Flight Performance and Planning 2

1. Introduction to Weight and Balance and Aviation Meteorology - effects of aircraft weight and balance on structural loads and aircraft performance. Atmosphere – chemical composition, heat balance, heating and cooling processes, greenhouse effect, atmospheric layers, significance and variation of the tropopause for aviation.
2. Aircraft Centre of Gravity and Basic Meteorology - effects of CG position on aircraft stability, controllability, and performance. Meteorological data – basic meteorological elements and phenomena, observation, measurement, reporting, and standards.
3. Aircraft Loading and Adiabatic Processes - definitions of aircraft weight limitations. Adiabatic processes – introduction, physical principles, vertical air motion, atmospheric stability, and conditional instability.
4. Weight and Balance Variables and Atmospheric Stability - definition of additional variables required for comprehensive aircraft weight and balance calculations. Adiabatic processes – practical applications, interpretation of upper-air soundings using various methods, convection forecasting, causes and characteristics of temperature inversions and thunderstorms.
5. Loading Procedures and Wind - Aircraft loading methods; cargo compartment limitations; fuel distribution and its effect on aircraft balance. Wind – causes and formation, derivation of the Coriolis force, geostrophic and gradient wind, vector analysis, winds in the friction layer, and upper-level winds.
6. Take-off and Landing Weight Calculations; Local Winds - Aircraft weight calculations and operational limitations for take-off and landing. Local winds – causes, characteristics, and hazards associated with sea breeze, mountain breeze, mountain waves (Föhn), and local winds of both large and small scales occurring in different regions of the world.
7. Centre of Gravity Calculations and Global Pressure Systems - Basic centre of gravity calculations and the effects of aircraft loading on CG position. Earth's pressure system – distribution of major pressure cells, global horizontal and vertical circulation in the troposphere, characteristics of high- and low-pressure systems, trade winds, anti-trade winds, westerlies, tropical revolving storms, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, and dust devils.
8. Centre of Gravity Expressed as %MAC and Global Climate - CG expressed as a percentage of the Mean Aerodynamic Chord (%MAC) for take-off and landing. Global climate system – geographical characteristics and seasonal dynamics, Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), monsoon circulation, climatology of tropical, temperate, and polar regions.
9. Aircraft Weighing and Air Masses and Fronts - empty aircraft weighing and determination of the basic centre of gravity. Air masses and fronts – types of air masses, characteristics and factors influencing their properties, classification and source regions, warm fronts, warm sectors, cold fronts (anafront and katafront), post-frontal weather, warm and cold occlusions, associated cloud and weather patterns, movement of fronts and pressure systems, and frontal life cycle.
10. Centre of Gravity Determination for Light Aircraft and Airframe Icing - determination of centre of gravity for light aircraft. Flight hazards – aircraft icing: introduction, conditions for icing, types of icing, pre-flight icing, clear-air icing, in-cloud icing, icing in precipitation, and icing forecasts.
11. Load Documentation and Turbulence – Load and Trim Sheet (Loadsheet) and Loading Instruction. Flight hazards – turbulence: definition, types and causes of turbulence, horizontal and vertical wind shear, thermal turbulence, effects on aircraft, Clear Air Turbulence (CAT), Low-Level Jet (LLJ), and Jet Stream.
12. Manual Loadsheet Preparation and Thunderstorms - loadsheet using the graphical method. Last Minute Changes (LMC) and their effect on aircraft balance. Flight hazards – thunderstorms: thunderstorm structure and life cycle, thunderstorm cells, atmospheric electricity, static electricity, lightning formation and lightning strike effects on aircraft, frontal and air-mass thunderstorms, squall lines, conditions for development, forecasting, geographical occurrence, downbursts, microbursts, and tornadoes.
13. Computerised Loadsheet Calculations and Meteorological Charts - computer-based loadsheet calculations and load distribution. Use of external load control service providers. Meteorological charts – Significant Weather (SIGWX) charts, surface weather charts, upper-air charts, analysis charts, and prognostic charts, aviation weather codes: METAR, TAF, SPECI, SIGMET, and SNOWTAM; runway condition reporting; aviation weather broadcasts: VOLMET, ATIS, HF VOLMET, and ACARS; contents and use of pre-flight meteorological documentation, weather briefing and consultation; low-level wind shear detection and warning systems; temperature inversions; significant meteorological warnings; computer-based flight planning information. Review, practical exercises, calculation practice, and discussion of the course material.