Ground School: Decoding METARs

Ground School: Decoding METARs

The most important factor in determining which runway to use for takeoff or landing is arguably the weather. Whether you are on VATSIM, PE or offline (pun intended) you cab obtain current and forecasted weather reports with a METAR. This Class will help you decode a METAR and teach you what the abbreviations stand for.

Requesting a METAR

VATSIM

To request a text METAR on VATSIM using XSB, type this in the chat:
.metar CODE where CODE is the ICAO of the airport wanted.
i.e. Juneau, you would type .metar PAJN

X-PLANE

To request a METAR click your map on the airport desired to obtain the radio frequency needed to hear the ATIS and get the latest report.

A Typical Example

Lets examine a METAR for, say, Amsterdam, sexy women and good food! METARs right, sorry!

Keep in mind over in Europe they use meters instead of miles.

EHAM 291050Z 24015KT 9000 RA SCT025 BKN040 10/09 Q1010 NOSIG

Decoded: METAR for Amsterdam Schiphol dated the 29th at 10h50z; wind direction is at 240 degrees and 15 knots; 9000 meters visibility; Rain, scattered cloud at 2500 feet; broken cloud at 4000 feet; Temperature is 10 degrees; dew point is 9 degrees; QNH is 1010; No significant change expected in the next few hours.

Decoding Legend

In the example above you get a vague idea of what some parts of a METAR mean, let’s break it down by sections and help you understand further.

EHAM 291050Z 24015KT 9000 RA SCT025 BKN040 10/09 Q1010 NOSIG

The first section always contains the ICAO code for the airport

EHAM 291050Z 24015KT 9000 RA SCT025 BKN040 10/09 Q1010 NOSIG

The second part is the date

EHAM 291050Z 24015KT 9000 RA SCT025 BKN040 10/09 Q1010 NOSIG

After the date is the time of the report, which is always UTC

EHAM 291050Z 24015KT 9000 RA SCT025 BKN040 10/09 Q1010 NOSIG

Then the wind direction in degrees and its speed in knots

EHAM 291050Z 24015KT 9000 RA SCT025 BKN040 10/09 Q1010 NOSIG

Visibility in meters (for Europe, miles are used elsewhere)

EHAM 291050Z 24015KT 9000 RA SCT025 BKN040 10/09 Q1010 NOSIG

RA means there is rain

EHAM 291050Z 24015KT 9000 RA SCT025 BKN040 10/09 Q1010 NOSIG

SCT means there are scattered clouds

025 means they are at 2500 feet

EHAM 291050Z 24015KT 9000 RA SCT025 BKN040 10/09 Q1010 NOSIG

BKN means there are broken clouds

040 means they are at 4000 feet

EHAM 291050Z 24015KT 9000 RA SCT025 BKN040 10/09 Q1010 NOSIG

In this section the temperature is always first, followed by the dew point so:

  • The temperature is 10 degrees
  • The dew point is 9 degrees

EHAM 291050Z 24015KT 9000 RA SCT025 BKN040 10/09 Q1010 NOSIG

When you see NOSIG at the end of a METAR this means that no significant changes are expected in the next few hours

Decoders

There are some free tools online which allow you to decode METARs easily and I recommend their use to learn what all the abbreviations and terms within them mean.
http://heras-gilsanz.com/manuel/METAR-Decoder.html
http://www.iflightplanner.com/Resources/MetarTafTranslator.aspx
http://www.metarreader.com/

 

Lake Hood, Anchorage hot spot for floatplanes, will get three new hangars

Lake Hood, Anchorage hot spot for floatplanes, will get three new hangars

from ADN.

   A $15 million project underway to build new hangars at the Lake Hood Seaplane Base in Anchorage aims to alleviate the pent-up demand for housing smaller aircraft there.

A company called Lake Hood Hangars broke ground earlier this year on the first of three hangars. The other two are set to be built next year.

Steve Zelener, company owner, said there’s huge demand for more hangar space in Alaska’s largest city. Proximity to the lake itself also comes at a premium, and the new hangars will have nearby access to the water.

The project also involves doubling the number of floatplane slips Zelener owns on Lake Hood from nine to 18.

Lake Hood Hangars developer Steve Zelener, center, confers with Remote Alaska Solutions construction company president Seth Kroenke, left, broker and project manager Stormy Jarvis, near right, and construction manager Igor Sapelnik, right, during a visit to the construction site of their first building on Tuesday.  (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News)

Lake Hood Hangars developer Steve Zelener, center, confers with Remote Alaska Solutions construction company president Seth Kroenke, left, broker and project manager Stormy Jarvis, near right, and construction manager Igor Sapelnik, right, during a visit to the construction site of their first building on Tuesday.  (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News)

The hangars, located on Aircraft Drive near a taxiway, will be about 24,000 square feet each. Taking up a bit more than 3 acres, the first massive building is still under construction, rising about 28 feet high and still without doors.

The rest of the land where the next two buildings will be located is still just dirt.

The hangar space will be both leased and sold, running from about $845,000 to $985,000 to buy and starting at about $1.35 per square foot per month to rent.

There were nearly 8,000 registered aircraft in Alaska and around 3,300 of those were registered in Anchorage as of the end of July, said Stormy Jarvis, manager of the hangar project. Most of those in Anchorage are small planes, she said, and that’s likely the case for the whole state.

“We see a need, and there’s also this waiting list for float slips at the lake,” she said. “There’s a hangar shortage. That’s a resounding message.”

One of six units in the first hangar building currently under construction faces the terminal at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on Tuesday. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News)

One of six units in the first hangar building currently under construction faces the terminal at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on Tuesday. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News)

Tim Coons, manager at the Lake Hood base, said the waitlist for slips is about 10-11 years old. The base, part of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, has long claimed to be the busiest seaplane base in the world, he said. About 750 people at any given time have permits to park their planes there, he said.
“Most of the area around the lake has already been developed. This was one area that was still open,” Coons said. “Alaska has always presented a harsh environment. Just like anybody who would like to have the ability to keep a nice asset inside, airplane owners are no different.”
Even smaller planes can cost anywhere from $50,000 for something used, to a few million dollars for something new, said Zelener. Snow, cold and ice, as well as vandalism and other damage, are some of the reasons people want to keep their aircraft indoors.
“Outside elements are going to contribute to wear and tear of an aircraft before it has to be rebuilt,” said Seth Kroenke, president of Remote Alaska Solutions, the contractor on the project.
Integrated concrete form technology is being used for the Lake Hood Hangars buildings. The ICF blocks snap together and are then reinforced with horizontal and vertical steel bars before concrete is poured into the eight-inch gap. The technique provides strong, insulated walls with fire protection while also creating a strong sound barrier between units, said developer Steve Zelener. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News)

Integrated concrete form technology is being used for the Lake Hood Hangars buildings. The ICF blocks snap together and are then reinforced with horizontal and vertical steel bars before concrete is poured into the eight-inch gap. The technique provides strong, insulated walls with fire protection while also creating a strong sound barrier between units, said developer Steve Zelener. (Erik Hill / Alaska Dispatch News)

The hangars are designed with energy efficiency in mind, he said, and they use concrete insulated with foam to handle wide-ranging fluctuations in temperature.
The project has been an idea since 2010, Zelener said. He’s also the owner of Zelener Group, which has commercial real estate in Anchorage, Nome and Dutch Harbor.