How to Improve General Aviation Weather Training: Challenges and Recommendations for Designing Computer-Based Simulation Weather Training Scenarios

General Aviation (GA) accounts for most of the weather-related accidents in the United States. This may be due to several factors, such as inadequate weather knowledge and a lack of exposure to meteorological conditions. Currently, GA pilots are taught the theory on how to interpret weather charts and avoid weather systems; however, they receive little to no practice in such conditions. While simulation technology may be the solution, current GA flight training scenarios do not incorporate the effects of weather on simulated flight performance. Furthermore, these scenarios are designed for use on advanced simulators which GA pilots may not have access to. Therefore, this paper proposes the use of desktop simulation technology to provide GA pilots the opportunity to practice encounters of various meteorological conditions, such as low ceilings and visibility. This paper will also provide recommendations for developing such computer-based weather training scenarios.