PLT514: AWOS and ASOS
What code PLT514 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study AWOS and ASOS before your checkride.
Recall weather reporting systems - briefings / forecasts / reports / AWOS / ASOS
What this means for your checkride
Automated weather stations broadcast current conditions continuously. AWOS and ASOS report wind, visibility, sky condition, temperature, dewpoint, and altimeter over a discrete frequency or by phone, updating frequently. They give real-time weather at fields without a human observer, and their data feeds into METARs.
Automated observations are the front-line weather source at many airports, so the FAA tests what AWOS and ASOS provide and how to get them.
Pilots treat automated reports as forecasts. AWOS and ASOS are observations of current conditions only; you still need TAFs and area forecasts for what the weather will do.
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.