PLT517: Winds and Pressure Systems
What code PLT517 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Winds and Pressure Systems before your checkride.
Recall winds associated with high / low-pressure systems
What this means for your checkride
Winds circulate around pressure systems. In the Northern Hemisphere, air flows clockwise and outward around a high and counterclockwise and inward around a low, the pressure gradient turned by the Coriolis effect, with surface friction adding an inward angle. Highs bring generally fair weather, lows bring clouds and precipitation.
Reading circulation around highs and lows predicts winds and weather, so the FAA tests the flow patterns and the Coriolis effect behind them.
Pilots expect wind to blow straight out of a high toward a low. Coriolis turns it so it circles the systems; only near the surface does friction pull it partly across the isobars.
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.