Teach fledgling pilots to take a critical look at weather to identify risk. [Credit: FLYING Archive]
Key Takeaways:
To move beyond vague pilot reports, instructors should teach student pilots to identify, assess, and mitigate weather-related risks.
The Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) Chapter 7, specifically section 7-1-7, provides crucial categorical terms like LIFR, IFR, MVFR, and VFR, defined by specific ceiling and visibility parameters, which instructors should emphasize.
Instructors should actively point out and discuss specific weather conditions during flight lessons, guiding students to observe and describe them accurately to develop a detailed informal PIREP mindset, referencing official PIREP expectations from the AIM.
Question: What is the best way to teach the student pilots how to give an informal pilot report beyond “pretty good”? I am a newbie instructor, and it drives me crazy when you ask them how the conditions are up there, and they say “pretty good.” That doesn’t tell us anything.
Answer: I agree with you completely. “Pretty good” is in the eye of the beholder and subjective at best.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
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