Weather Links
The following weather links should give you most of what you need. We've divided them into categories to make life a little easier for you.
(New pilots and students, please scroll down to the 'Weather Suitable For Teaching' section.)
What's Happening Now?
GS Aviation (Marlborough)
Redlands Airfield (Swindon)
Easy Forecasting
Advanced Forecasting
noaa.gov (great for meteograms)
g-msix.com (for soundings etc.)
Trevor's Favourites
noaa.gov (great for meteograms)
Weather Help
If you know of any other sites worth mentioning that aren't on this page, then please let us know - we'll be glad to put them here.
Weather Suitable for Teaching
One of the most frustrating things for the new pilot to get to grips with is the weather. Especially when we cancel a day's flying and as far as you are concerned it's a glorious day and you don't understand why it's been cancelled.
It is also frustrating (and often annoying) for us when the occasional student questions our judgement with a weather call. You are after all paying us for our expertise so that you can learn safely - why would you question it?
It may be nice in your back garden or looking out of your office window, but that's not where we will be flying. It's the weather conditions on our airfields and training sites that is important. Often a really nice looking day will be completely unsuitable on our sites.
The flying conditions are effected by local topography, barometric pressure, wind direction, proximity to frontal systems, type of airmass, atmospheric stability, temperature and local turbulence etc. This is all taken into consideration when we make the decision to fly or not. We don't just look at the TV weather arrows and approximate wind strength, it takes a lot more than that to make the decision.
Once you've completed a day or two's days training, it will soon become clear to you why the right weather is so important for your safety and you'll also begin to understand our frustration (yes, all of us) with it.
You must remember; that it is in our best interest to get you flying - the last thing we want to do is cancel a day. We want you to complete your training as soon as possible so that we can move you on to the next course and hopefully sell you some equipment too. Only a fool would think we would cancel a day's flying for any reason other than unsuitable weather. If we're not out teaching; we're simply not earning.
Anyway, here are a few pointers to help you understand why some days are suitable for teaching and others are not:
Firstly, We Want Smooth Air
To fly as a beginner (especially for the first few days) you want conditions that are going to make life easier for you. You will want nice smooth air that isn't too gusty and a light breeze. Strong or gusty wind is the new pilot's enemy and if you fly on such days it will eventually cause you serious injury or may even kill you. There are no new accidents; we see the same ones over and again, year after year (not in the school of course).
Ideally, for your EP course we will want wind that is less than 10mph and with no more than a ten percent gust factor. This is difficult to forecast without detailed knowledge of the weather and our local topography. As a rough guide; if the TV forecast says it will be 5mph or less we'll be in with a chance.
When you start your CP course you will be able to cope with stronger conditions of up to 12mph with a fifteen percent gust factor. Again, a TV forecast should be typically 8-9mph.
So, What Are Thermals?
When the ground is heated by the sun, it in turn heats the air that is in contact with it. Once this 'bubble' of warm air is buoyant enough it will detach itself from the ground and climb skywards. The glider pilot uses his skill to stay within this 'bubble' and fly up to the clouds and off on 'cross-country' flights.
The colder the air and the warmer the sun, the stronger the thermals will be. As a thermal leaves the ground it pulls in air from all around it to fill the void that has been left. This is why it is often very gusty on sunny days.
Spring
Believe it or not, spring can be our worst season of the year. This is why:
In springtime (especially on cloudless nights); the overnight temperature drops very low - often to only a couple of degrees or lower. The following day we end up with lovely warm sunshine and the sky fills with nice fat cumulus clouds. This is fantastic news for experienced and 'current' pilots looking to fly cross country because it will mean great flying (although very turbulent).
However, for newer pilots or those under training it is VERY bad news. This makes the air very turbulent and thermic (because of the big difference in overnight and daytime temperatures), that means your wing is much more likely to have a big collapse. Low level collapses are rarely recoverable in time and you'll probably be too low to have a successful reserve parachute deployment (students don't fly with these for the first few days anyway). This is why there are more injuries in flying clubs in springtime than there are in the other nine months of the year put together.
Summer
Summer in the UK is very variable; some years are brilliant for teaching and others are not. The reasons are the same as for spring when we have a colder airmass (northerly winds), but it can also be like the autumn with southerly or south westerly winds.
Autumn
Normally the better time of year for beginners - the thermals tend not to be as strong, so conditions are calmer and the days are still long enough to get a good day's flying in. Winds tend to be a little warmer and come in from a southerly or south westerly direction.
Winter
Although in winter our days are shorter, more often than not we get good teaching weather. Although it can be a little chilly, a pair of gloves and a woolly hat is all that's needed to make a good day.
The reason is very simple; as there is very little difference between overnight and daytime temperatures there is very little thermic activity. It's still there, but a lot weaker so it doesn't bother us.
Wet Weather
We can't fly when it's raining or snowing. The reason is because water can change the way a wing flies (you'll learn more about this under training). Basically, a wing is much more likely to stall (stop flying and fall out of the sky) when it is wet.
Of course, this follows if the ground is soaking wet too because the wing will pick up moisture from the ground. It also takes a long time to dry them and putting them away wet will destroy the fabric. Have you ever tried pitching a tent that had been put away damp?
Summary
We know it's frustrating when you're learning and you can't always understand why the flying has been cancelled, but rest assured it is for your safety. It is well known that some schools will teach in quite strong conditions and put your life and limbs at risk for their profit, but our CFI has only ever had one student injure themselves in fifteen years of teaching (he's often accused of being overcautious) and he will not risk your life for profit - you'll just have to be patient and wait for the right weather conditions - you will get there eventually.
For the foolish amongst us who choose to fly paragliders in stronger weather conditions, we'd just like to remind them of this well known aviation saying:
"There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots."
