This article links to our Aviation Weather Decode Card which is a two page summary of the information contained in Australian aviation weather reports and forecasts. It includes a full alphabetical list of abbreviations used in aviation weather reports and forecasts.
Australian Airspace Classification System
This article describes the Australian Airspace classification system, the services provided to aircraft operating in each airspace class and the associated operating restrictions or requirements for each class.
Vision for Pilots
The eye behaves like a camera with the lens focusing light onto the retina rather than the film or image sensor. The retina converts light into impulses that travel up the optic nerve to the brain.
Hypoxia
Hypoxia literally means “deficient in oxygen”. Hypoxia is a shortage of oxygen in the body. Hypoxia is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole (generalized hypoxia) or a region of the body (tissue hypoxia) is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, […]
Recognising a Temperature Inversion
In the troposhere temperature tends to decrease as height increases. In the theoretical International Standard Atmosphere the temperature decrease or ‘lapse rate’ is defined as 1.98oC per 1000 feet gain in altitude. Like most things theoretical this doesn’t always happen in practice.
Pibals
Pibals are small helium filled balloons that balloon pilots use to help assess the winds aloft. By knowing the empty weight of the balloon and its inflated diameter you can use the table below to estimate a pibals ascent rate.