GAFOR

The GAFOR (General Aviation Forecast ) is an aviation weather forecast for general aviation, the (DWD ) is created several times a day for three areas of Germany by the German Weather Service:

• North - Areas 00 to 23 and 31 to 36
• Mid - Areas 24 to 28 and 37-64
• South - Areas 71-84

Content of the service

Weather conditions and development

Abbreviated description of the location of pressure systems, air masses and fronts

Weather patterns

Brief notes on significant weather phenomena

Wind and temperature

The winds aloft are for 1500, 2000, 3000, 5000 ft above MSL and FL100 specified.

Turbulence up to FL 100

Information about areas with turbulence hazard. No mention turbulence that occur in the context of showers or thunderstorms.

Freezing level

Indicating successes in ft above MSL or in FL

Predicting the visual flight options for each GAFOR areas

The weather forecast is divided into three tranches of 2 hours each and four times a day updated (during summer time five times).

The description is made with a letter or letter / number combination. Based on the GAFOR table shown below is the code can be evaluated quickly. The table is graduated according to the main cloud base in feet, and the ground visibility in meters. However, to 5/8 cloud cover at the appropriate height to be present for this is relevant for classification.

The letters are usually named with the relevant key words of the ICAO Buchstabieralphabets and are available for

C - CHARLIE - clear / free - ground visibility is at least 10 km, cloud ceiling at least 5000 ft above the reference surface ( Even better conditions are indicated by the designation CAVOK ). The classification CHARLIE is only used in Germany.

O - OSCAR - open / open - ground visibility at least 8 km and ceiling will be at least 2000 ft above the reference plane.

D - DELTA - difficult / hard - ground visibility at least 5 km and / or * ceiling will be at least 1000 ft above the reference plane.

M - MIKE - marginal / critical - ground visibility is at least 1.5 miles and / or * ceiling will be at least 500 ft above the reference plane.

X - X- RAY - closed / closed - ground visibility is less than 1.5 miles and / or * cloud ceiling at 500 ft above the reference plane.

For a more detailed description be attached in Germany to the letters D and M are numbers from 1 to 8, in order to show the conditions which led to the classification and to be able to proceed more accurate gradations.

Area ratios and reference heights of GAFOR areas (since 11 /2008)

GAFOR call options

In contrast to other countries such as Switzerland and Austria, the German Weather Service GAFOR information has monopolized in Germany and pursued a restrictive information policy, under which the weather services of our neighboring countries were invited to freely available weather or GAFOR data no longer to make available. So MeteoSwiss had to adjust its Internet offer " GAFOR Germany ". Also from the text screen of public television stations GAFOR information are now completely disappeared, according to the opinion of the NDR " due to technical difficulties in the transmission ."

Since April 2, 2013, the German Weather Service offers the GAFOR Germany report in writing on its website for the purpose of air ports to charge and without registration.

The service can:

• Polling ( only available for IFR Since 1 August)
• Internet
• WAP

Be used.

On August 1, 2013, the call option has been set via telephone and the fax polling VFR.