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ARFOR Interpretations
hellyeah_ravah@hotmail.com
Topic Author
hellyeah_ravah@hotmail.com created the topic: ARFOR Interpretations
Hey all
Just having some issues interpreting one part of the ARFOR being the cloud area.
Heres a few examples and what I think they mean, please correct me if I'm wrong.
All questions are assumed to be in area 21
Example 1:
Areas of BKN ST 1000/3000 W SLOPES 3000/5000 RANGES.
Areas of Broken (5-7) stratus cloud with bases at 1000ft and tops at 3000ft on the west slopes.
Bases of 3000ft and Tops of 5000ft on the ranges.
I do not understand where on the west slopes and ranges these clouds would be. I understand on a WAC that ranges are simply the more dark brown and slopes being the light brown but I don't know when they would apply to a flight from YXXX to YZZZ
Example 2:
BKN CUSC 2500/10000 W SLOPES 4500/11000 W RANGES.
Broken(5-7) cumulus and stratocumulus with bases of 2500ft and tops of 10000ft on the west slopes.
Bases of 4500ft and tops of 11000ft on the west ranges.
Once again same as before but this time with west ranges. I've searched everywhere to find out what area is denoted as the west ranges in NSW but the only two are the South west slopes and the Eastern highlands.
Example 3:
SCT CUSC 5000/7000 RANGES/SLOPES. BKN SLOPES IN S
Scattered(3-4) cumulus and stratocumulus with bases 5000ft and tops 7000ft on the ranges and slopes.
Broken(5-7) on the slopes in the south.
This time its more general by just saying ranges and slopes, what does that mean? Does it mean the entirety of the Great dividing range in Area 21 is covered in SCT CUSC 5000/7000? Then its only broken on the slopes in the south? Slopes being west? Cause I havent heard of east slopes. Where do I draw the line saying this is NW/NE or SW/SE inside an area. I've just got no idea.
I'm pulling my hair out over this and can't get a grasp on it.
Tried reverse engineering questions from the answers but I'm just having no luck at all.
If anyone can help and if I'm interpreting these wrong, please do say I would greatly appreciate any help.
Go easy on your hair Jordan! These ARFORs used to be in the exam booklet so they have been around for a while. They have always been a bit strange. For example a cloud base of 1000 feet puts the cloud base below ground level (cloud bases and tops in an ARFOR are above sea level). Why would a VFR pilot be flying on a day like that!
The good news is that the questions are based on a flight that goes across both the slopes and the ranges so all you have to do is pick the worse case out of all of the areas described. You are not going to get a question referring to a specific location when you are given an area forecast. Happy studying.
