space weather

Cleared Direct Nov 9, 2026

Solar Cycle Twenty-Five, the May Two Thousand Twenty-Four G-Five Geomagnetic Storm, and What Space Weather Actually Costs When You're Flying WAAS Approaches to Minimums

The May 2024 G-5 geomagnetic storm degraded WAAS GPS across North America and Europe mid-approach - here's what every IFR pilot needs to know now.

Vector

Cleared Direct Oct 26, 2026

Solar Cycle Twenty-Five, the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, and the Polar Route Diversion Decision That Starts with a Flare on the Sun

Solar Cycle 25 is at or near its peak in late 2026 - making space weather more relevant for polar route ops, GPS approaches, and every IFR preflight than it has been in over two decades.

Vector

Cleared Direct Oct 13, 2026

Solar Particle Events, Polar Route Diversions, and the Space Weather Forecast That Changes Where a Seven Forty-Seven Flies Tonight

Solar flares, solar particle events, and geomagnetic storms directly affect where commercial airliners fly, what communications work, and how accurate GPS remains at altitude.

Vector

Cleared Direct Oct 10, 2026

Solar Cycle Twenty-Five, the May Twenty-Twenty-Four G Five Geomagnetic Storm, and What Space Weather Means for Every Pilot Who Trusts a GPS Approach

The May 2024 G5 geomagnetic storm disrupted GPS, knocked out HF radio, and forced mass polar rerouting - and the sun is still near its peak.

Vector

Cleared Direct Sep 14, 2026

Solar Proton Events, Polar Route Rerouting, and the FAA Guidance That Classifies Flight Crews as Radiation Workers

FAA formally classifies pilots and flight attendants as radiation workers - here's what Solar Cycle 25's peak means for polar route operations.

Vector

Cleared Direct Sep 7, 2026

Cosmic Radiation at Cruise Altitude, the FAA's CARI Dose Calculator, and the Space Weather Risk That Follows Every Polar Route

Pilots at cruise altitude absorb 100–200× the sea-level cosmic radiation dose - the FAA's free CARI-7A tool quantifies it, and polar routes change the math significantly.

Vector

ATIS Aug 11, 2026

NASA's WB-57 Flies to Iceland to Chase the Shadow of the August Twelfth Solar Eclipse

NASA's 1950s-era WB-57F jet reached Iceland to chase the August 12 solar eclipse and study the sun's corona from above 60,000 feet.

Tower