WILL FRIDAY BE A GOOD DAY TO GO FLYING?
PPG WEATHER FORECASTING.
So you are new pilot.... You have purchased your
equipment, have a fresh license and your paramotor is
registered....
You are ready to fly but you are not quite sure how to plan your flying
days depending on weather forecast.... This is how I do it:
Say it is Monday and I would like to fly on Friday.
I first check regular long range local forecasts on websites such as:
What I am looking for is a forecast for nice,
sunny day. It does not look so good for Friday does it? Maybe
Wednesday or Thursday would be better.... but I am not going
to change my plans yet as forecasts often change several times. The ideal would be
if the weather forecasted for Thursday and
Saturday was nice and sunny as well. That way I would know
that weather on
Friday will be consistent thought out the whole day with no changes
expected. If there is any calling for rain or
thunderstorms do not plan on flying. Thunder cloud
(cumulonimbus) is very dangerous cloud formation that can
literally suck PPG pilot up to very high altitudes such as 30 000 ft!
If you will not
freeze you may be hit by lightning.... Are you scared yet? If
not, read
this story.
Back to weather. I keep checking
the above two
sites for any changes to the forecast until the day before I am planning
to fly which in this case would be Thursday. When the wind forecast comes out,
it is issued for the next 24
hours. What I am looking for is forecasted surface winds
from 0 - 20 km/h or 0 - 11 knots or 0 - 12 mph. I usually
check this on these sites. I always check just before I go
out to fly.
Aviation
forecast Buffalo ADDS - (enter airport code
KIAG for Buffalo if you are planing to fly from Sodom Rd.
field) If you are planing to fly somewhere else you must
find the airport code for the closest airport - see airport
codes - and check translated. Click "Get TAFs"
from the NE (50 degrees) at 7 MPH (6 knots;
3.1 m/s)
Visibility:
2.00 miles (3.22 km)
Ceiling:
200 feet AGL
Clouds:
broken clouds at 200 feet AGL
broken clouds at 10000 feet AGL
Weather:
no significant weather forecast for this period
Text:
FM1600 04011KT P6SM
SCT030 BKN100
Forecast period:
1600 UTC 27 October 2004 to 0000 UTC 28
October 2004
Forecast type:
FROM: standard forecast or significant change
Winds:
from the NE (40 degrees) at 13 MPH
(11 knots; 5.7 m/s)
Visibility:
6 miles (10 km)
Ceiling:
10000 feet AGL
Clouds:
scattered clouds at 3000 feet AGL
broken clouds at 10000 feet AGL
Weather:
no significant weather forecast for this period
This is forecast for next 12 hours Issued at 1417
UTC. Since it was 10:17 am when I punched the code and got results I
know that UTC time is 4 hours ahead of local time. The UTC time is
Universal Time Conversion time and it is either 4 or 5 hours ahead of local
time depending on daylight savings.
So today Oct 27/04 from 1400 to 1600 UTC which is 10 am till
12 noon wind should be from the NE (50 degrees) at 7 MPH
(6 knots; 3.1 m/s) Then from from 1600 to 0000 UTC
which is noon till 8 pm wind should be from the NE (40 degrees)
at 13 MPH (11 knots; 5.7 m/s) So it is clear that it
will be flyable till about 11 am since at noon wind will increase to
13 MPH (11 knots; 5.7 m/s) No flying in the
afternoon!
You can also check actual wind measurement
history by going to this section of the above site:
Again, if you are planning to fly
somewhere else and not in
the Niagara Region you must change the airport codes to the
closest airport to the area where you will be flying.
Airport codes for Canada can be researched at here.
