METAR abbreviation "DL" - I should know this but cannot find it

[jonkster]

Embarrassed to say but with the new ICAO METAR/SPECI stuff what does DL stand for?

Cannot seem to find a reference to it - I must have missed something.

eg METAR YSBK 310630Z AUTO 15010KT 9999 // SCT074 OVC085 17/14 Q1009
RMK RF00.6/001.6 DL-N/DL-E/DL-SE/DL-NW

Looks like there is DL in the North, East, SE and NW but what is DL? (I am assuming this came with the new ICAO stuff mentioned in AIC H60/20)

[KRviator]

DL = Distant Lightning according to the latest AIP (https://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aip/pending/aip/complete_05NOV2020.pdf).

[brokenagain]

Distant Lightning.

[jonkster]

cheers - should have thought to look in next AIP!

[SDN Superstar]

A new level of the children of the magenta...

Asking PPRUNE before you read the manuals!

[geeup]

Why do we still have these abbreviations?

[derjodel]

A new level of the children of the magenta...

Asking PPRUNE before you read the manuals!

Indeed! Can you imagine, back in the days before the internet, that somebody would ask their colleagues before reading the manual!

Everyone knows that studying manual in solitude is the only way to perfection!

[Hamley]

I didn’t know what I meant the first time I saw it either.

The BoM knowledge centre page is a simple format to find this kind of stuff too:

Knowledge Centre (http://www.bom.gov.au/aviation/knowledge-centre/)

[SpamCanDriver]

A new level of the children of the magenta...

Asking PPRUNE before you read the manuals!

A new level of CRM for pre magenta Sky Gods :rolleyes:

[Middle.Marker]

Indeed! Can you imagine, back in the days before the internet, that somebody would ask their colleagues before reading the manual!

Everyone knows that studying manual in solitude is the only way to perfection!

ahaha, apply cold water to burn

[pineteam]

A new level of the children of the magenta...

Asking PPRUNE before you read the manuals!

I don’t see the issue. Sometimes you can not find the information in the manual that easily and it’s faster to get the answer here. Never heard of “DL” in a Metar before. So thanks for the thread starter for asking.

[OutsideCAS]

I don’t see the issue.

There isn't one. To ask if you have any doubt is not a sin, the fact you've queried amongst peers should be lauded if you are having trouble finding the meaning or understanding of something. To quote the person who criticised this - "It’s pretty sad to see how quickly pilots turn on each other." - perhaps your comment in July might be worth re-visiting.

[WhatShortage]

A new level of the children of the magenta...

Asking PPRUNE before you read the manuals!
Of course, why would you ask to your colleagues and show that you don't know something instead of shutting your mouth and act as if you know it? People like you are the reason CRM is an actual and very important thing in an airline. In aviation terms, you're the accident we all learn about.

[Rt Hon Jim Hacker MP]

Pity this stuff isn't in plane English.....

[Brilliant Stuff]

No such thing as a stupid question!

For some of us it's easier to learn from a human than from a dry book written in such a manner it's difficult to take the information on!

[MAN777]

Well the best thing about asking on a forum is that we all get to know what DL stands for 😄👍

[jonkster]

nah I probably deserved the ribbing. I saw it, assumed it was part of the new TAF3/METAR stuff that is being rolled out. Should've looked in the AIP first.

[JOSHUA]

Of course, why would you ask to your colleagues and show that you don't know something instead of shutting your mouth and act as if you know it? People like you are the reason CRM is an actual and very important thing in an airline. In aviation terms, you're the accident we all learn about.

20 years in and I wholeheartedly agree. There was never a worse person to sit next to, than someone who made out they knew everything. To this day, I don’t and I’m not afraid to ask a colleague for a steer if needs be.
I see no harm in the OP asking the question here, we all learn something and I’d bet I’m not the only one who also didn’t know the answer!

[brokenagain]

Pity this stuff isn't in plane English.....

Oh the irony.

[Pugilistic Animus]

I thought DL meant inadvertant taxiway landing:}:ouch:

[Black Maria]

Google is your friend!

From the BOM AU website..http://www.bom.gov.au/aviation/taf3/TAF-reference-card-FinalNEW.pdf

Date on the bottom of the card is the 4th of November, 2020.......today is the 1st.

[Aussie Bob]

Date on the bottom of the card is the 4th of November, 2020.......today is the 1st.

Isn't the 4th the day we start to celebrate the re-election of The Don?

[ShyTorque]

nah I probably deserved the ribbing. I saw it, assumed it was part of the new TAF3/METAR stuff that is being rolled out. Should've looked in the AIP first.

Thanks for posting the question. I can’t recall having seen this abbreviation before, despite having been in the profession for over forty years.

[Rt Hon Jim Hacker MP]

Oh the irony.
I did wonder how long it would take.....

[Capn Bloggs]

Google is your friend!
Dunno about that. I did a search for DL and there was nothing BOM-like in the first 5 million hits! :E

[717tech]

Thanks for the heads up Jonkster!

[jmmoric]

Neat, a lightning detector (I'm gonna sit with the signalling lamp all day if that is what it takes to try and trigger it).

I'd think that the usual one you'd see would be VCTS then, for the rest of the world that does not use the DL code.

Unless you get beyond 16 kilometres (then you're outside the "vicinity" reportings").

[Slezy9]

Oh the irony.

whoosh!

perhaps he should’ve added /s

[2211race]

Nothing wrong with asking, ever!
After all, "the manuals"... now, how many are there again?
CARs, CASRs & all their manuals of standards, CAOs, AIP, ERSA, CAAPs, ACs and I'm sure I've missed another half dozen or so...

[KRviator]

Nothing wrong with asking, ever!
After all, "the manuals"... now, how many are there again?
CARs, CASRs & all their manuals of standards, CAOs, AIP, ERSA, CAAPs, ACs and I'm sure I've missed another half dozen or so...Does this help? Even if it is American... :D
http://youtu.be/QgyLEE2TA-I

[Pugilistic Animus]

He missed EGPWS... loved it!

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