Regarding the reporting convention for surface wind direction provided to pilots at aerodromes, which statement is correct?
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A
Surface wind directions at any airfield are always given in degrees magnetic
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B
Surface wind directions at any airfield are always given in degrees true
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C
Surface wind directions are given in degrees true except when given by the tower for takeoff or landing
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D
Wind velocity is always given in kilometers per hour
Wind direction reporting conventions in aviation differ depending on the context and the type of information being provided.
For surface winds at aerodromes communicated to pilots by ATC (tower, ground, approach), the wind direction is always reported in degrees MAGNETIC. This is because the runway headings used by pilots for take-off and landing are expressed in degrees magnetic. Giving the wind in degrees magnetic allows the pilot to directly calculate the crosswind and headwind components relative to the runway without any conversion.
Upper wind forecasts and in-flight meteorological data from SIGMET or AIRMET products, as well as winds provided in navigation planning (TAF, METAR), are typically given in degrees TRUE.
Surface wind directions at any airfield are always given in degrees magnetic → INCORRECT. This statement is unclear because it doesn't mention if the information is given by ATC or by a meteo service such as TAF or METAR.
Surface wind directions at any airfield are always given in degrees true → INCORRECT. This statement is unclear because it doesn't mention if the information is given by ATC or by a meteo service such as TAF or METAR.
Surface wind directions are given in degrees true except when given by the tower for take-off or landing → CORRECT. Wind given by ATC to the pilot is always in MAG. Except in this situation, most of the time the wind given on meteo information such as METAR or TAF is given in TRUE.
Wind velocity is always given in kilometres per hour → INCORRECT. Wind velocity in aviation is expressed in knots (kt) in most contexts worldwide. Some countries use kilometres per hour (km/h) for certain applications, but knots is the dominant and ICAO-standard unit for wind speed in aviation communications.
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