FAA · Private Pilot Knowledge Test

Private Pilot Aviation Weather Services

Pre-flight weather products: briefings, METARs, TAFs, PIREPs, AIRMETs, and SIGMETs.

There is no separate Aviation Weather Services exam. It is one of the subjects on the Private Pilot Knowledge Test, a single test that covers them all.

The Knowledge Test

60questions
2.5 htime limit
70%to pass

Syllabus

What the test covers

Pocket Pilot teaches Aviation Weather Services in six lessons, about 36 minutes of reading in all.

01
Getting a Weather Briefing
7 min
Three types of briefing · Sources · En-route weather updates · Reading a NOTAM · Time references · Pre-flight briefing checklist
02
Reading METARs
6 min
A complete US METAR · METAR vs. SPECI · Station identifier · Time stamp · Wind group · Visibility · RVR: Runway Visual Range · Weather phenomena · Cloud groups · CAVOK · Temperature and dew point · Altimeter · Remarks (RMK) · Trend forecast · Worked example: pulling it apart
03
Reading TAFs
6 min
A complete TAF · Header · Wind, visibility, weather, clouds · Change groups · Wind shear forecast · TAF amendments · Reading the cloud column · TAF caveats · Practice: decode this one · TAF on the test
04
PIREPs: Pilot Reports
5 min
Why PIREPs matter · Two flavors of PIREP · The PIREP format · Sample PIREPs · Turbulence intensity · Icing intensity · Cloud reports · Filing a PIREP · Reading PIREPs in your briefing · Patterns to watch for · Why pilots don't file enough
05
AIRMETs, SIGMETs & CWAs
5 min
AIRMETs: Airmen's Meteorological Information · SIGMETs: Significant Meteorological Information · Convective SIGMETs · Center Weather Advisories (CWAs) · Where these appear · Reading a sample AIRMET · Reading a sample Convective SIGMET · Frequency and timing · Decoding the codes · Operational implications · In-flight monitoring
06
Graphical Forecasts & Winds Aloft
7 min
Graphical Forecasts for Aviation (GFA) · Surface analysis chart · Significant Weather (SIGWX) charts · Winds and temperatures aloft: FB · Selecting cruise altitude · Radar mosaics · Satellite imagery · Pilot-friendly resources beyond the FAA · Putting it all together: a planning workflow · A word on personal weather minimums

Format

How the test works

The Private Pilot Knowledge Test, often called the written, is one multiple-choice test of 60 questions drawn from every area of the FAA's Airman Certification Standards. Aviation Weather Services questions are mixed in with the rest.

You have 2.5 hours, and you need 70% to pass, which is 42 correct answers.
You take it at an approved testing center, once your instructor has endorsed you for it.
A pass is valid for 24 calendar months, and you need to pass your checkride within that time.

In Pocket Pilot you can practice Aviation Weather Services on its own, from a growing question bank, then sit a full 60-question mock exam that mixes every subject, timed like the real test.

Sample questions

Try three test questions

From the Pocket Pilot Aviation Weather Services question bank, each with the app's explanation and the source it cites.

01 / 03
In a METAR, the wind group '25018G30KT' means the wind is:
1. AFrom 250 degrees magnetic at 18 knots, gusting to 30 knots
2. BVariable at 30 knots
3. CFrom 180 degrees at 25 knots
4. DFrom 250 degrees true at 18 knots, gusting to 30 knots
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer D. The wind group is dddssGggKT: direction (250 degrees), speed (18 kt), G for gust, peak gust (30 kt), in knots. Wind direction in a written METAR is referenced to true north; a tower or ATIS broadcast gives wind relative to magnetic north.
Source
FAA-H-8083-28A, Chapter 24
Lesson
Reading METARs
02 / 03
In a TAF, the group 'WS020/27045KT' forecasts:
1. AA wind shift to 270° at 45 kt at the surface
2. BLow-level wind shear below 2,000 ft AGL, with the wind at 2,000 ft from 270° true at 45 kt
3. CSurface winds gusting from 20 to 45 kt
4. DA 45 percent probability of wind shear at 2,000 ft
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer B. The WS group forecasts non-convective low-level wind shear: the height in hundreds of feet AGL, then the wind at that height. A large difference between this and the surface wind means a significant shear layer on climbout or approach.
Source
FAA-H-8083-28A, Chapter 27
Lesson
Reading TAFs
03 / 03
An AIRMET Tango is issued for:
1. AModerate turbulence, sustained surface winds of 30 kt or greater, or non-convective low-level wind shear
2. BSevere turbulence only
3. CThunderstorm lines
4. DVolcanic ash
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer A. Tango covers moderate turbulence, strong sustained surface winds (30 kt+), and non-convective LLWS. Severe turbulence is covered by a SIGMET, and thunderstorms by Convective SIGMETs.
Source
FAA-H-8083-28A, Chapter 26 / AIM 7-1-6
Lesson
AIRMETs, SIGMETs & CWAs