PLT288: Information on a Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (Taf)
What code PLT288 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Information on a Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (Taf) before your checkride.
Recall information on a Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF)
What this means for your checkride
A Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) is a coded forecast for the weather expected within about five statute miles of an airport, valid for 24 or 30 hours. It uses the same abbreviations as a METAR for wind, visibility, weather, and sky, with change groups like FM, TEMPO, and BECMG that tell you when conditions are expected to shift.
The TAF is the primary destination forecast for flight planning, so the FAA tests whether you can decode the elements and the change groups to judge conditions at your arrival time.
Pilots read a TAF as covering a wide area. It applies only to the immediate vicinity of that airport, so weather along the route between airports needs area forecasts and other products, not just the departure and destination TAFs.
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.