Readback—September 2024

IFR Staff

Tuesday, September 03, 2024 at 05:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

In the U.S., wind gusts are defined by a 10-knot or greater variation in wind velocity, originating from turbulent flow caused by thermal instability or friction, and can lead to wind shear, particularly when instability and shear are concentrated near the ground.
For "pop-up" IFR clearances, controllers are required to confirm a pilot's IFR capability and willingness to file a flight plan; asking about declaring an emergency is generally unnecessary unless the VFR pilot is unqualified or unable to divert from IFR conditions.
While not a universal practice, GPS jamming by truckers has historically caused sporadic outages at airports like EWR, though this practice is likely diminishing. Additionally, airport hot spot descriptions are found in the Chart Supplement before airport diagrams and in Terminal Procedure Publications, not directly on individual airport pages.

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Wind Gusts?

I am trying to understand wind gusts, in particular those lower-level ones we encounter when we are landing or taking off. What is the actual cause of these? Are they sudden changes in the velocity of the wind (e.g. going rapidly from a 20-knot headwind to a 10-knot headwind and then back)? Or are they rapid changes in wind direction (e.g. going from a 20-knot headwind to 20-knot crosswind and then back)? Plus, do they always lead to lower-level wind shear problems?

—Elliot Perlman, Providence, Rhode Island