Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

5 Answers

Commercial Pilot Exam, Counter clockwise Lows

Asked by: 2176 views , ,
Commercial Pilot, Weather

Ok, this one if driving me nuts. So, the question in the test bank is "When flying with a continual left crosswind in the Northern Hemisphere you are flying into a ?" The answer is: "A low pressure system because of the counter clockwise flow". Ok, I get the counter clockwise flow around a low but how the hell can it always be from one side or the other? The airplane can be oriented in any direction. This makes no sense to me.

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

5 Answers



  1. Josh on Dec 22, 2019

    Nevermind. The question should read flying INTO a low.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. KDS on Dec 22, 2019

    Take a piece of paper and draw a series of counter-clockwise arrowed circles. Put an L in the middle for LOW. Take your pen and fly into it. Notice the wind from the left. Turn and fly out of it and notice the wind from the right.

    Does that help?

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Craig on Dec 22, 2019

    I think the question relates to Buys Ballot’s Law….
    https://www.britannica.com/science/Buys-Ballots-Law

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  4. John Scarry on Dec 24, 2019

    That question confused me too when I first read it.

    To expand on KDS. Draw the low and fly into it from the West. Now fly into it from the North, South, East. No matter how you fly into the low, the wind is from the left. As you fy out of it the wind changes and comes from the right.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  5. Craig on Dec 26, 2019

    A key to understanding the question as it relates to Buys Ballot’s Law (in the Northern Hemisphere) is that the observer has his/her back to the wind.

    See some diagrams here… memim.com/buys-ballot%27s-law.html

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.