Free safety module 1 of 7Meteorology & Flight Planning12 min readLast reviewed: 2026-09-19
Build a pre-flight weather workflow that keeps VFR flights out of cloud: reading METARs, TAFs and AIRMETs, knowing the VFR weather minimums for the airspace you will fly through, and setting a turn-back point before the weather sets it for you.
Scenario
Coastal VFR Cross-Country Approaching Deteriorating Stratus. You are planning a day VFR flight along a coastal route. The TAF for your destination shows broken stratus at 2,500 ft AGL with an AIRMET for IFR conditions (ceilings below 1,000 ft and visibility below 3 statute miles) developing along the coast by your planned arrival time. The route passes beneath Class E airspace that steps down to 700 ft AGL near the coast.
Decisions and actions
Compare the TAF and any AIRMET/SIGMET against your personal minimums, and decide before departure the ceiling and visibility at which you will turn back.
Know the basic VFR weather minimums for the airspace you will fly (14 CFR 91.155): in Class E airspace below 10,000 ft MSL, 3 statute miles visibility and 500 ft below / 1,000 ft above / 2,000 ft horizontal from cloud; in Class G below 1,200 ft AGL by day, 1 statute mile clear of clouds.
Get a standard weather briefing (AIM 7-1-5) before every cross-country flight, including current conditions, forecasts, AIRMETs, SIGMETs and any PIREPs along the route.
Set a fixed turn-back point before the coastline or terrain traps close in, and brief it as a decision already made — not one to be renegotiated in flight.
Safety traps
Plan-continuation bias driving inadvertent VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions (VFR into IMC).
Mountain-wave turbulence and rotor on the lee side of terrain during a frontal passage.
Carburetor icing at descent power settings, even on a warm, humid day.
Check your understanding
1. Under 14 CFR 91.155, what are the basic VFR weather minimums in Class E airspace below 10,000 ft MSL?
3 statute miles visibility; 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above and 2,000 ft horizontal from cloud
1 statute mile visibility, clear of clouds
5 statute miles visibility; 1,000 ft below, 1,000 ft above and 1 statute mile horizontal from cloud
3 statute miles visibility, clear of clouds
Show answer
A. 14 CFR 91.155 sets Class E below 10,000 ft MSL at 3 statute miles flight visibility, and 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above and 2,000 ft horizontally clear of cloud. The 5 SM / 1,000 ft / 1 SM minimums apply at or above 10,000 ft MSL.
2. When flying VFR near a mountain range with a strong wind blowing across the ridge, where is the highest risk of severe downdrafts and rotor turbulence?
On the upwind (windward) slope of the ridge
Directly above the peak of the ridge at high altitude
On the downwind (lee) side of the ridge, below crest level and in the rotor zone
At the base of the windward slope, well before the ridge
Show answer
C. Mountain-wave turbulence and rotor circulation develop downwind of the ridge, producing sink rates that can exceed the climb performance of a light aircraft.
Educational use only. This module does not replace current regulations, the AIM, authorized weather briefings, the aircraft flight manual or instructor guidance. Verify operational information through official sources before flight.
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