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Commercial pilot · ACS CA.I.C · Instructor lesson plan

Weather Information (Commercial)

Student pack: Train: Weather Information (Commercial) · Full lesson: Prepare guide

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1 · Objective

By the end of this lesson your student can explain weather information (commercial) in their own words and apply it to a realistic flight, to the ACS standard for CA.I.C.

Why it matters for safety: Weather accidents in commercial flying usually begin on the ground: a paying passenger, a schedule, and a forecast that is almost good enough. The commercial pilot who decides with written personal minimums, and diverts early without apology, keeps the customer, the airplane and the certificate.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Weather Information (Commercial). Getting and reading the weather, then making go/no-go and divert decisions when someone is paying for the flight.

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Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/cpl/weather-information · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/cpl/weather-information

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

  • Before beginning any flight, become familiar with all available information concerning it. For a flight under IFR or not in the vicinity of an airport, that includes weather reports and forecasts, fuel requirements, alternatives if the flight can't be completed, and known ATC delays; for every flight, runway lengths and takeoff and landing distances.(14 CFR 91.103(a)-(b))
  • Sources: Flight Service (1-800-WX-BRIEF or online), aviationweather.gov and approved providers. Use reports (METAR, SPECI, PIREP) and forecasts (TAF, GFA, AIRMET, SIGMET) together.(AIM, Chapter 7, Section 1 (meteorology))
  • A forecast is a best guess with a time window. Plan around the worst reasonable case for your arrival time, not the best.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • Set personal minimums before you see the weather, and keep them when a customer is waiting.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Datalink NEXRAD is a mosaic: total latency is commonly 5-15 minutes or more, and the weather can be 15-20 minutes older than the age shown. Use it to stay well clear of storms, never to pick a path between cells.(AIM 7-1-9 and 7-1-11 (FIS-B and in-cockpit weather); NTSB Safety Alert SA-017)
  • Divert early, while you still have fuel, daylight and options. A diversion is a normal outcome, not a failure.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Avoid known or forecast icing unless the airplane is approved for it, and severe turbulence in any airplane.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))

Sources and products

  • Briefings: a standard briefing is the complete one, for a flight not yet briefed; an abbreviated briefing supplements or updates one you already have; an outlook briefing is for a flight more than 6 hours away and doesn't replace a standard briefing closer to departure.(AIM 7-1-4; AC 91-92)
  • Reports: METAR and SPECI (airport observations), PIREPs (what pilots actually found: tops, icing, turbulence). Forecasts: TAF, the Graphical Forecasts for Aviation, winds and temperatures aloft.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • AIRMETs (moderate hazards): Sierra, ceilings under 1,000 feet or visibility under 3 SM over a wide area, and extensive mountain obscuration; Tango, moderate turbulence, sustained surface winds of 30 knots or more, and non-convective low-level wind shear; Zulu, moderate icing and freezing levels.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A); AIM 7-1-6)
  • SIGMETs (severe hazards, any aircraft): severe or extreme turbulence or clear air turbulence and severe icing not tied to thunderstorms, widespread dust or sandstorms below 3 SM, and volcanic ash. Convective SIGMETs: lines of thunderstorms, embedded thunderstorms, thunderstorms covering a large area at high intensity, and severe surface weather (tornadoes, large hail, surface winds of 50 knots or more).(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A); AIM 7-1-6)
  • Surface Analysis Chart: fronts, pressure systems and station plots, the big picture. Ceiling and Visibility Analysis (CVA): current ceilings and visibilities between reporting stations.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • Convective Outlook (AC) from the Storm Prediction Center: where thunderstorms, and severe ones, are expected over the next days; use it for planning the day, not the route minute by minute.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))

Meteorology on the route

  • Know the hazards for each phase: fog and low ceilings at departure and arrival, fronts and convection en route, mountain wave and turbulence over terrain.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • Stability decides the weather: stable air gives smooth air and poor visibility; unstable air gives turbulence, good visibility and convection.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • Temperature and dew point close together mean fog or low clouds are likely, especially as the air cools at night.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • Heat and moisture: the sun heats the ground and the ground heats the air; air cools about 2°C per 1,000 feet when dry and less when saturated. Cooling to the dew point brings clouds, fog and precipitation.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • Air masses and fronts: a cold front brings a narrow band of showers or thunderstorms and gusty wind shifts; a warm front, wide areas of low ceilings, rain and poor visibility; stationary and occluded fronts mix the two.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • Clouds tell you the air: cumulus means unstable air and bumps; stratus, stable air and low ceilings; towering cumulus and cumulonimbus, convection to avoid.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • Thunderstorms need moisture, unstable air and a lifting force. Stay at least 20 nm from severe ones. Microbursts are short, violent downdrafts with wind shear: a headwind gain followed by a strong downdraft and tailwind, near the ground.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • Wind shear can come with fronts, thunderstorms, temperature inversions and mountain wave; expect it near the surface when strong winds sit over calm air.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • Icing needs visible moisture at or below freezing: check the freezing level, and know that the worst icing is often just below it in freezing rain, or in clouds near the tops of cumulus.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • Frost on the wings, even thin, disrupts the airflow and can stop the airplane from flying: remove it all before takeoff.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • Obstructions to visibility: haze, smoke, dust and volcanic ash reduce visibility, especially looking into the sun, and ash can stop an engine.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))

Datalink and onboard weather

  • FIS-B over ADS-B gives METARs, TAFs, NEXRAD and more for free, but the radar picture is a mosaic and can be well behind real time.(AIM 7-1-9 and 7-1-11 (FIS-B and in-cockpit weather))
  • Onboard weather equipment (lightning detectors, onboard radar) has its own limits: know what yours shows and what it misses.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
  • Limits of the products: a METAR or SPECI is one point at one moment; AWOS and ASOS can miss clouds and weather beyond their sensors; PIREPs are sparse and subjective; a TAF covers about 5 statute miles around one airport and is amended as it changes.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))
  • In flight, update with Flight Service, ATC's hazardous weather broadcasts, Center Weather Advisories and PIREPs, and give PIREPs yourself. ATIS is for the airport you're arriving at, not the route.(AIM, Chapter 7, Section 1 (meteorology); Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))

Go, no-go and divert

  • Write personal minimums (ceiling, visibility, wind, crosswind, night) and decide against them, not against the customer’s schedule.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Set a divert trigger before you leave: a ceiling, a visibility, a fuel number or a time. When it happens, divert.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Known or forecast icing and turbulence aloft are reasons to change the plan, the altitude or the day.(Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A))

4 · Ask your student

In order: recall, then understanding, then applying it. Move up only when the answer shows it.

  1. Recall · What weather sources would you use before a commercial cross-country?

    A strong answer: A Flight Service standard briefing or an approved online source: METARs, TAFs, the Graphical Forecasts for Aviation, AIRMETs and SIGMETs, PIREPs, and winds aloft.

  2. Understand · Why shouldn’t you use datalink NEXRAD to fly between storm cells?

    A strong answer: The image is a delayed mosaic, so the gap on the screen may already be closed. It is for staying well clear, not for threading cells.

  3. Apply · Your charter passengers are at the airport. The destination TAF shows a ceiling right at your personal minimum, falling at your arrival time. What do you do?

    A strong answer: Tell them now that we wait or change the plan: a later departure, an alternate airport, or another day. My minimums don’t move because people are waiting.

Scenarios to talk through

  • An AIRMET Zulu covers your route at your planned altitude. The airplane isn’t approved for known icing. What changes?

    Sound decision: Plan an altitude or route that stays out of cloud in the freezing range, with an escape, or postpone.

  • En route, the destination reports a ceiling falling below your trigger. You have fuel for an hour. What do you do?

    Sound decision: Divert now to the alternate while fuel and options are still good, and tell the passengers why.

  • Your screen shows a clear path between two red cells ahead. Take it?

    Sound decision: No. The image can be many minutes old. Deviate wide, ask ATC what they see, or land.

5 · Common student errors

  • Letting the schedule set the minimums.

    Why it matters: Pressure lowers standards one flight at a time.

    How to correct it: Write minimums down and decide before you meet the customer.

  • Treating datalink radar as real time.

    Why it matters: It can be many minutes old.

    How to correct it: Use it for wide avoidance only.

  • Diverting late.

    Why it matters: Fuel and daylight run out.

    How to correct it: Set a divert trigger before departure.

6 · Completion standard

  • Your student answers each "Ask your student" question in their own words, up to the Apply level, without prompting.
  • They talk through the scenarios and reach a safe, legal decision, explaining why.
  • They complete the pack’s quick check and can say what they flagged.

Area trained? Close out with a practice oral focused on CA.I.C: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=CPL&focus=CA.I.C

7 · References

  • Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28A)
  • Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), Chapter 7
  • Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A), Personal minimums
  • 14 CFR, 91.103
  • Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), Area I, Task C
  • Airman Certification Standards, task CA.I.C

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Weather Information (Commercial) lesson (checked against current FAA sources 2026-11-13). A study and teaching aid, not FAA guidance; teach to your own judgment and the current ACS.