[TheRictus]

I wonder if anyone would be kind enough to share some resources that would help with tackling PPL Meteorology?

I must clarify - I am not currently training for my PPL, I began it some years ago and had to stop due to cost/kids/wife's health and other factors.
Since I have a healthy pile of Trevor Thom Volumes and keep my hand in (as best as possible) with some simulation flying which I take seriously (not perfect, but still provides good opportunity for flight planning on paper, etc) -
which apart from being as engaging as I can manage with my passion for flying currently, I figure I might as well use my time wisely by learning all I can, thus being ready for the day I can realise my dream.

I though that Aviation Law would be the real stinker but I found it reasonably easy to digest! I'm not a huge bookworm, I learn better by doing, so if anyone could share resources - e.g. youtube videos or other sites that help explain aspects of Meteorology I'd be grateful.

With thanks

Rich

[Flyin'Dutch']

Met is very interesting and a good understanding essential when flying, and good fun in general life.

Something to get going with:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... ng+weather

When you have specific questions feel free to come and test our knowledge!

[TheRictus]

Thank you Dutch! It is really interesting, I do find myself looking at it in a more analytical way as I walk across town... I'm just aware of how much I don't know yet

[Genghis the Engineer]

Met is an endlessly fascinating subject, and one of the problems I have hit about it continuously has been that what I *want* to know, and what I need to know to pass exams are two quite markedly different things.

If you just want to pass the exams, Jeremy Pratt's book is pretty good.

If you want to go beyond that, but in a broadly exam-oriented way, there are some very good books out there aimed at ATPL students.

If you really want to understand useful practical met, and enjoy it, the Met Office periodically run courses at their HQ in Exeter. A book I'm very fond of and keep returning to is Brian Cosgrove's "Pilots Weather".

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pilots-Weather ... B00N01TPE8

I had the privilege of knowing Brian for the last decade of his life, and his continuous fascination with weather, and collection of experiences and images, were always worth engaging with.


If you really really want to engage in depth with weather, join the Royal Meteorological Society, or at least attend some of their events around the country. I go to one or two of their events a year, because I can, and always find what I learn continuously fascinating.

https://www.rmets.org/membership/types- ... nthusiasts

G

[Spooky]

The Cosgrove book as mentioned above is a nice “intro” to the basics while giving you a lot of information in a fairly simplified form.

A more advanced book that goes more in-depth is Meteorology & Flight by Tom Bradbury.

Another book I’ve enjoyed is The Pocket Weather Forecaster by Simon Keeling. It’s fairly basic, however shows cloud formations and sky scenarios along with hints of what this means for both now and the coming hours.

So I’d say Cosgrove and Keeling are both good for knowing what’s going on/what’s going to happen, and Bradbury is good for that bit of extra understanding,

[TheRictus]

Brilliant - thanks gents!

Just need something to get me started - once I've grasped the overall I seem to be able to attach everything else... The Trevor Thom is comprehensive and the information is great, just can't seem to convert text into brain comprehension with this one... Didn't struggle with Nav and Law...

[Spooky]

Do you look at the Met Office GA section? I found that studying the pressure charts, Briefing forms etc helped in understanding the knowledge from the subject as I was able to put the information to real life scenarios.

[TheRictus]

I think the main bit I’m struggling to get my head around is horizontal air movement. I’m OK with vertical movement, lapse rates, etc...

When I look at windy.com for example, you can see the winds moving about relative to the pressure areas. And Buys Ballot’s law applies - in the northern hemisphere the area of low pressure is always on your left with the wind at your back... but the wind doesn’t always seem to obey what the book says ‘should’ be the direction of movement based on pressure and coriolis force... I know I’m missing something, just can’t quite figure what!

[Paul_Sengupta]

The butterfly flapping its wings in Japan.

[TheRictus]

The butterfly flapping its wings in Japan.

And the occasional nervous Skills Test candidate!!!

[GrahamB]

I think the main bit I’m struggling to get my head around is horizontal air movement. I’m OK with vertical movement, lapse rates, etc...

When I look at windy.com for example, you can see the winds moving about relative to the pressure areas. And Buys Ballot’s law applies - in the northern hemisphere the area of low pressure is always on your left with the wind at your back... but the wind doesn’t always seem to obey what the book says ‘should’ be the direction of movement based on pressure and coriolis force... I know I’m missing something, just can’t quite figure what!

I think you must never lose sight of the fact that the fluid mechanics and thermodynamics of the atmosphere are incredibly complex, and what appears to happen at one scale may appear completely at odds with observations at another scale.

I liken it to a flooded river passing between the pillars of a bridge, resulting in lots of eddies being generated. You know that all the water, ultimately, is flowing downstream but at any point in time any one bit of it could be flowing 'upstream'. Throwing a stick into those eddies and trying to predict where it will be at a point in time later is almost impossible for all but the shortest time interval.

[Charles Hunt]

Look at weather forecasts, look at weather radar, look out of the window. (edit - and looking at the post above, maybe play Pooh sticks as well!)

The current BBC forecasts can help give the big picture, a few days ago the colours, isobars and moving wind arrows showed the air coming from a deep blue area over Siberia, now at least for us southern softies they show the air coming up from yellow areas south west of us out in the Atlantic so logically this air will be warmer and wetter.

[CapnM]

I put a lot of effort into MET after being told by my instructor is was the biggest subject to cover and I therefore assumed it would be the hardest. I found it really interesting and I actually found the exam a complete doddle compared to others like AGK.

For the exam, the AFE revision guides prove useful to summarise things for you.

[GrahamB]

If you can get hold of one, the MetOffice / Oxford Air Training DVD for PPL/ATPL is really good.

Although technology-wise it was designed for yesteryear, I can warrant that it will still run under Windows 10, and the content is just as relevant.