PLT197: Coriolis Effect
What code PLT197 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Coriolis Effect before your checkride.
Recall Coriolis effect
What this means for your checkride
The Coriolis effect is the apparent deflection of moving air caused by the Earth's rotation, to the right in the Northern Hemisphere. It turns the wind so that, aloft and free of friction, it flows nearly parallel to the isobars instead of straight from high to low pressure.
Coriolis explains why winds aloft parallel the isobars and why surface winds cross them at an angle, so the FAA tests the effect and its direction.
Pilots expect wind to blow straight from high to low pressure. Coriolis deflection turns it; only surface friction pulls the wind back across the isobars toward the low.
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.