Elements of a Pirep

All PIREPs contain the same basic information:

• Type of report
  • Routine or urgent
• Location
  • Relative to VOR, weather station, or airport
• Time
  • In Zulu (Coordinated Universal Time)
• Altitude
  • In Flight Level (height references are given as msl)
• Aircraft type
• Weather conditions
  • Cloud height
  • Visibility
  • Temperature (in Celsius)
  • Turbulence, etc.

In other words: Who, where, when, and what! Null reports, or a lack of weather, are also important, such as negative icing or turbulence.

Examples

Reported:

Who: Piper Seminole (PA-44)

Where: Over Chester Airport at 3,500 feet

When: at 1510 Zulu

What: Ceiling broken at 5,000 feet, visibility unrestricted, with occasional light to moderate chop

Resulting PIREP Text:

UA /OV KSNC/TM 1510/FL035/TP PA44/SK BKN050/WX FV99SM/TB OCNL LGT-MOD CHOP

Reported:

Who: Cirrus SR22 (SR22)

Where: Ten miles southeast of the Bellingham Airport at 5,500 feet

When: at 1240 Zulu

What: Visibility is pretty low, about three miles in mist

Resulting PIREP Text:

UA /OV KBLI135010/TM 1240/FL055/TP SR22/WX FV03SM BR

Reported:

Who: Cessna 172 (C172)

Where: Abilene VOR 030 degree radial at 25 nm and 8,000 feet

When: at 1715 Zulu

What: There’s a scattered layer above us at about 9,000 feet, and visibility is about five miles in haze. Outside air temperature reads minus four degrees Celsius. The ride is smooth.

Resulting PIREP Text:

UA /OV ABI030025/TM 1715/FL080/TP C172/SK SCT090/WX FV05SM HZ/TA M04/TB NEG

Reported:

Who: Cirrus SR22 (SR22)

Where: Ironwood VOR 123 degree radial at 26 nm and 11,000 feet

When: at 2124 Zulu

What: Constant light chop and trace rime icing

Remarks: Reported using Aerovie

Resulting PIREP text:

D25 UA /OV IWD123026/TM 2124/FL110/TP SR22/TA M02/TB CONS LGT CHOP/IC TRACE RIME/RM AEROVIE

Zulu Time

“Zulu,” also known as UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), is the time at the 0-degree line of longitude, which passes through Greenwich, England. All time zones around the world are based on this reference. To convert from local time to Zulu, a pilot should begin with the 24-hour “military” time (e.g. 3:00 p.m. is 1500) and then:

• Eastern Standard Time: Add 5 hours
• Central Standard Time: Add 6 hours
• Mountain Standard Time: Add 7 hours
• Pacific Standard Time: Add 8 hours
• Alaska Standard Time: Add 9 hours
• Hawaii Standard Time: Add 10 hours

Note: For daylight savings time, 1 hour should be subtracted from the calculated times.

Your smartphone can also do this for you!

Tip: The FAA publishes a quick reference guide and PIREP checklist at the very back of the Chart Supplement.