Thorpe FL

Robert Thousand Jr. FL

Ronald Timmermans FL

Albert Voss II FL

Merle Wagner FL

Terry Wallace FL

Stephen Walton FL

Willie Weaver FL

Lloyd Webb FL

Gerd Wolf FL

Carl Wood FL

William Wright FL

Michael Baier GA

Rickie Barron GA

Louis Belline GA

Dean Bloom GA

Thomas Calvanelli GA

Glenn Carr GA

Robert Caster GA

Mario Corti GA

28 FAA Safety BriefingRoll of Honor 2023

William Davis GA

Rick Ferrin GA

Calvin Flanigan GA

Curt Helling GA

John Holmquist GA

Brian Hood GA

Robert Inman GA

Cecil Johnson GA

Fred Kirijan GA

Arthur Lapointe GA

William Lavender Jr. GA

Stanley Musick GA

James Pate GA

Jack Phillabaum GA

Ronald Prox GA

Kenneth Sines GA

Calvin Stephens GA

Christopher Waggener GA

Richard Williams GA

Michael Young GA

Richard Olsten HI

Richard Alston IA

Scott Biller IA

David Camp IA

Timothy Hickey IA

Clyde Sievers IA

John Tibben IA

Ronald Hanks ID

Willis Maxson ID

James Roberts ID

Richard Strawn ID

Winfred Vinton ID

Daniel Warnick ID

Richard Williams ID

Diane Earhart IL

Lawrence Frey IL

Orlando Ham IL

Dennis Holman IL

Eldridge Johnson Jr. IL

Jerry Lay Sr. IL

Forrest McClelland IL

Stuart Moment IL

Douglas Partl IL

Larry Sandford IL

Duane Seitz IL

Thomas Soerens IL

John Steichen IL

Andrew Targosz IL

Steven Targosz IL

Robert Wicke IL

Stephen Willis IL———

James Bisesi IN

Gary Cottingham IN

Teddy Cox IN

David Freeman IN

Wade Palmer IN

Morris Wiegand IN

Mary Aikins KS

Timothy Bonnell Sr. KS

Monte Bowling KS

Terry Burger KS

Richard Carlson KS

Edward Chesnut KS

Noble Davis KS

Charles Dick KS

Clarence Flynn KS

Robert Hays KS

George Livergood KS

Steven Manweiler KS

Kirby Ortega KS

Ralph Rissmiller KS

Roy Sauder KS

Carl Weaver KS

Daniel Wedman KS

Gary Burkett KY

Lauren Fillmore KY

Stanley Hunter KY

Robert Rounsavall III KY

Horace Boggs III LA

Andrew Carter Jr. LA

Darryl Christen LA

William Cope Jr. LA

William Upton Jr. LA

Olga Mracek Mitchell MA

Richard Sands MA

Peter Tokarz MA

David Heemstra MD

John Orzechowski MD

Jarrell Pratt MD

George Shaver MD

Gerald Sligh MD

Frederick Cahn ME

David Rier ME

John Shenton ME

David Vroom ME

Randy Coller MI

Gregory De Gaynor MI

Richard Degraw MIPierre duPont MI

Warren Eaton MI

John Eiler MI

Timothy Fino MI

Carl Franz MI

James Giordano MI

Dennis Hartsell MI

Rodney Hatcher MI

Raymond Hunter MI

Anthony Hurst MI

Patrick Keenan MI

James Koch MI

John Lemmon MI

Jeffrey Nelson MI

Robert Parker MI

Daniel Schiffer MI

William Stuart MI

Dean VanNasdale MI

Kurt Welsh MI

James Wise MI

Patrick Halligan MN

Donald Johnston MN

Calvin Peterson MN

J. Vanatta MN

Charles Bailey MO

Albert Benker MO

Robert Brummett MO

Lloyd Darter MO

Milo Farnham MO

Danny Hall MO

Michael Lee MO

Phillip LePage MO

William Martin MO

Richard McCleish MO

Thomas Richards MO

Jerry Wade MO

Darrell Yelton MO

Mark Gary MS

Wesley Pearson MS

Terry Albertson MT

Ross Campbell MT

John Lieberherr MT

Roger Meggers MT

Michael Pardis MT

James Perhay MT

John Tronstad MT

Michael Vivion MT

Glen White MT

William Cannon Jr. NC

Frederick Cassel NCRobert Chaplin NC

Oystein Dahl NC

Charles Finkle NC

Jere Fountain NC

Michael Jones NC

Manuel Lopez NC

Donald Matthews Jr. NC

Hugh McKay III NC

Joseph Miller NC

Michael Monkhouse NC

James Monroe Jr. NC

Roy Moore NC

Alexander Nelon NC

Harry O'Nan NC

Lawrence Peoples NC

Andrew Pierce NC

Bruce Powell NC

Roger Richardson NC

Mark Roberts NC

Donald Sellers NC

Billy Shomaker NC

Charles Snow NC

Eugene Spainhour NC

Richard Thayer NC

Sidney Tolchin NC

James Woolf NC

Dean Affolter ND

Alan Butts ND

Milton Lindvig ND

Russell Makeeff ND

Glen Wharam ND

George Czarnecki NE

Richard Green NE

Charles Hull NE

Richard Jaworski NE

Jerry Morelock NE

LeRoy Svododa NE

Henry Dahlquist NH

George Fogwell NH

Michael Lavoie NH

William Moran NH

Jeffrey Newcomb NH

Michael Rush NH

William Bosma III NJ

Steven Cook NJ

Lawrence Finnegan Jr. NJ

Harold Ford Jr. NJ

David Hollinger NJ

John Varoscak NJ

Morris Wiener NJ

———William Madden NM

Stevan Pearce NM

Richard Roderick NM

John Arvidson NV

David Bartz NV

James Doyle NV

Pete Koliastasis NV

Gary Lacore NV

Vincent Latona NV

Michael Leonard NV

Everett Long NV

James Murdoch III NV

Gorden Neal NV

Richard Nurge NV

Thomas O'Connor NV

Edward Peterson NV

Mark Rasner NV

Ralph Stephens NV

Emerson Allen NY

Philip Benanti NY

Frank Bonacci NY

Gary Campbell NY

Jeffrey Carlson NY

Jerry Chapman NY

John Dolan NY

James Emma NY

Jack Farenga NY

Gary Ferdon NY

Trevor Forde NY

Thomas Kizis NY

Don Lockard NY

Arthur Mount NY

Mark Seal NY

Gregory Semendinger NY

James Shelor NY

Wayne Smith NY

John Staber NY

Richard Suett NY

Robert Van Sise Jr. NY

Daniel Vergason NY

Ronald Weinstein NY

Kenneth Wile NY

Ivan Williams NY

William Davis Jr. OH

John Dye OH

Ronald Faliszek OH

Luther Gibbs OH

Gregory Gorniak OH

Gayle Green OH

Richard Green OH

Terry Jones OH

Robert Larson OH

March/April 2024 29Charles Macuga III OH

Donald Nelson OH

Bradley Newman OH

James Pusateri II OH

Richard Smith OH

Paul Stojkov OH

Danny Burdette OK

Gerald Dixon OK

Jimmy Emory OK

Charles Ewers OK

Joseph Flinton OK

Dale Ford OK

Raymond Foutch OK

Monte Jestes OK

Allen Meyer OK

John Spurlock OK

Robert Stebbins OK

Sharon Stebbins OK

John Wise OK

Perry Zimmerman OK

Friedhelm Baitis OR

John Fiedler OR

Lennard Fierling OR

Kenneth Foote OR

Ted Millar OR

Frank Sneed OR

Walter Swan OR

Stanley Swan OR

Robert Wood OR

Harry Arnold P A

Joseph Bennett III P A

Edwin Campbell P A

Charles Capozzolo P A

Duane Clawson P A

Dennis Daly P A

William Dickinson P A

Richard Duncan P A

John Dyke P A

Roy Early P A

Kerry Fritz P A

Stephen Galle P A

Paul Houle P A

Randall Kilmer P A

Martin Kleiner P A

Charles Kremer Sr. P A

William Lokes III P A

Brian Newhart P A

Eugene Nicolo P A

Mark Overby P A

Fernand Parent Jr. P A

Edward Patrick P A

Anthony Pavilonis P ARobert Reinhold P A

Robert Rummel P A

Ralph Thompson P A

Roy Uptegraff III P A

Henrik Vejlstrup P A

Alfredo Cortes-Melendez

PR

David Anderson SC

Milton Edwards SC

George Flanagan SC

William Grannis SC

Marion Hope SC

John Hunt SC

Elizabeth Loda SC

William Mabry Jr. SC

James Pfaffenroth SC

John Ross SC

Robert Taylor SC

Carter Taylor SC

Michael Turner SC

Douglas Jones SD

Larry Warinner SD

Terry Balentine TN

James Corkern TN

Kimberly Coryat TN

Bryan Davies TN

Willis Derryberry TN

Robert Dilk TN

Ronald Dillard TN

William Duncan TN

Bradley Haslett TN

Calvin Janes TN

Ronald Malone TN

Dan Mills TN

Thomas Monterastelli TN

William Radford TN

Alvin Rice TN

Roger Richardson TN

Harry Shumate Sr. TN

Dudley Stith TN

Allen Akin TX

Calvin Allen TX

David Arber TX

Thomas Arnzen TX

Bruce Black TX

John Bowen TX

Michael Brake TX

Howard Cagle TX

Mark Calkins TX

Ottis Cameron TXJ Carroll TX

Alvin Carstensen TX

David Cole TX

Paul Cook TX

John Cooley TX

Charles Crossno TX

George Crow TX

Gary D'Antoni TX

Terrel Davidson TX

Neil Downing TX

Daryl Dressler TX

William Eslick TX

Robert Fitzpatrick TX

Ricky Foutch TX

Mark Frnka TX

Robert Funk TX

Donald Gardner TX

Jerry Gazada TX

Audie Gill TX

Stephen Greene TX

Donald Gumm TX

Giles Hadrych TX

Daniel Hall TX

Frederick Hall TX

Charles Hamilton III TX

Patricia Hockett TX

Bob Horton TX

John Jacobson TX

John Jaeckle TX

Carl Keil TX

Richard Keyt TX

John Kleber TX

David Leyerle TX

John McComas TX

Robert McDonnell TX

Edward McManus TX

Mark McNair TX

Allan McVicker TX

Kennerth Miller TX

David Moore TX

James Musil TX

Larry Nemecek TX

Stephen Newsom TX

John O'Leary III TX

Robert Pastusek TX

Ronald Patterson TX

Paul Pickering TX

Michael Reamy TX

James Rose TX

Charles Ross TX

Gerard Scheeler TX

James Schlattman TX

Paul Siedschlag TX

Charles Smith TX

Terrance Sonday TXB.B Stanfield III TX

Leven Staples TX

Alan Steel TX

Harry Stevenson III TX

Raymond Stewart TX

Russell Stricker TX

Tom Thibault TX

Stephen Thomas TX

John Treanor TX

Jackie Vaughn Sr. TX

John Voss TX

Wayne Walczak TX

Richard Wasik TX

Bruce Watts TX

James Weatherill TX

Robert Williams TX

Gerald Winfield TX

William Brodegard UT

Jeffrey Granger UT

James Lipscomb II UT

Harry Arthur V A

Dan Baptist Jr. V A

Thomas Butler V A

David Eberly V A

Jack Einstein V A

Bernard Estes V A

Joseph Fluet Jr. V A

George Franklin V A

Robert Hahn Jr. V A

Ray Hoover V A

Mark Horton V A

Walter Johnson V A

James Kellett V A

Lewis Martin II V A

Larry Omps V A

Donald Ratcliff V A

Jerry Updyke V A

David Young V A

David Kent VT

Arreed Barabasz W A

Kenneth Collins W A

Mark Dawson W A

John DeFeo W A

Michael Friend W A

Willis Garretson W A

Randall Gray W A

Gordon Hall W A

Alan Hewitt W A

John Kirry W A

Larry LeFever W A

Robert Major W AJohn Martinsen W A

Bruce McCaw W A

Mark McIntyre W A

David Miller W A

Dennis Nichols W A

Robert Norton W A

Thomas O'Boyle W A

Stephen Ortman W A

Earl Poland W A

Russell Roberts W A

Gary Scott W A

James Stock W A

John Swedburg W A

Gregory Williams W A

Per Anderas WI

Terry Blaser WI

Carl Gollnick WI

Roy Huffman WI

Jeffrey Hughes WI

Jerome Isaacson WI

Joseph Lienau WI

Walter Neverman WI

Gary Smith WI

Robert Warinner WI

Joseph Weber WI

Kenneth Welch WI

Dean Wollaston WI

Herbert Zimmers WI

Karl Gustafson WV

Okey Simmons WV

Richard Stefanick WV

John Campball WY

Dallas Chopping WY

Donald Cooksey WY

Bruce Hanson WY

Gary Marquiss WY

Julia Smith WY

30 FAA Safety BriefingRoll of Honor 2023

Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award

The FAA ’s most prestigious award for aircraft mechanics is the Charles Taylor Master

Mechanic Award. It is named in honor of the first aviation mechanic in powered flight,

Charles Taylor, to recognize 50 years of exemplary aviation maintenance experience,

distinguished professionalism, and steadfast commitment to aviation safety. In 2023,

we recognized the following Master Mechanics. For more about the award, go to

FAASafety.gov/MasterMechanic.

Ronald Klemm AK

Edward Kornfield AK

Marlin Priest AL

Richard Anderson AR

Michael Wilson AR

Robert Cumback AZ

James Godfrey Jr. AZ

Buddy Knutson AZ

Clarence Otis AZ

Dave Thompson AZ

Frank Tortorici AZ

Gary Barnard CA

Paul Bernard CA

Thomas Burke CA

Manuel Goncalves CA

Stephen Hasik CA

Michael Hedrick CA

William Johnston CA

Robert Johnstone Jr. CA

John Kerr CA

John Krueger CA

George Quackenbush CA

James Robba CA

Ty Smith CA

Jose Valenzuela CA

Danny Brown CO

Thomas Needham CO

Keith Serkes CO

Joseph Walsh CO

Harlan Durham DE

Harold Rutledge DE

Robert Allison Jr. FL

Steve Douglas FL

Jeffrey Evans FL

Richard Lemke FL

James Lynch FL

Alfred Neidhardt FL

Russell Pace FL

James Potts FL

Harlan Sparrow III FL

Terry Stanforth FL

Mark Stemple FL

William Torphy FL

Richard Trestor FL

Stanley Wiencek FL

Larry Williams FL———

Cecil Johnson GA

Charles Milton GA

Larry Owen GA

Dennis Pepin GA

Clarence Romero Jr. GA

Vincent Chicoine IA

Dean Wehrle IA

Randy Weyer IA

William McCauley ID

Leonard Skunberg ID

Earl Turner ID

Louis Derington Jr. IL

Eldridge Johnson Jr. IL

Thomas Soerens IL

Dennis Davis IN

Stanley Goddard IN

Dale Hidy IN

Kerry Hyde IN

Marty King IN

John Kirchner IN

Ralph Lutes IN

Robert Hays KS

Steven Lyddon KS

Daniel Wedman KS

Louis Esposito KY

William O'Donnell LA

John Bishop MA

Robert Brigham Jr. MA

Jean Jacques MA

David Pepple ME

Delma Bellamy MI

William Birch MI

Frederick Burger MI

Pierre duPont MI

Rodney Hatcher MI

William Hatfield MI

John Lemmon MI

Michael Trudeau MI

Robert Horak MN

Autrey Ivy MN

Charles Nichols Jr. MN———

Gary Neurohr MO

David Cox MS

Howard Harris MT

Thomas Willis MT

John Allen NC

Richard Basco NC

Robert Carter NC

Frederick Cassel Jr. NC

John Hall NC

Charles Kleven NC

Mohammed Koujak NC

William Newby NC

Thomas Nicastro NC

Jerry Morelock NE

Michael Rush NH

Richard Millward NJ

Thomas Brown NV

Carl Steinhoff NV

Jack Bush Jr. NY

John Chapman NY

William Herlan III NY

Michael Kolesar NY

Edward Libassi NY

Michael McGuire NY

David Milo NY

John Penna NY

Francisco Ruiz NY

Donald Cunningham OHCarl Fisher OH

Roy Goins OH

Thomas McGuire OH

Kenneth Shauman OH

James Andrews OK

Robert Borders OK

Larry McCray OK

Terry Tucker OK

John Fielder OR

Frank Sneed OR

Bernard Blanco P A

David Cain P A

Raymond Dougherty P A

Richard Duncan P A

Patrick Gallagher P A

Daniel Garcia P A

Daniel Giegel P A

John Kondratrick P A

Larry Kriner P A

Bruce Kukuruda P A

Edward Meegan Jr. P A

Donald Mueller P A

Vincent Nolan P A

Gregory Werking P A

Richard Woodard P A

James Franklin III SC

Roger Smith Jr. SC

Henry Williamson SC

Ronald Winburn SC

Kenneth Hall TN

Eusebio Montano Jr. TN

Thomas Monterastelli TN

Roger Poindexter TN———

Melvin Asberry TX

Richard Hosmer TX

Kenneth Lifland TX

George Lux TX

Roger Nowling TX

Efren Pabon TX

Stephen Wilson TX

Michael Anello UT

Joseph DeCosta V A

Fred Dyen V A

George Franklin V A

Kenneth Kerzner V A

Frederick Leonelli V A

Thomas Sare Jr. V A

Wilbert Smith V A

Mark Dawson W A

Joseph Rough W A

Frederick Spencer III W A

Richard Vaux W A

James Stock W A

James Adams WI

James Bournonville WI

Dennis Faivre WI

Kim Gaertner WI

Joseph Lienau WI

Nicholas Upton WV

Donald Cooksey WY

Bruce Hanson WY

Robert Palmer WY

At a ceremony last Veterans Day, the FAA awarded 31 Wright Brothers Master Pilot awards and one Charles Taylor

Master Mechanic award to members of Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 983 in Granbury, Texas. The

ceremony was the largest of its kind for the FAA.

March/April 2024 31

CHECKLIST FAA resources and safety remindersJAMES WILLIAMS

WHAT IS A BRIEFING?

In my early flight training days, things

seemed so much simpler when it came

to weather. To get a weather briefing,

you called or stopped in at a Flight

Service Station (FSS), and the briefer

gave you all the information about weather and other topics relevant to

your flight. If you didn't talk to a FSS

briefer, you didn’t have a briefing. A good preflight briefing is important

because, in addition to being valu-

able for your general survival, being

familiar with all available information

concerning your flight is also a regu-latory requirement (14 CFR section

91.103). But as technology changed,

the idea of visiting an FSS disappeared, and calling one became less relevant.

With the rise of many excellent third-

party options, an obvious question

became even more important: What is

a briefing these days?

An Answer at Last

One of the things I learned after

joining the FAA was that even seem-

ingly simple questions don’t always have simple answers. However, an

idiom that I learned around that time

regarding advisory circulars (AC) has always provided some insight

into reacting to such questions. An AC is a way, but not the only way, to

comply with a regulation. To answer

the above question, the FAA produced

AC 91-92, Pilot’s Guide to Preflight

Weather Briefing. The goal of this AC

is to give pilots a roadmap for devel-oping their self-briefings and debunk

the idea that there is such a thing as

a “legal briefing” that can only come from Flight Service. While Flight

Service (1800wxbrief.com) remains an

option for weather briefings, it is far

from the only one.

In fact, the AC has an extensive,

but not exclusive, list of resources including what information

each can provide. These include

AviationWeather.gov, FAA ’s weather

cameras, the Alaska Aviation Weather Unit, FAA ’s Special Use Airspace/

TFRs, NOAA ’s Storm Prediction

Center, the Weather Prediction Center, and more.

Y ou will notice that all these

resources are government

systems, but that does not

mean they are the only resources you can use to

meet the weather brief-

ing requirements. There are several third-party

resources that you can

use. So long as you cover

the elements of a standard

briefing (adverse condi-tions, synopsis, current

conditions, forecast

conditions, winds aloft, NOTAMs, and PIREPs), you have a comprehensive briefing. It doesn’t matter if you get the information from

a one-stop shop like 1800wxbrief.com

or from services like ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot. The important thing is

to use the service that provides you

with all of the required information

and allows you to properly plan, brief,

and file for your flight.

Covering Your Bases

Y ou aren’t required to document your

briefing, although recording the infor -

mation in a weather log is a great idea.

Many commercial services will record

all the activities you completed, includ-

ing the briefing you received. If that’s important to you, you should ask your

chosen provider if they record that

information. The FAA is not particular

with how you get a briefing; they care

that you get a complete briefing.

If you haven’t had a chance to check

out AC 91-92, please do. It’s a reason-ably quick read and an excellent frame-work for self-briefing. If you want more

info, check out our FAASTeam courses

on self-briefings (VFR and IFR courses

are available).

James Williams is FAA Safety Briefing’s associate editor and

photo editor. He is also a pilot and ground instructor.

LEARN MORE

AC 91-92, Pilot’s Guide to Preflight Weather Briefing

bit.ly/AC-9192

ALC-683: Conducting Preflight Self-Briefings for

Student and VFR Pilots

bit.ly/ALC683

ALC-889: Conducting Preflight Self-Briefing for

IFR Pilots

bit.ly/ALC889

THE GOAL OF AC 91-92 IS

TO HELP PILOTS FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE CONDUCTING THEIR OWN SELF-BRIEFINGS.Image courtesy of ForeFlight

32 FAA Safety BriefingDRONE DEBRIEF drone safety roundup

REBEKAH WATERS

FAIR WEATHER FLYERS

After a long winter cooped up inside,

most of us are itching to spend some

time outside. Spring gives us more

daylight and there is nothing better

than the clear blue skies of a warm

spring day. But spring weather is a fickle friend full of surprises. Before

you take your drone outside, let’s take

a look at how weather could affect your plans.

Weather is an important factor

no matter what time of year you fly.

Luckily, there are plenty of tools to

help you plan before you fly. If your flight calls for a more comprehensive

review, head to the National Weather

Service’s Aviation Weather Center (AviationWeather.gov). Most drone

pilots usually only need a local view of

the weather. For that, there are plenty

of weather apps, like Windsock and

AURA, devoted to drone pilots. But if you choose not to download one

of these, make sure you at least check

your local weather forecast for the

latest information.

After deciding what weather tool

to use, the next step is knowing

what weather information you need.

Weather that interferes with your

ability to fly safely includes tem-peratures, which can impact battery

life, precipitation, which can reduce

visibility, and wind, which could affect

control and stability of the flight. For

a deep dive into how temperatures affect drone flying, read “How Cold is

Too Cold to Drone On?” in the Nov/

Dec 2023 issue of FAA Safety Briefing (bit.ly/colddrone). During the spring, wind and rain are more likely culprits.

Unless you have a waiver, rule

number one of drone flying is that

you must be able to see your drone at

all times — also known as maintain-ing visual line of sight. Fog or even

light rain could impact your ability

to do this and limit how far or how high you can operate. Visual line

of sight isn’t the only consideration

when it comes to fog and rain. If

your drone isn’t waterproof, moisture

could damage important compo-nents. Spring precipitation can occur

suddenly, so always stay prepared, and

check the forecast often.

Pilots know that crosswinds can

make takeoff and landing in crewed aircraft particularly tricky. Strong

winds can cause problems for drones

too during any phase of flight. Maintaining control is crucial. Some

drones have special safety features

that help them fly better during windy

conditions. Even if your drone has

this feature, stay within your limits and never press your luck. A soft

spring breeze can become a blustery

gust with little warning. A sudden gust could easily exceed your drone’s relatively low top speed and render it

uncontrollable/unrecoverable. When

windy conditions occur, it’s best just

to land as soon as it is safe to do so.

Bottom line: always be mindful

of how weather could impact your

flight plans. Y ou may be disappointed

when the weather threatens to keep

you grounded. Y ou might be tempted to keep flying even as you notice that

weather conditions are worsening

hoping that perhaps the clouds will

part and the wind will die down. But

if there is even the slightest chance that weather could make you lose

control of your drone, why risk it?

It’s always better to land safely and be

able to fly again another day.

Rebekah Waters is an FAA Safety Briefing associate

editor. She is a technical writer-editor in the FAA’s Flight

Standards Service.

FOG OR EVEN LIGHT RAIN

COULD IMPACT YOUR ABILITY TO MAINTAIN VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT.IT’S ALWAYS BETTER TO LAND SAFELY AND BE ABLE TO FLY AGAIN ANOTHER DAY .

March/April 2024 33

NUTS, BOL TS, AND ELECTRONS GA maintenance issuesREBEKAH WATERS

ENGINE OIL 101

Most people know engine oil is

essential — it is the lifeblood of the

reciprocating engine — but not every-

one knows all the reasons why. So,

besides lubrication, what exactly does

engine oil do? Engine oil also cools, seals, and cleans. From viscosity to

consumption, let’s explore the basics

of engine oil.

The lubrication provided by engine

oil is crucial for reducing friction between moving parts in the engine.

This prevents wear and tear on the

engine components. As it absorbs and dissipates the heat generated

by the operation of the engine, oil

contributes to the overall cooling of the engine. Oil also helps seal gaps

between various components such as

piston rings. This prevents leakage of

combustion gases and helps main-

tain optimal pressure. Finally, engine oil helps keep the engine clean and

functioning properly. It does this by

carrying away contaminants, debris, and by-products of combustion.

There are different types of aircraft

engine oil, so how do you know which

type is best for your aircraft? This will

depend on a few things. In addition to following the manufacturer’s recom-

mendations, Jeff Simon, author of the

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

(AOPA) article “ All About Oils, ” says

you should consider your operating environment, outside temperature,

engine/cylinder type, and how often

the aircraft is flown. From miner -

al-based to synthetic or semi-synthetic, each type of engine oil has specific properties suited for different types of

engines and operating conditions.

Viscosity, the thickness of oil and

its resistance to flow, is another factor

to consider. Too low is a problem, but so is too high. Oil that is too thin

won’t provide enough lubrication. This

increases wear and tear. Too much

friction will damage essential engine parts. But if oil is too thick, there is too

much fluid friction. This increases the

power required to run the engine and

lowers fuel economy. It can also lead to parts overheating. This can shorten

the life of the lubricating effects by

accelerating oxidation. Remember that cold weather is a consideration too.

In colder climates, aircraft engine oil

needs to be able to maintain proper

viscosity at lower temperatures. Some

oils are formulated specifically for cold weather to ensure adequate lubrication

during start-up. So, when it comes

to choosing what oil to use, use the Goldilocks method, and look for an oil

that’s just right!

Once you’ve selected the right

oil for your aircraft, there are a few

more things you should know. Proper storage is essential. Always store your

oil in a cool, dry place away from

direct sunlight and extreme tempera-

tures. There are also environmental

impacts to consider. Spillage or mis-handling of engine oil can have severe

environmental consequences. Keep

an oil-absorbent pad on hand and be sure to follow any environmental reg-

ulations. It is also important to follow

a strict maintenance schedule includ-ing regular oil changes and inspec-tions, which is vital for the longevity and safety of your aircraft’s engine.

Since oil plays such a vital role in

the health and safety of your aircraft's engine, oil analysis can

be a valuable

tool. This

is a process

that involves sending oil

samples to a lab-

oratory to check for

contaminants, metal wear, and other indicators that can reveal

potential engine problems. When

collecting oil for analysis, take the

sample midway through draining. To get an accurate picture of your

engine’s health, it's important

to establish a trend. This means sampling 5 to 10 drains from your

aircraft engine.

With anything related to

aircraft engine oil, it is always

best to consult with certificated mechanics, follow the manufac-

turer's guidelines, and adhere to

aviation regulations. Proper care and maintenance of engine oil

systems contribute significantly to

the overall reliability and safety of

your aircraft engine.

Rebekah Waters is an FAA Safety Briefing associate

editor. She is a technical writer-editor in the FAA’s

Flight Standards Service.

LEARN MORE

FAA’s Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowl-

edge, Chapter 7

bit.ly/AeronauticalKnowledge

“All About Oils,” AOPA article

bit.ly/3HMyq4B

AC 20-24D, Approval of Propulsion Fuels, Addi-

tives, and Lubricating Oils

bit.ly/4buV3YXALWAYS STORE YOUR OIL IN

A COOL, DRY PLACE AWAY FROM DIRECT SUNLIGHT AND EXTREME TEMPERATURES.

34 FAA Safety Briefing

VERTICALLY SPEAKING safety issues for rotorcraft pilotsGENE TRAINOR

DON’T STRIKE OUT

Spring is a time when the aerial appli-

cation industry in the U.S. ramps up

for the planting, fertilizing, and spray-

ing seasons. Helicopters play a key role.

But sometimes this work comes

at a cost.

In June, July, and August 2023, the

National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA reported 15 helicopter aerial application accidents, four of

them fatal, along with 15 accidents

the summer before, one of which

was fatal. These accidents marked an

increase from the 11 reported in the summer of 2021. The 2023 accidents

sparked additional interest because

three of the fatal accidents occurred on consecutive days: July 29, 30, and 31.

The summer 2023 accidents came

at a time when the overall number of accidents involving U.S. registered

helicopters dropped from 130 in fiscal

year 2022 to 105 in 2023. The number of fatal accidents dropped from 21 to

18 during the same period.

Most of the summer 2023 aerial

application accidents resulted from

wire strikes. Wire strikes have been a safety issue for decades for all sectors

of the helicopter industry.

The FAA ’s Civil Aerospace Medical

Institute sought to answer the causes of such accidents by conducting a

focus group in 2022 with 22 agri-

cultural operations pilots whose

aircraft collided with wires during routine flights. The FAA research-

ers identified cognitive risk factors

that included situational awareness (e.g., focused on another obstacle, distracted by a radio call); judgment errors (e.g., forgetting that a wire was

there, misjudging proximity to wires);

and pressure to perform well (internal or external). See the full report at

bit.ly/WireStrikeStudy.

The National Agricultural Aviation

Association (NAAA) has been com-

mitted to educating pilots about wire strikes through online and in-person

wire safety courses, email, and maga-

zine articles. NAAA also provides the

Professional Aerial Applicator Support

System (PAASS), a yearly safety edu-cation program created and presented

by aerial application pilots at state and

regional NAAA conferences.

“Wire strikes have always been an

issue, ” NAAA CEO Andrew Moore said. “We’re flying in a wire environment. ”

The FAA, too, has been educating

pilots about wire strikes, often joining with the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team.

To that end, the FAA offers these wire

avoidance tips:

• I f you don’t need to be at a low

altitude in the wire environment, stay out.

• D uring flight preparation, review

any known wire installations on the planned flight path.

• F amiliarize yourself with the terrain,

navigational charts, and obstacle heights. Crossing the same set of

wires multiple times on the same

flight requires sustained vigilance

and caution to avoid them.

• Th e flight path, sun angle, surround -

ing terrain, and weather conditions can make wires almost invisible.

Instead, look for signs of supporting

hardware (towers/poles) and other

environmental cues (cleared trees/vegetation in straight lines).• W ires often run parallel or near

roads, so assume wires are present if overflying a road.

• Pay maximum attention to the flight path ahead (“eyes outside”) and

avoid distractions.

• In addition to electrical, look for

all types of wires, such as transport

cables, guy wires, and ski cables.

• If a passenger is with you, use them

as extra eyes to scan for wires.

• Consider installing a wire strike protection system, or “wire cutters, ”

on the helicopter. This wire-chomp-

ing mechanism cuts through

undetected wires coming in contact

with the helicopter. Although this system does not prevent wire

strikes, cutting through the intrud-

ing danger can be a lifesaver.

These video resources also are

helpful for pilots operating in low-alti-tude environments:

• Spotlight on Safety: Y ou Cut It? (HAI) bit.ly/47XGbj3

• Rotorcraft Cable Collision Avoidance (EASA) bit.ly/47GYAAm

• Surviving the Wires Environment (FAASTeam) bit.ly/4b7fZoT

• Avoiding Wire Strikes (FAA Tech Center) bit.ly/47HoTGr

Gene Trainor is a technical writer/editor in the FAA’s

Aircraft Certification Service.

IF YOU DON’T NEED TO BE AT

A LOW ALTITUDE IN THE WIRE ENVIRONMENT, STAY OUT.

March/April 2024 35

letters from the FAA Safety Briefing mailbagFLIGHT FORUM

Check out our GA Safety

Facebook page atFacebook.com/groups/GASafety .

If you’re not a member, we encourage you to join the group of nearly 16,000 participants in the GA community who share safety principles and best practices, participate in positive and safe engagement with the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam), and post relevant GA content that makes the National Airspace System safer.

Catching Up on Currency

I have a commercial instrument SEL

license. I was also a CAP [Civil Air

Patrol] mountain-certified mission

pilot. I stopped flying 6 years ago

and am trying to get current. I've

completed both the online self-study and webinar versions of AOPA's

Rusty Pilot schools. I've also had

a couple flights with a CAP flight instructor. He suggested I should

do my Flight Review via the FAAST

program rather than him signing me

off directly. What does that mean and

how do I do that?

— Chris

Hi Chris. Thanks for reaching out

and congratulations on your deci-

sion to start flying again! Your flight

instructor is referring to the FAA ’s

WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program which is designed to help improve

pilot’s skills and knowledge.

Accomplishing any phase of the

WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program satisfies the Flight Review requirements of CFR 61.56. (See para -

graph (e) “ A Person who

has, within the period specified in paragraph

(c)of this section, satis-

factorily accomplished

one or more phases

of an FAA-sponsored pilot proficiency award

program need not

accomplish the flight

review required by this section. ”)

A WINGS phase consists of 3

knowledge credits (documented on

FAASafety.gov) and 3 flight credits,

(documented by an appropriately rated flight instructor).

For more information visit

FAASafety.gov and check out the #FlySafe overview of the program with

links to additional resources, including

the WINGS Pilot Proficiency User’s

Guide, at bit.ly/WINGSPPP .

From the FAA’s LinkedIn Page

What the Helo?!

The FAA recently highlighted the haz-

ards caused by wake turbulence from helicopters with the following post:Viewers echoed the significance of

this risk and shared their experiences:

I don't think wake turbulence from

helicopters is recognized enough through-out the industry. I've been involved in multiple accidents involving wake tur -

bulence from a helicopter and am all too familiar with the risk. Once, a PA28 flew through the wake turbulence of an S76 on final and encountered a severe right roll and crashed. I was training on the airfield, so I was first on the scene and helped pull the pilot from the PA28.

It’s also important to be aware of the

downwash from helicopters, especially those that can taxi on the wheels because the rotor disc is tilted forward, so the wash naturally blows away quite some distance from the helicopter.

— John

This is great information! People

in aviation who haven’t drilled these

concepts into their heads, please absorb this information. There is real poten-tial for helicopter vortices to roll your aircraft over. This applies to taxiing and flying near rotorcraft. Think about the concepts described in this post, apply

the knowledge to what you already know about aerodynamics, and it will all click into place.

— Zachary

For more stories and news,

check out our new blog “Cleared for Takeoff” at

medium.com/FAA .

Let us hear from you! Send your comments,

suggestions, and questions to SafetyBriefing@faa.gov. You can also reach us on X (formerly

known as Twitter) @FAASafetyBrief or on

Facebook at facebook.com/FAA.

We may edit letters for style and/or length.

Due to our publishing schedule, responses

may not appear for several issues. While we

do not print anonymous letters, we will withhold names or send personal replies upon request. If you have a concern with an immediate FAA operational issue,

contact your local Flight Standards Office

or air traffic facility.

ON FINAL an editor's perspective

TOM HOFFMANN

A MACRO LENS ON WEATHER

Y ou’ve likely seen or heard of the

memes for the weather forecasting

rock. The whimsical signs you might

see outdoors, sometimes even near an

airport, feature a stone hung by a rope

along with a sign that indicates how this “highly technical and accurate”

weather forecasting tool operates.

If the rock is wet, it’s raining; if it’s swinging, it’s windy; if it’s white, it’s

snowing, and, well ... you get the idea.

It’s an amusing way of poking fun at

weather forecasts where the timing

or conditions predicted don’t quite match reality.

Weather forecasting has come a

long way in a relatively short span of time. Enhanced satellite and radar

technology, more robust forecast

models, and even artificial intelligence

have played a role in achieving that

higher degree of accuracy. However, it seems only Mother Nature has direct

knowledge of how or when weather

events will actually unfold.

As pilots, we are especially keen

on this reality, with each of us expe-riencing first-hand the fickle nature

of forecasting. We study the charts,

review the forecasts, and fine-tune our

cockpit weather

displays, yet

there always

seems to be some cumulus-shaped curve-ball tossed our way. There’s probably

no better example of this on full

display than check ride day, the day

many learner pilots come to know

the weather gods by their first name. While you may aspire for that perfect

prognostication, it rarely occurs.

On the plus side, it offers you some real-world issues to discuss with

your examiner about how you might

proceed differently, or if necessary,

postpone or cancel the flight. While

the changed flight plan might not be the ideal outcome, it’s a chance to

sharpen those go/no-go skills that will

serve you well on future flights.

One thing that has always helped

me when it comes to weather is understanding the bigger picture of

what’s happening in the atmosphere.

Back in the 1990s during my col-legiate flying days, I fondly recall

having to print and post weather

charts for our university flight

school’s briefing area as a lab com-

ponent of my advanced meteorology course. The charts depicted frontal

systems, wind directions, and tem-

perature/dew point spreads, among

other items. I realize these black-

and-white line drawings produced

on a dot-matrix printer may

seem crude compared to the

sparkling high-res images ren-

dered instantly on a tablet.

However, seeing a mural of

images side by side forces you

to step back and string together

a weather story much bigger and

more comprehensive than what

is just outside the window. Sometimes our rush to see what’s happening right here and now

narrows our view and eclipses the

bigger picture of events.In a similar way, I’m guilty at times

of blindly following the polite voice of my Google Maps navigator only

to find myself going down a highly

undesired path. Were I to simply widen my view of the map, I’ d easily

see a more viable detour, or, more

importantly, verify if I’m even headed

in the right direction. My experience

and local knowledge of roads, traffic lights, and bottleneck areas often

trump the advice of my navigator.

Taking a few extra minutes to get the

big picture of where I’m headed and

what other factors might affect my ETA can be extremely helpful.

The same is true when it comes

to weather. Having a large-scale weather perspective can provide that

extra bit of insight that leads to a

more informed go/no-go decision or

backup plan. A surface analysis chart

is one tool that can provide you with an overview of areas of high and low

pressure, along with frontal bound-

aries, temperatures, dew points, wind

directions and speeds, local weather,

and visual obstructions. Using this

chart as part of your preflight can help you discover any potential trouble

spots you’ll want to focus on or

discuss further with a weather briefer

if needed. Getting the “big picture”

allows you to funnel all the available information into a sound go, no go

decision for your route of flight as

well as see potential alternates if con-ditions change.A SURFACE ANALYSIS CHART IS

ONE TOOL THAT CAN PROVIDE YOU WITH A “BIG PICTURE” VISUAL OF WEATHER DETAILS.

36 FAA Safety Briefing

FAA FACESFAA employee profile

PAUL CIANCIOLO

BRADFORD SIPPERLEY

Aviation Safety Inspector, FAA General Aviation Group

Growing up in small-town America is

a common theme among FAA employ-

ees featured in this column. Regular people from all over the country

answer the call to public service

and are passionate about improving aviation safety. Bradford Sipperley is

another stellar example of bringing

diverse experiences together to further

our commitment to safe flying.

Brad grew up in Clarkston, Mich.

The pinnacle of growing up in any

rural town is that kid-mowed baseball

diamond etched into an unused field. That’s where he often found himself

gazing up into the sky when small

airplanes buzzed by — igniting the

spark of eventually taking the yoke

and flying himself.

“ After working odd jobs, taking col-

lege night classes, and moving to Flor -

ida, I decided to join the Air Force, ” he explains. “That’s where my aviation and

weather careers began. ”

Brad was first stationed at Elmen-

dorf Air Force Base in Alaska as a

Morse systems operator. But the best part of that duty assignment was the

base aero club, where Brad earned

his wings.

“I was hooked on flying from my

very first lesson, ” he adds. “My interest in weather and learning all I could

about it was sparked by my flying expe -

riences. Plus, the cold hard fact that

in Alaska, one must know and under -

stand the weather to be a safe pilot. ”

The Air Force changed Brad’s spe-

cialty track and sent him to weather observer and forecasting training. Throughout his military career, he continued flying through aero clubs at every base where he was stationed.

Brad earned an associate degree in

weather technology from the Com-munity College of the Air Force and a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

After retiring from the Air Force,

he worked as a flight instructor, charter pilot captain, aviation weather

instructor at the University of Alaska

Fairbanks, fire weather forecaster,

and spent 13 years with the National

Weather Service. Brad joined the FAA in 2014 as an aviation safety inspec-

tor in Fairbanks, Alaska. He worked

at the local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) and Certificate Man-

agement Office (CMO). Before mov-

ing to FAA headquarters in 2023, he

was the operations front-line manager

at the Fairbanks FSDO. He is now responsible for policy and coursework

development and interpretation for

the Flight Standard Service’s General

Aviation Group.

Brad continues to fly year-round

on wheels, floats, and skis, including as a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) volunteer

since 1988. He has even been credited with 6 “saves” over the years, flying

missions for CAP tracking emergency locator beacon (ELT) signals, search-ing for overdue aircraft, and flying

grids looking for missing hikers and hunters. With his extensive GA flying

and weather expertise, Brad has some

advice about the weather for even seasoned pilots.

“ Awareness should begin with pilots

observing the weather daily to learn

how to read the sky, ” he explains. “Just

being able to recognize cloud types, understand how and why each one

develops, and what each indicates, is

so important. For example, those len-ticular clouds that warn of turbulence

or the growing cumulus clouds during

the hot afternoon that could lead to

showers and thunderstorms contain

several hazards to flying. ”

Brad adds that the most important

fact is that the weather will, at some point, change. He advises understand-ing your limits and the aircraft’s limits

you plan to fly concerning the current

and forecasted weather conditions. Set

your personal weather minimums and

stick to them.

“Sometimes the shortest way home

is the longest way around, ” he adds. “It is better to go around the weather and

arrive late than attempt to go through

and exceed your capabilities. ”

Paul Cianciolo is an associate editor and the social media

lead for FAA Safety Briefing. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran

and an auxiliary airman with Civil Air Patrol.

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of Transportation

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Administration

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Washington, D.C. 20591

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