METAR: EGNT 280850Z 21010KT 9999 FEW040 08/04 Q0991

EGNT – ICAO airport designator code
280850Z – Date and time of METAR - 28th at 0850 Zulu
21010KT– Wind direction and speed – 030 at 7kt
9999 = visibility 10km or more
FEW040 = Few at 4,000ft
08/04 – Temperature and dew point – 8°c, dew point 4°c
Q0991 – QNH – QNH 0991

I had to rush my checks and did not feel ready, so i decided to release the rope..

The boxes refer to their LAT LONG titles, not the location of the box. EGGD is approximately halfway between 50°N and 52°30'N so extrapolation between two boxes is required.

290°/25knots & 280°/20knots = 285/22.5
(rounded to 285/23)

Form 214 will give the pilot spot wind direction, wind velocity and temperature at various locations and altitudes.

Each box from left to right the information reads:
Altitude. 05 = 5000ft, Wind direction 280°, Wind speed 20 Knots and Temperature -1°C

When a pilot wishes to transmit for test purposes he requests a "radio check", or asks "How do you read?"
The response to his request will be in number format and will have the associated meaning.

Clouds are usually divided into 3 levels according to the part of the atmosphere they are found.

High clouds (CH) Base usually 20,000 ft or above
Cirrus, Cirrocumulus, Cirrostratus

Medium clouds (CM) Base usually between 6,500 and 20,000 ft.
Altocumulus, Altostratus, Nimbostratus

Low clouds (CL) Base usually below 6,500 ft over British Isles.
Stratocumulus, Stratus, Cumulus, Cumulonimbus

Cloud names are usually combinations of the following prefixes or suffixes:

Stratus/strato: flat/layered and smooth
Alto: Medium level
Cumulus/cumulo: heaped up/puffy, like cauliflower
Cirrus/cirro: High up/wispy
Nimbus/Nimbo: meaning ‘Rain-bearing’

Vertical development of Cumulus clouds into rain showers is called "over-development."

Windshear & Microbursts
Wind shear can be defined as a sudden change in wind velocity and/or direction over a short distance. These changes in wind speed and direction can create significant turbulence and pose a threat to aircraft.

Virga, Thunderstorms, Fronts, roll cloud and inversions are all signs of possible windshear which is usually associated with: jet streams, mountain waves or inversion layers, frontal surfaces, thunderstorms and convective clouds or microbursts, occurring close to the ground.

Virga refers to precipitation that falls from clouds but evaporates before it reaches the ground. While virga itself does not necessarily indicate the presence of wind shear, it can be a sign of atmospheric instability, which can create conditions conducive to wind shear.

Distress
Distress is defined as a condition of being threatened by serious and/or imminent danger and of requiring immediate assistance.
The international Aeronautical VHF Distress Frequency is 121.50 MHz.
Initial distress messages should be broadcast on the current frequency.

Emergency messages shall contain:
(time and circumstance permitting) and, whenever possible, should be passed
in the order given:

1. ‘MAYDAY/MAYDAY/MAYDAY’ (or ‘PAN PAN/PAN PAN/PAN PAN’);
2. Name of the station addressed (when appropriate and time and
circumstances permitting);
3. Callsign;
4. Type of aircraft;
5. Nature of the emergency;
6. Intention of the person-in-command;
7. Present or last known position, flight level/altitude and heading;
8. Pilot qualifications:
9. Any other useful information e.g. endurance remaining, number of
people on board (POB), aircraft colour/markings, any survival aids.

There is no ICAO requirement to include pilot qualifications in a
distress message. However, this information should be included
whenever possible in UK emergency messages as it may help the
controller to plan a course of action best suited to the pilot’s ability.

Solo student pilots shall prefix the aircraft callsign with ‘STUDENT’,
e.g. ‘MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY STUDENT G-ABCD … ‘ to indicate
their lack of experience.

METAR = Stands for "Meteorological Aerodrome Report" and is a report of current conditions.
NOSIG = No significant change expected within the next two hours.

BR = Mist
HZ = Haze
GR = Hail
SN = Snow
GS = Snow Pellets
CB = Cumulonimbus
BKN = Broken (cloud)
OVC = Overcast
SCT = Scattered (cloud)
FEW = Few (clouds)
FU = Smoke
VRB = Variable (wind)
CAVOK = Ceiling and visibility OK

As the aircraft is not in actual IMC, there is no requirement for one of the crew to hold a valid instrument rating.

This question requires a CDMVT calculation to get TRUE HEADING.

Drift is not required to answer this question.

Remember:
Deviation East Compass Least, Variation West Magnetic Best, or use the arrow method.

Step 1:

Step 2:

True Track is not required to answer this question, however this is how it would be calculated:

East and West may referred to as a + or - symbol respectively, (eg. deviation -2 = 2°W)

Remember that D is for deviation, not drift, and True Track is not True Heading.

If air pressure drops and altitude remains the same then the altimeter will over-read.
i.e. it will show a figure higher than true altitude and the aircraft will be lower than expected.

Air pressure drops by approximately 1hPa per 30 feet increase in altitude.

Solution: High to low down you go!

The aircraft is flying from a pressure setting of 1025 QNH to 1016 QNH

1025 hPa – 1016 hPa = 9hPa
9 hPa x 30 = 270 ft

So the aircrafts true altitude is
4500ft – 270ft = 4230ft

Airfield B is 450ft above sea level

so the height of the aircraft is:
4230ft – 450ft = 3780ft

The elevation of Aerodrome A is not relevant.

Anabatic winds are winds blowing uphill.
Katabatic winds are winds blowing downhill e.g. behind a mountain range.

The feeling of breathlessness at altitude is caused by a reduction in air pressure. The composition of the air remains roughly the same.

The gas composition of air is:
Oxygen 21%
Nitrogen 78%
Noble gases 1% (argon 0.9% / carbon dioxide 0.037%)

The mass of a 1m cube of air at MSL is 1,225kg.
Water may be found in the atmosphere in liquid, solid or gaseous states.

Abbreviation Meaning:
SKC = Sky clear
FEW = 1 to 2 eighths
SCT = 3 to 4 eighths
BKN = 5 to 7 eighths
OVC = Fully overcast

When an aircraft is operating VFR above FL100, it must remain 1,500m horizontally and 1,000ft vertically from cloud in Class G airspace.

When large masses of warm air and cold air meet, they do not mix because of density differences. Instead, they form a front, usually hundreds of miles long.

An Occluded Front forms when a warm air mass gets caught between two cold air masses. The warm air mass rises as the cool air masses push and meet in the middle. The temperature drops as the warm air mass is occluded, or “cut off,” from the ground and pushed upward. Such fronts can bring strong winds and heavy precipitation.

Occluded fronts usually form around mature low pressure areas.