Flight Training: practice tools

Mountain Wave and Rotor

See what strong wind over the Divide does downwind: the wave, the lee downdraft and the rotor. An interactive model built on the FAA Aviation Weather Handbook. For educational purposes only; not a substitute for mountain flying training with a qualified instructor.

A cross-section from the Continental Divide to Denver: strong west wind making a train of lee waves with lenticular clouds, a lee-side downdraft, and an airplane in the rotor near Boulder.

What you can do with it

  • Set the wind, its angle to the ridge, the stability and the moisture, and watch the wave form or disappear.
  • Drag the airplane into the wave, the lee downdraft and the rotor and see what each would feel like.
  • Four Front Range scenarios, from a chinook day to a dry wave with no warning clouds.
  • A twelve-question quiz on what the FAA handbook says, with every answer explained.

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