PLT084: Information on an Observed Winds Aloft Chart
What code PLT084 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Information on an Observed Winds Aloft Chart before your checkride.
Interpret information on an Observed Winds Aloft Chart
What this means for your checkride
The winds and temperatures aloft forecast gives the predicted wind direction, speed, and temperature at standard altitudes for points across the country. You use it to pick an efficient altitude, estimate groundspeed and fuel, and anticipate wind shear between levels. Directions are true north and the report has coding quirks for strong or light winds.
Winds aloft drive your time, fuel, and altitude choice on a cross-country, so the FAA tests whether you can decode the forecast and apply it to planning.
Pilots forget the coding rules. A coded 9900 means light and variable, and speeds above 100 knots add 50 to the direction, so a raw read of the numbers can give a wildly wrong wind if you skip the decode.
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.