PLT344: Precipitation Types
What code PLT344 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Precipitation Types before your checkride.
Recall precipitation - types / characteristics
What this means for your checkride
Precipitation forms when water droplets or ice crystals in clouds grow large enough to fall, appearing as rain, drizzle, snow, or freezing forms. Freezing rain occurs when supercooled droplets strike a cold surface and freeze on contact, producing dangerous ice. The presence and type of precipitation is a clue to the atmospheric conditions aloft.
Pilots must interpret precipitation type to anticipate icing, reduced visibility, and the stability of the air mass.
Students may treat freezing rain as ordinary rain, but it signals a temperature inversion and creates severe airframe icing.
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.