ATPL Meteorology (050) study plan

Derive the ICAO standard atmosphere temperature and pressure values at 0, 5000, 10000, 20000 and 36000 ft from the lapse rate and gas law, writing each step from memory

Convert between QNH, QFE, QNE and pressure altitude for at least 10 numeric aerodrome/level scenarios, showing the arithmetic

Compute true altitude corrections for flying from high to low pressure and from warm to cold air, and state the sign and pilot action for each case

Explain how subscale setting errors and static-source errors bias the altimeter, distinguishing which errors are dangerous on approach

Sketch the vertical structure of the atmosphere labelling troposphere, tropopause, stratosphere and the standard tropopause height and temperature

Classify icing as rime, clear or mixed and predict which is likely from drop size, temperature band and cloud type

List the temperature ranges and supercooled-water conditions that favour airframe icing, and describe the effects on lift, drag, weight and instruments

Explain the life cycle of a thunderstorm and identify the hazards of each stage, including gust fronts, hail and lightning

Describe microbursts and downbursts, their detection cues and the low-level wind shear recovery technique on approach

Define dew point, lapse rate, saturated adiabatic lapse rate and the stability criteria that decide whether an ascent continues

Classify air masses by source region and moisture and predict the weather they bring to your operating area

Describe warm, cold, occluded and stationary fronts, including cloud sequence, precipitation and wind veer/backing

Explain frontal wave development and the passage of a frontal system over a station in terms of pressure, temperature and wind changes

Distinguish anticyclones, depressions, ridges, troughs and cols by pressure pattern and associated weather

Interpret a surface synoptic chart to forecast the next 12 hours at a named station

Explain global circulation, the trade winds, westerlies and polar easterlies, and the pressure belts that drive them

Derive sea breeze, land breeze, anabatic and katabatic circulations and state the time of day each peaks

Describe föhn and the conditions for mountain waves, including rotor turbulence and the visual cues

Locate the jet stream, polar front and tropopause breaks and explain their link to clear air turbulence

Predict upper winds from contour charts and state how wind veers with height in the northern hemisphere

Explain diurnal temperature variation and the radiation balance for clear, cloudy, coastal and continental sites

Describe radiation, subsidence and frontal inversions and their effect on visibility, wind shear and stability

Classify clouds by genus and height and link each to the stability profile that produces it

Describe the formation of precipitation types and the hazards of freezing rain, snow and hail

Predict the cloud and visibility a given temperature/dew-point spread and stability profile will produce

Decode a full METAR and SPECI including wind, visibility, weather, cloud, temperature, QNH and trend groups

Read a TAF with validity, change groups and probability groups and state the operational meaning of each

Distinguish SIGMET, AIRMET, GAMET and PIREP by issuer, content and use, and explain what a NOTAM adds

Describe the symbols and layers of surface, upper-air and significant weather charts and locate the jet stream and CAT on a significant weather chart

Identify the volcanic ash hazard and the information sources and avoidance action available to a pilot

Re-solve ten mixed altimetry problems under timed conditions without notes

Explain the interaction of low-level wind shear, cold-air outflow and altimeter error on a destabilised approach

Describe clear air turbulence forecasting cues and the practical avoidance and reporting actions

Explain how an inversion and a mountain wave change the wind and turbulence profile on a planned route

State the meteorological minima and decision points a pilot briefs before departure for a hazardous-weather day

Consolidate all domains by rewriting the key definitions and relationships from memory

Re-attempt every previously missed question and explain the correct reasoning aloud

Complete two full-length timed mock exams under exam conditions and record the score by domain

Target the two weakest domains with a focused revision session and a fresh set of practice questions

Build a one-page pre-exam summary of formulas, Q-codes, cloud and front symbols and hazard actions