About the Course

Prerequisites: Weather for Soaring
Approximate Time to Complete: I hour 30 minutes

In this course, you will learn about the different weather products the FAA makes available to pilots. You will learn where and how to access these products, and how to interpret them. You will also learn about the different types of weather briefings you can get over the phone from a weather specialist, and how to get a briefing.

Purchase of this course entitles you to one year of access to the course material.

Please Note: This course is designed for use by a single individual. It is against the Terms of Use to share this course, in part or whole, with other users, or to teach others using the content from this course. The time and effort that goes into the development of these courses is immense. To ensure that we will be able to offer more courses, we need to collect a fee from every student who takes a course. Thank you for supporting our effort!

About the Course

Course Curriculum

  • 1
    Course Overview
  • 2
    Accessing Weather Information
    • Section Overview
    • Types of Weather Information
    • Accessing Weather Services
    • Quiz 1
  • 3
    Weather Service Products
    • Section Overview
    • Surface Prognostic Charts
    • Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR)
    • Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF)
    • Wind and Temperature Aloft Forecast (FB)
    • Weather Advisory (SIGMET, AIRMET)
    • Pilot Weather Reports (PIREP)
    • Quiz 2
  • 4
    Preflight Weather Briefings
    • Section Overview
    • Briefing Types
    • Obtaining a Briefing
    • Quiz 3
  • 5
    Graphical Forecasts for Aviation
    • Section Overview
    • Using the Graphical Forecasts for Aviation
    • Quiz 4
  • 6
    Final Test
    • Final Exam

  About the Instructor

  • Russell Holtz

    Russell Holtz

    Russell is the author of two well-respected and widely-used soaring flight training books in the United States - the Glider Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge and the Flight Training Manual for Glider Pilots.

    Russell grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering.

    He obtained his Private Pilot Certificate in gliders in 1995, in airplanes in 1996, his Commercial Certificate in Gliders in 1998, and his Certified Flight Instructor rating in gliders in 1999. He completed the FAI Silver Badge requirements in 1997, and the Gold and Diamond requirements in 1998. Russell has given over 2,800 hours of primary, cross-country, contest, and aerobatic flight instruction, and has over 4,000 hours total time in gliders.

    Russell's passion for understanding and communicating soaring knowledge is evident in his teaching.