PLT043: Constant Pressure Heights and Temperatures
What code PLT043 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Constant Pressure Heights and Temperatures before your checkride.
Interpret Analysis Heights / Temperature Chart 2
What this means for your checkride
On a constant pressure analysis chart, the plotted contour heights show where the pressure surface is high or low, and the plotted temperatures show the thermal pattern aloft. Reading the height contours and temperatures together reveals troughs, ridges, and the strength of the wind aloft.
Interpreting the height and temperature fields aloft supports altitude selection and forecasting, so the FAA tests reading these values on a constant pressure chart.
The heights are geopotential heights of the pressure surface, not the altimeter reading; tightly packed height contours indicate strong winds, similar to closely spaced isobars on a surface chart.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.