Figure 13: Microburst section chart
FAA-CT-8080-3F · Instrument Rating supplement · asked on the Instrument Rating test
1 FAA question that refer to this figure
Question 1 · Instrument Rating
(Refer to FAA-CT-8080-3F, Figure 13.) How will the aircraft in position 4 be affected by a microburst encounter?
- A.Performance increasing with a tailwind and updraft.
- B.Performance decreasing with a tailwind and downdraft.
- C.Performance decreasing with a headwind and downdraft.
Show answer and explanation
Correct: B. Performance decreasing with a tailwind and downdraft.
In Figure 13 the aircraft flies left to right through the microburst: at position 1 it meets the increasing headwind, at 3 the strong downdraft at the core, and at 4 it is past the center in the increasing tailwind while still under the downward-curving outflow. AIM 7-1-24 says the downdraft and tailwind are both performance-decreasing, so at position 4 performance is decreasing with a tailwind and downdraft. The headwind (performance-increasing) part occurs on the entry side, not at position 4.
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