Avielevate / DGCA CPL papers / Aviation Meteorology / Sample Paper 1
Sample Paper 1 — DGCA CPL Aviation Meteorology
Chapter SP01 of the Aviation Meteorology paper. 50 practice questions in the Avielevate bank, every one with its answer key, filterable into a timed set on this chapter alone.
What this chapter covers
The learning objectives we file Sample Paper 1 questions under, and how many sit behind each. These come straight out of the bank and are regenerated whenever it changes — they are what is there today, not a claim.
| Learning objective | In the bank |
|---|
| __GEN__ General | 50 questions |
Sample Sample Paper 1 questions, answered and explained
Real questions from this chapter, with the answer marked and the reasoning written out — the same explanations you get inside the app.
0334001 · Sample Paper 1
Aquaplaning is most likely to occur in which weather?
- ALight hail (−GR)
- BHeavy rain (+RA)
- CLight thunderstorm (−TS)
- DThick fog
Why that is the answer
**Concept**
**Aquaplaning** (also called hydroplaning) happens when a film of water builds up between the tyres and the runway. The tyre stops touching the surface and rides on the water, like a water-skier. Friction almost disappears: braking becomes poor, nosewheel steering stops working and the aircraft can slide sideways in a crosswind.
**Explanation**
A tyre can squeeze away only a limited amount of water each second through its tread and the runway grooves. If the water is deep (standing water, roughly **3 mm or more**) and the aircraft is fast, the water cannot escape in time. Pressure builds up in front of and under the tyre and lifts it off the surface.
A common rule of thumb gives the speed at which this **dynamic aquaplaning** can begin as about **9 × √(tyre pressure in psi)** knots. For a tyre at 100 psi that is 9 × 10 = 90 kt, a normal landing speed.
So the danger comes from a **deep layer of water put on the runway quickly**, faster than the runway can drain it. That is what **heavy rain** does. In India, a monsoon downpour or a thunderstorm shower can flood a runway within minutes.
**Applying it to the question**
Light hail and a light thunderstorm add little water, and fog only wets the surface. **Heavy rain (+RA)** gives the deepest water film, so it makes aquaplaning most likely.
**Remember for DGCA:** deep water + high speed = aquaplaning. When the METAR shows +RA or +TSRA, expect poor braking and plan for a wet or contaminated runway.
0334002 · Sample Paper 1
Which is an example of non-frontal atmospheric stability?
- ASquall line
- BInversion
- CFrontogenesis
- DOcclusion
Why that is the answer
**Concept**
**Stability** describes what a parcel (a small bubble) of air does after it is pushed upwards. In **stable** air it ends up colder and denser than the air around it, so it sinks back. Air can be made stable in two ways: by a **front** (warm air lying over cold air along a sloping frontal surface), or without any front, simply by the way temperature changes with height in one air mass.
**Explanation**
Normally temperature **falls** with height. In an **inversion** it **rises** with height: a layer of warmer air sits above cooler air. Inversions form without any front, for example:
- **Radiation inversion:** on a clear, calm night the ground cools and chills the air touching it.
- **Subsidence inversion:** air sinking in a high-pressure area is compressed and warms.
Look at the diagram. A parcel lifted from the bottom of an inversion cools as it rises (at the DALR, about 3°C per 1000 ft), while the air around it gets warmer. The parcel quickly becomes much colder than its surroundings and sinks back. An inversion is therefore **very stable** and acts as a lid: it stops rising air and traps fog, haze and smoke below it, as in the photo.
**Applying it to the question**
A squall line is a line of thunderstorms, a sign of instability. Frontogenesis (a front forming) and an occlusion are both frontal processes. Only the **inversion** is a stable layer that forms within one air mass, without a front.
**Remember for DGCA:** inversion = temperature increasing with height = very stable; it gives poor visibility under it and smooth air above it.
Image credit (photo): Trevor Harris, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
0334003 · Sample Paper 1
Which statement is NOT true of the post-monsoon season?
- AThe pressure gradient is the weakest of all seasons
- BThe frequency of tropical cyclones is at its maximum
- CThe monsoon withdraws from the country
- DIt is the worst period for flying, except over south India
Why that is the answer
**Concept**
IMD divides India's year into four seasons: **winter** (January–February), **pre-monsoon** or hot weather (March–May), the **south-west monsoon** (June–September) and the **post-monsoon** season (October–December). The post-monsoon is the season when the SW monsoon **withdraws**, starting in the north-west in the second half of September and leaving the whole country by about mid-October.
**Explanation**
As the overhead sun moves south, the monsoon low over north-west India fills and a weak high builds over the north. Pressure becomes similar over most of the country, so the **pressure gradient is weak** and winds are light. Skies clear and the air dries out, so over most of India this is a **good season for flying**, apart from early-morning mist and fog in the north late in the season.
The exceptions are the south-east and the Bay of Bengal. Winds over the Bay turn **north-easterly** (the NE monsoon) and bring rain to **Tamil Nadu** and south Andhra Pradesh. October–November is also the **peak of the tropical cyclone season** in the Bay of Bengal (the satellite photo shows a Bay of Bengal cyclone), with very heavy rain, gales and storm surges on the east coast.
**Applying it to the question**
The weak pressure gradient, the maximum of cyclones and the withdrawal of the monsoon are all true. The false statement is **It is the worst period for flying, except over south India**: in fact the season is one of the best for flying over most of India, and the bad weather is mainly over the south. The worst flying weather comes in the monsoon and the pre-monsoon thunderstorm season.
**Remember for DGCA:** post-monsoon = monsoon withdraws, weak gradient, fine weather in the north, NE-monsoon rain and cyclones in the south-east.
Image credit: NASA GSFC MODIS (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
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Frequently asked
How many Sample Paper 1 questions are there for the DGCA CPL Aviation Meteorology paper?
Avielevate's bank carries 50 published Sample Paper 1 questions for Aviation Meteorology, mapped across 1 learning objective. Every one has its answer key, and explanations are being written across the whole bank.
How much of the Aviation Meteorology paper is Sample Paper 1?
The DGCA does not publish a per-chapter breakdown of its papers, so nobody can honestly tell you — and we will not guess. What we can tell you is what students who have just sat a paper reported meeting, which is measured rather than rumoured: that is the exam recall report inside the app.
What is the best way to revise Sample Paper 1?
Sit a short timed set on this chapter alone, tag how sure you were of each answer, then drill the two that actually leak marks: the ones you got right while guessing, and the ones you got wrong while confident. Avielevate does that tagging for you and puts anything you got wrong back in front of you on a spaced schedule.
The rest of the Aviation Meteorology paper
One account covers every chapter of every paper.
← All Aviation Meteorology chapters · All six DGCA CPL papers