PLT515: In-Flight Weather Services
What code PLT515 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study In-Flight Weather Services before your checkride.
Recall weather services - TIBS / TPC / WFO / HIWAS
What this means for your checkride
In-flight weather services push hazard information to pilots. HIWAS (Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service) is a continuous recorded broadcast of AIRMETs, SIGMETs, convective SIGMETs, and urgent PIREPs over selected navaids; Flight Service and datalink provide briefings and updates. They keep the en route picture current.
Knowing where to get in-flight hazard updates is part of weather management, so the FAA tests HIWAS and the in-flight weather services.
Pilots rely only on the preflight briefing. Weather changes, so HIWAS and Flight Service updates in flight are how you catch a developing hazard before you fly into it.
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.