Meteorology 6

Micro Meteorology For most RPAS operations you'll be conducting, you'll most likely be flying short distances for short periods of time, so you'll need to be aware of overall changing weather conditions before taking off, but, you will need to be aware of how Micro-Meteorology affects your RPAS operation. These are very localized weather effects, but can have a significant impact on small RPAS. Icing Icing occurs when an aircraft is flying in below freezing conditions and strikes droplets of super-cooled water. Icing conditions occur when: temperature is at or below freezing there is moisture present Most often these conditions are encountered when flying into clouds or fog at sub-zero temperatures, icing is extremely dangerous for aircraft as ice will form on the surfaces of the aircraft. Even a very thin layer of ice can significantly affect the aircraft's performance. Ice forming on wings, propellers or any airfoil on the aircraft substantially disrupts the airflow and dramatically reduces lift while increasing drag leading to a stall of the aircraft.

Thunderstorms Thunderstorms form when: there is unstable air a lifting of the air (low pressure, heating, terrain, front) high moisture Their characteristics are: towering dark clouds (cumulonimbus) thunder and lightning heavy precipitation strong winds Thunderstorms can generate very dangerous weather conditions in their vicinity: wind shear on all sides downdrafts immediately below extremely turbulent air within the clouds lightning hail and Icing Because of these dangers pilots should: never attempt to fly through a thunderstorm stay at least 5 miles clear of thunderstorms