Lesson 13  Weather/General
Objectives Description Subject Areas Skills Class Organization Materials Necessary Skills Time Required Lesson Preparation Classroom Lesson Evaluation Applicable Notes     CAT II Flight Simulator Interior   Floor Plan Click Image	Objectives Flight Simulator 98 Teacher's Guide (13) Weather - General The Atmosphere, Moisture and Temperature, Cloud Formation, Cloud Types, Precipitation, Atmospheric Pressure, Pressure Systems, Low-Pressure, High-Pressure, Fronts, Cold Fronts, Warm Fronts, Cold-Front Weather, Stationary Fronts, Occluded Fronts. Use Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 to help students: Gain a basic understanding of using Flight Simulator 98 Learn to use the “Help” menu. Learn to use the "Flight School", "Ground School" section. Understand the information contained in "Weather". Description The Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 “Pilot’s Help” section is designed as a complete, self-passed ground school.  It is highly recommend that all sections be printed and copied for student use.  Ideally, students should have a copy of the “Pilot’s Help” section, and the Training Simulator workstation should be projected onto the two large screen monitors above the CAT II Main Simulator for the entire class to see.  The “Pilot’s Help” section contains an excellent ground school to help students understand the basics of flight, but it is recommended that other resources be used to help supplement the instruction.  In this section, students will learn about Weather. Subject Areas This section is appropriate for classes studying Microsoft Flight Simulator "Using Flight Simulator" sections of the "Pilots Help". Weather.   Skills To complete this activity, students must:    Know how to use the “Pilot’s Help” section.    Learn to use "Using Flight Simulator".    Gain an understanding of  weather, the atmosphere, moisture and temperature, cloud formation, cloud types, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, pressure systems, low-pressure, high-pressure, Fronts, Cold Fronts, Warm Fronts, Cold-Front weather, Stationary Fronts, and Occluded Fronts.   Class Organization Depending on the number of available computers, as well as projection devices, the instructor can modify the activity to work with an entire class or with individual students.  It is highly recommended that all students have a complete printed copy of the “Pilot’s Help” section and that the Training Simulator be switched to display on the two 31” monitors above the CAT II Main Simulator so the entire class can see the Pilot's Help Section. Materials All students should have a printed copy of the “Pilot’s Help”, “Flight School” section.  Students can go through the activities at a computer station or as a group using the large screen monitors.  Other materials such as aircraft diagrams, model planes, and pictures are useful.  A wide variety of resources can be found on the Internet.  The instructor should demonstrate the impact of weather on the Training Simulator.  Switch the output to display on both 31" monitors so the entire class can see the Instrument Panel and understand how weather affects an aircraft in flight. Skills Needed In order to complete this activity, the instructor should have a complete understanding of using Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 and the “Pilots Help” section.    Be able to open the “Pilot’s Help” Section.  Go to the “Help” menu on the main Flight Simulator 98 screen.  Highlight “Contents” and then open the folder you would like to work with.    Be able to navigate through the help items.    Be able to use the "Using Flight Simulator" section.    Understand all the material in "Weather" and have an understanding of how weather is formed.   Time Required Two to four class periods.  It is important that students completely read these sections prior to class.  Time spent on this section may be extended to provide all students the opportunity to fly the simulators.   Preparing for this Lesson Here are some ideas and hints to help the instructor prepare students for the lesson:   Make sure that all students have a printed copy of the “Pilot’s Help” section.   Students can work individually or in groups.   If the two large screen monitors are being used for the CAT II Main Simulator, consider making an overhead transparency copy of the “Pilot’s Help” section so the entire class can follow.  It is important that the students be able to see examples of weather.  If that is not possible, bring up the help menu on a workstation for students to observe.   Students should read the "Flight School", Ground School", "Introduction" section for this lesson.   Students should be able to demonstrate their knowledge through verbal, written, or simulator exercises. Classroom Lesson In this lesson, take students through all the functions of the “Pilot’s Help”, "Flight School", "Ground School", "Weather" portion of Flight Simulator 98.  Although it is not practical for every student to have a workstation they will have a printed copy of the section.  It is important that they know how to use this section.  The student's printed material should be arranged in the same order as the “Pilot’s Help” section of the program.  The “Pilot’s Help” section will be the main resource tool for the entire project.  Students should use the Related Topic Section. The main idea behind this lesson is to give students an understanding weather and how it is formed. Students should have a basic understanding of the following: Weather The Atmosphere Structure of the Atmosphere Air Layers Troposphere Tropopause Stratosphere Cloud Types Moisture Dew Point Cloud Formation Land and Water Effects Precipitation Atmospheric Pressure Pressure Systems  Low-Pressure, High-Pressure  Fronts Cold Fronts Warm Fronts Cold-Front Weather Stationary Fronts Occluded Fronts Evaluation Complete Understanding The evaluation process is divided into three categories. 1.  Basic Understanding:  Students should have a basic understanding of concepts.  This category includes true/false, multiple choice, verbal and simulation applications tests. 2.  Understanding and Application:  Students should have an understanding of concepts, and they should be able to apply them.  This evaluation category includes essay, fill in the blank, and flight simulation applications tests. 3.  Complete Understanding:  This is a critical area.  Students should have a complete understanding of this area before progressing to the next lesson.  These lessons include concepts that the students must know in order to successfully complete the unit on flight and apply what they are learning on the simulators. Notes  Weather is perhaps one of the most important things to understand. You would be surprised at the amount of accidents that occur because pilots don't fully understand weather or ignore forecast information. Students should be able to understand a weather map and make predictions based on that information.  Add Hurricanes to the study subjects. A cold front is always depicted on a weather map by a Blue Line with triangles. A Warm front is a Red Line with half circles. For the most part, weather fronts move from west to east or northwest to southeast. A cold air mass always moves under a warm air mass. A warm air mass always moves over a cold air mass. Wind around a Low Pressure System moves counter-clockwise.  Wind around a High Pressure System moves clock-wise Low Pressure Systems are usually associated with moisture.  High Pressure Systems are usually associated with dry weather. Although not covered in detail in Flight Simulator, it is important that students understand the Jet Stream.  The Jet Stream is the single most powerful force that controls the weather. Students can perform a simple experiment at home to help understand moisture and clouds. 1. Have them take a notebook into the bathroom. 2. They should close the bathroom door and turn on the hot water while remaining outside the shower. 3. Observe the bathroom and write down which items collect moisture on them first. 4. The Mirror should be first because it is the coolest. 5. Have them feel under the door. They should feel cold air coming in. The warm air from the hot water is rising, so cool air moves in under the door to replace it. 6. You can demonstrate the same thing by putting a cold drink down.  Moisture will form on the outside.  This is the key to weather. When warm moist air starts to cool. condensation takes place. When Barometric Pressure rises, it usually means rain will stop or it will be dry.  A drop in  pressure usually means rain or snow is on the way.  Instructors should make a field trip to the local Flight Service Station or National Weather Service office.  Copyright © 1999 Advanced Simulation Systems, Inc. Microsoft is a registered trademark and the Genuine Microsoft Products Logo is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States of America and in other countries. All Brand names are trademarks of their respective owners.