PPL Meteorology study plan

Define the ICAO standard atmosphere and state the ISA values for sea-level pressure, temperature, and lapse rate, then compute pressure altitude and density altitude for three given airport scenarios

Differentiate the four primary atmospheric pressure systems and explain how each drives surface wind direction in both hemispheres

Interpret a station model plot by decoding temperature, dew point, pressure tendency, cloud cover, wind speed and direction, and present weather symbols

Convert between Celsius and Fahrenheit, hectopascals and inches of mercury, and knots and metres per second without reference material

Explain the adiabatic process and distinguish the dry adiabatic lapse rate from the saturated adiabatic lapse rate in terms of stability

Classify an air mass as stable, conditionally unstable, or absolutely unstable given environmental and parcel lapse rates

Describe how surface heating, mechanical turbulence, and orographic lifting each trigger convection

Identify the conditions that produce radiation fog, advection fog, and frontal fog, and state which is most likely at a coastal aerodrome in winter

List the cloud genera by altitude band and match each to the precipitation type and turbulence it implies

Explain the Bergeron process and the coalescence process as mechanisms of precipitation formation

Distinguish freezing rain, ice pellets, hail, and snow in terms of the vertical temperature profile that produces each

Describe the hazards of aircraft icing, including clear ice versus rime ice formation conditions and the temperature bands where each is most likely

Describe the life cycle of a thunderstorm and identify the stage at which microbursts and hail are most probable

Explain the formation of a microburst and state the recovery technique a pilot should apply on encountering wind shear on final approach

Distinguish supercell, multicell, and squall-line structures and the hazards each presents to light aircraft

Interpret a low-level significant weather chart and identify embedded cumulonimbus and frontal positions

Explain the formation of a frontal wave and describe the sequence of weather changes as a warm front, then a cold front, passes an observing point

Compare the slope, speed of movement, and cloud sequence of warm fronts and cold fronts

Describe the weather associated with a depression at its warm sector, cold sector, and occlusion stages

Interpret isobar spacing to estimate surface wind speed and apply the buy-ballot rule to determine wind direction

Decode a METAR and a TAF line by line, including trend groups, CAVOK, and colour-state codes

Differentiate SPECI, AIRMET, and SIGMET and state the criteria that trigger each

Interpret a wind shear and turbulence forecast chart and a freezing-level chart

Explain how to obtain and use an in-flight weather update, including VOLMET and ATIS content

Compute crosswind and headwind components for three given runway and wind combinations using a mental arithmetic method

Explain how density altitude affects take-off distance, climb rate, and engine performance, and estimate the effect for a hot, high-elevation departure

Describe the meteorological conditions that produce low-level wind shear and the pilot actions that mitigate the risk

Identify the weather minima concepts relevant to VFR flight planning and the point at which a forecast makes a departure inadvisable

Sit two full-length timed practice papers under exam conditions and record the score for each sub-topic

Re-study only the sub-topics scoring below 75% and rewrite the associated notes in your own words

Recite the definitions of the ISA, the stability categories, and the frontal types without notes

Build a final one-page formula and definition sheet for last-minute review