Weather & Micrometeorology for Drone Operations Flashcards
7 cards from real RPC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Weather & Micrometeorology for Drone Operations flashcards as text
A temperature inversion aloft often creates which flying condition that directly affects drone safety?
Answer: A stable layer that traps pollution and reduces visibility
Temperature inversions trap moisture and pollutants below the inversion base, often resulting in reduced visibility, haze, or smog.
Which cloud type is most closely associated with severe turbulence and should prompt a drone pilot to postpone operations?
Answer: Cumulonimbus
Cumulonimbus clouds are associated with thunderstorms, lightning, severe turbulence, microbursts, and heavy precipitation—all hazardous to drone operations.
The dew point spread (temperature minus dew point) is 2°F. This indicates:
Answer: Air that is nearly saturated, with high fog or low cloud risk
A small dew point spread means the air is close to saturation, greatly increasing the likelihood of fog or low cloud formation.
Mechanical turbulence near the surface is most likely to occur when:
Answer: Strong winds flow over irregular terrain or man-made structures
Wind flowing over buildings, trees, hills, and other surface obstacles creates turbulent eddies that can destabilize a drone, especially at low altitudes.
A METAR report shows the wind as '00000KT'. What does this mean for a drone pilot?
Answer: Winds are calm
'00000KT' in a METAR denotes calm (no wind), which is favorable for stable drone flight but may still require checking for localized thermal activity.
When flying near the ocean coastline, a sea breeze typically develops because:
Answer: Land heats faster than the ocean, causing air to rise over land and drawing cooler ocean air onshore
Land heats faster than water during daylight, creating rising thermals over the land that are replaced by cooler, denser air flowing in from the ocean.
Which statement best describes why relative humidity increases at night even if no additional moisture is added to the air?
Answer: Cooler nighttime temperatures bring the air closer to its saturation point
Relative humidity is the ratio of actual moisture to what the air can hold at that temperature; as temperature drops at night, the air's capacity to hold moisture decreases, so relative humidity rises.