This leaflet aims to reinforce to pilots the need to understand aviation weather, including the appropriate threat assessments and strategies to adopt in relation to pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight operations for a helicopter flight to be conducted under Visual Meteorology Conditions (VMC).
Aviation forecasts are important for pilots to identify weather threats and put in place a strategy to mitigate those threats during pre-flight planning. However, a forecast only describes what is most likely to happen, and pilots must consider other possible outcomes associated with particular weather patterns.
Besides, it is not unusual for in-flight weather to differ from the forecast weather. When this occurs pilots have to recognise the unanticipated threat of deteriorating weather and put into place a timely strategy to mitigate the threat of an undesired aircraft state.