FAA AIRCRAFT DISPATCHER ACTUAL EXAM 400
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS UPDATE
WITH EXPERT FEEDBACK |NEW!!
Terms in this set (174)
Every hour, or whenever the weather changes and
How often are METARs
necessitates a change. In that situation, a SPECI
issues?
(special METAR) is issued.
A special METAR which is created in between the
hourly METARs due to a change in weather
What is a SPECI? necessitating the change.
-Change of winds necessitating a new runway.
-WX changing from IFR to VFR or VFR to IFR.
Do METARs describe METARs depict actual field conditions.
actual or forecast
conditions?
Shallow fog, ground fog. occurs on clear nights, little
or no wind, and small temp/DP spread (high relative
Define Radiation fog humidity). Occurs at night or daybreak. Radiation
cools the ground. The ground cools the air. When the
air is cooled to the dew-point, fog forms.
This fog forms when moist air moves over colder
Define Advection fog
ground or water. Common along the coast.
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,5/11/25, 1:28 PM FAA AIRCRAFT DISPATCHER ACTUAL EXAM 400 QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS UPDATE WITH EXPERT FEEDBAC…
Air moving across a sizeable lake absorbs water
vapor.
What is lake effect? Showers may appear on the leeward side if the air is
Describe one major colder than the water. If the air is warmer than the
consequence of lake water, fog often develops on the leeward side. In the
effect in winter. winter, lake effect snow is a concern because as a
cold front passes over the warmer lake water, snow,
instead of showers will occur.
What happens when the Small Temp/DP spread is essential to the formation of
Temperature/dewpoint are fog.
very close?
Valid for a 24-hour period, TAFs are issued four times
daily at 00Z, 06Z, 12Z, and 18Z, and updated as
How often are TAFs
conditions warrant. TAFs include information about
issued?
wind speed and direction, visibility, present weather,
ceilings, and low-level wind shear.
Because you always need to use the most up to date
information and knowing when the next forecast is
Why is it important to
coming up is essential for making critcal flight
know when the various
decisions. For instance, if it is 05:55Z, the TAF from
charts and reports are
00Z is the most up-to-date forecast, however, in only
issued?
5 minutes, the 06Z TAF will be the most up-to-date
forecast and could contain critical information.
An amended TAF is issued when the current TAF no
longer adequately describes the ongoing weather or
What is an Amended TAF?
the forecaster feels the TAF is not representative of
the current or expected weather.
Which sky conditions are Broken, Overcast, VV (vertical visibility[indefinite
considered a ceiling? ceiling])
How often is a surface starting at 00Z at 3 hour intervals. (8 times a day)
analysis chart issued?
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, 5/11/25, 1:28 PM FAA AIRCRAFT DISPATCHER ACTUAL EXAM 400 QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS UPDATE WITH EXPERT FEEDBAC…
They show pressure patterns, fronts, and information
on individual reporting stations. The pressure patterns
are shown by isobars.
What are the primary
Isobars
features of a surface
Pressure Systems
analysis chart?
Fronts
Troughs and Ridges
Station Models
It is used to determine sky cover, the types of clouds.
How is a surface analysis SLP, pressure change, precip, temp/dew point,
chart used? present wx, wind. They can be used to locate the
jetstream, turbulence, and wind shear.
What is the relationship The closer the isobars are together, the stronger the
between isobars and winds will be.
surface winds?
How often is a Weather Every 3 hours starting at 01Z
depiction chart issued?
What is a weather A weather chart to be used for flight planning by
depiction chart? giving an overall picture of the WX across the US.W
What is a Radar summary A radar summary chart is a graphically depicted
chart? collection of radar weather reports.
Does the Radar summary Observed, hourly.
chart depict forecast
conditions, or observed
conditions? How often?
The visible images display cloud cover. The infrared
What is the difference
images display the earth in a manner that correlates
between visible and
with temperature. Generally speaking, the warmer an
infrared Satellite imagery?
object, the more infrared energy it emits.
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