Required Pre-Flight Weather

This page outlines the expectations for weather preparedness prior to every flight (no exceptions) for students in the final stages of training for the PPL and ALL students / rental pilots holding a PPL or higher licence.

The CARs state:

Pre-flight Information
602.71 The pilot-in-command of an aircraft shall, before commencing a flight, be familiar with the available information that is appropriate to the intended flight.

Weather Information
602.72 The pilot-in-command of an aircraft shall, before commencing a flight, be familiar with the available weather information that is appropriate to the intended flight.

You must have evaluated all available sources prior to flight, including at least the following:

- all applicable weather cameras,
- NavCanada site (see note near the bottom for expectations),
- personal observations outside
- All other applicable weather links and tools on the flysifc.ca Planning page
- applicable web cameras from Castanet, DriveBC, etc. - Make sure you check the time/date stamps on the photos
- calling FSS for a verbal briefing (for cross country flights)

Note: When accessing the NavCanada site, we expect students to check all of the following for their expected airports, and the available alternate airports, in case Kelowna become unusable, on every flight (yes, local circuits as well):

- NOTAMS: Local, FIR, and HQ
- SIGMET
- AIRMET
- PIREP
- METAR/TAF
- RADAR PCPN
- RADAR ECHO TOP
- SATELLITE VISIBLE
- SATELLITE INFRARED
- SURFACE ANALYSIS
- UPR AIR ANALYSIS (5000' AND 10000')
- GFA - CLOUDS AND WEATHER
- GFA ICING, TURB, FREEZING
- SIGWX (MID LVL)
- UPR WINDS

For cross country flights, you are also expected to select the ASEP option for your route. The ASEP is an excellent tool that provides animations and other visual depictions showing conditions encountered along a specific route during a specific timeframe.

To prevent delays, you should create a personal login on the NavCanada weather site and store your common routes. 

Additionally, if forecasts indicate conditions worse than those allowed in the FTOM, but the actual weather is favourable and not matching the forecasts, you are expected to contact an instructor for an evaluation and possible authorization for release based on actual conditions. Bear in mind that the forecasts can also indicate conditions better than those required in our FTOM, but the METARs and other tools may show that actual conditions are below the FTOM requirements.