Blog · For general aviation pilots
Weather, explained.
The products, the hazards, the numbers the regulations actually require, and the judgment calls between them. Written by the team behind SkyFeed, in the same plain-English register the app uses: decoded first, raw text second.
Looking up a single code? The METAR and TAF glossary defines every abbreviation on one page.
Series · Preflight weather briefing
The complete guide
How to Brief Aviation Weather Before Every Flight
The full self-briefing sequence for GA pilots: which products to check, what order to read them in, and a weather briefing checklist you can fly with.
· 11 min read · Read the guide →
· 8 min
Graphical Forecasts for Aviation: How to Use the GFA
What the GFA shows, how its observation and forecast halves differ, how to read the time slider for a real leg, and where the text products still win.
· 9 min
How to Read NOTAMs in a Preflight Weather Briefing
Read the keyword first, then the Zulu time block. Which NOTAMs change a flight, where they collide with the weather, and why TFRs hide from an airport search.
· 7 min
AIRMET vs SIGMET: What Each Advisory Means
What AIRMETs and SIGMETs each warn about, why G-AIRMETs replaced textual AIRMETs over the CONUS, and how to read a Convective SIGMET before you launch.
· 7 min
How to Read Aviation Weather Radar Like a Pilot
What aviation weather radar actually shows, how base and composite reflectivity differ, why datalink NEXRAD lags, and how to use radar in your brief.
· 7 min
How to Read a PIREP (and How to File One)
Learn to decode every PIREP field, tell a routine UA from an urgent UUA, and file your own report over the radio, with a fully worked example.
· 7 min
METAR vs TAF: What Each One Tells You
Learn what a METAR observes, what a TAF forecasts, how their schedules and coverage differ, and which one to trust at each stage of a preflight brief.
· 6 min
Winds Aloft Forecasts: How to Read and Use Them
Decode the winds and temperatures aloft forecast: the DDff+TT groups, 9900 winds, issuance times, and how to pick a smarter cruising altitude.
Series · Aviation weather hazards
The complete guide
The Weather That Hurts GA Pilots, Explained
How thunderstorms, icing, turbulence, wind shear, fog, and density altitude hurt small aircraft, and what each hazard does to your airplane in flight.
· 11 min read · Read the guide →
· 8 min
Airframe Icing: How It Forms and How to Get Out
How structural ice forms, why clear, rime, and mixed ice differ, why carb ice is a separate hazard, what known icing legally means, and how to escape.
· 6 min
Density Altitude: The Invisible Performance Thief
Density altitude is pressure altitude corrected for temperature. Learn what it does to takeoff roll, climb, and true airspeed, and how to compute it.
· 7 min
Fog: The Five Types and When They Burn Off
Radiation, advection, upslope, steam, and frontal fog form differently. Learn how each one behaves, how it shows up in a METAR, and when a burn-off is real.
· 6 min
Thunderstorms and Small Aircraft: How Far to Stay Away
What a thunderstorm actually does to a light aircraft, why the FAA says give severe storms 20 miles, and why your datalink radar lies about how old it is.
· 8 min
Turbulence: Types, Intensity Levels, and Reporting
Learn where turbulence comes from, what the AIM's light-to-extreme intensity scale means, and how to report a rough ride other pilots can use.
Series · Go / no-go decisions
The complete guide
The Go/No-Go Decision: A Working Framework
Turn go/no-go from a single gut call into a repeatable framework: run PAVE, set personal minimums in advance, build outs, and re-decide en route.
· 13 min read · Read the guide →
· 8 min
Crosswind: Demonstrated vs Your Limit
Learn what maximum demonstrated crosswind means, why it isn't a legal limit for most light airplanes, and how to set a personal number you'll hold.
· 8 min
Night VFR Weather Minimums and Margins
Night doesn't create weather, it hides it. What changes after dark, the three legal night definitions, Class G night VFR minimums, and wider personal margins.
· 8 min
Setting Personal Minimums That You'll Actually Keep
Personal minimums are the weather and currency limits you set on the ground, above the legal floor. Here's the FAA method for choosing numbers that hold.
· 7 min
VFR into IMC: How It Happens, and How It Doesn't
What the accident record shows about VFR into IMC, where the 178-seconds figure comes from, and how to set a turnaround trigger before the ceiling drops.
Series · Weather minimums & regulations
The complete guide
VFR Weather Minimums by Airspace Class
The full 14 CFR 91.155 table, verified against the eCFR: visibility and cloud clearance by airspace class, the four Class G tiers, and the airport rules.
· 14 min read · Read the guide →
· 7 min
VFR, MVFR, IFR, LIFR: What the Flight Categories Mean
The exact ceiling and visibility bands behind VFR, MVFR, IFR and LIFR, how a ceiling is determined, and why the category on a map is not the legal minimum.
· 9 min
The 1-2-3 Rule and IFR Alternate Requirements
Learn when 14 CFR 91.169 requires an IFR alternate, how the 1-2-3 rule reads the forecast window, and what the 600-2 and 800-2 numbers actually filter.
· 8 min
Special VFR: When It's Legal and When It's Smart
What 14 CFR 91.157 actually allows, why Special VFR is request-only, where it is prohibited outright, and what 1 mile of visibility buys you.
The app
Reading about weather is the slow way.
SkyFeed decodes METARs, TAFs, and the rest of your brief on the iPhone in your flight bag. Everything these posts explain, read back in plain English per station you actually fly.