Where the knowledge in this book comes from
This book was written with mainstream artificial-intelligence assistants. Its material is therefore what these models learn from: the public scientific and technical literature on meteorology, aviation-weather manuals and courses, training material for free flight and for the mountains, the publications of weather services, and the shared culture of pilots and hikers. The facts, formulas, typical values and classifications (cloud genera, frontal symbols, adiabats, the cumulus-base formula, the wind-chill index, rules of conduct in the face of lightning…) are public, universal knowledge, found in every serious book on the subject.
The books listed below were not used as raw material: they were neither consulted nor copied during the writing. They are listed because they are the references in the field, because they go much further than this book on each of its subjects, and because a pilot or hiker who really wants to understand the sky will gain from reading them closely. If, despite this, a wording in this book seems too close to one of them, report it to the author (contact details on the “About” page): it will be rewritten.
Reference books to read in depth
A deliberately short list: the books that have trained generations of pilots and mountaineers, and a few online resources that stand the test of time. Editions change; look for the most recent one.
Free-flight weather
- Hubert Aupetit, Visite d’une atmosphère, Rétine. The French classic of free-flight weather: the bubble, the emagram, breezes, with images that stay with you.
- Hubert Aupetit, Les visiteurs du ciel, Rétine. The sequel to the previous book, more focused on flying and on reading the sky.
- Dennis Pagen, Understanding the Sky, Sport Aviation Publications. The English-language reference, very thorough on thermals, terrain and waves.
- Burkhard Martens, Thermal Flying (Thermikfliegen), Thermikwolke; also available in French. Thermal flying and cross-country, richly illustrated with real cases.
- Bruce Goldsmith, Fifty Ways to Fly Better, Cross Country. Short tips, many of them about reading the air.
- Kelly Farina, Mastering Paragliding, Cross Country. Pilot progression, with a large part devoted to the air and to decision-making.
- Dominique Musto, Parapente : vol de distance, Les Éditions du Chemin des Crêtes. Cross-country flying in the mountains, from choosing the day to strategy in flight.
- Jean Oberson, L’émagramme, an online document on soaringmeteo.org, and the site itself: forecasts and explanations for gliding and free flight.
Mountain weather and hiking
- Jean-Jacques Thillet and Dominique Schueller, Petit manuel de météo montagne, Glénat. The pocket book for hikers and mountaineers: clouds, fronts, foehn, thunderstorms, seen through a forecaster’s eyes.
- Météo-France (the French national weather service), Bulletins montagne (the mountain bulletins) and Bulletin d’estimation du risque d’avalanche (the avalanche bulletin), on meteofrance.com. The reference texts, written for each massif.
- World Meteorological Organization (WMO), International Cloud Atlas (cloudatlas.wmo.int). The official classification, with photographs of every genus, species and supplementary feature.
Training
- Fédération française de vol libre, the French hang-gliding and paragliding federation (ffvl.fr): training curriculum, pilot ratings (brevets), and the schools’ theory documents. The “passeport de vol libre” (the federation’s pilot progression booklet) and the beginners’ booklets cover the weather a pilot needs.
- Paragliding schools and mountain professionals: no book can replace a day of weather explained at launch, with the sky over your head.
This list is only a guide; the books listed exist in several editions, and some are out of print but can be found second-hand.