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Hail damage Germany

These radar antennae are so small they probably give a false sense of security and are not worth the drag or cost of maintenance?

You sometimes see NA Beech Bonanzas with wing mounted radar dishes, I sort of get it on a pressurised SET operating at FL240 and above, but not sure these dishes are safety enhancing at NA GA cruising levels.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

Who am I to say that such a thing is impossible, but I have never seen them develop that quickly, either flying or looking up at them from the ground. I have seen CB’s start dumping their contents in a matter of seconds, but not growing immensely as described

Last Edited by aart at 16 Aug 16:08
Private field, Mallorca, Spain

Climate change 🙂

France

Blimey that is surely some drak flying inside a cell, surely, their stormscope was crying few minutes earlier ?!

At FL140 even when avoiding CB/TS visually, the downwind side (CB forward motion) could be VMC but still very turbulent and full of hail unless you give it a good distance, the same thing on the ground you tend to get lightning first, hail second, before heavy rain hits as CB/TS cuts through

My close encounters were non WX radar or stormscope, you just turn into wind untill the sound & turbulence stops to find VMC

Last Edited by Ibra at 16 Aug 16:27
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

Regarding Wx radars, a friend of mine flies 777s and says the Wx radar is basically a waste of time. I can’t imagine the little ones such as those fitted to TBM, C210 etc are any better

United Kingdom

Regarding Wx radars, a friend of mine flies 777s and says the Wx radar is basically a waste of time.

In my experience the 777 weather radar is very good.

always learning
LO__, Austria

Will be interesting to know what the pilot use to fly his B777 in convective weather if the WX radar is useless?

Besides keeping good pax comfort, the B777 airframe is way “more fragile” in CB/TS than C210, the G-V envelope is bloody tight, however, the reliable GE & PW engines can crunch load of water, ice and hail all day alone with no issues…

Last Edited by Ibra at 16 Aug 22:07
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

I think weather radar when properly understood is an essential MEL item. I would be reluctant to launch into heavy IMC without mine operating. For tactical weather avoidance it is vastly superior to stormscope or datalink weather as it is real time, controllable by the pilot.

Even my small RDR2000 10” based dish unit is superb at helping to thread around significant storms that are painting precipitation. Use of a weather radar, from interpretation to correct tilt control is a little understood science and it takes dedication to learn how to use one correctly.

Once you invest the time into it, and calibrate experience by flying with the mark one eye ball, comparing actual returns to what you can see, it is a brilliant essential tool.

Archie Trammell was an expert at teaching weather radar operation. He sadly passed away a few years ago, but his course (DVD/extensive written notes) still form the bedrock of today’s radar training courses. Coincidently I am in the middle of reviewing the course again, and it is still as relevant now as it was when he wrote it about 30 years ago.

I was fortunate to be in correspondence with Archie when I was first learning to use my radar and he was kind enough to spend time with me, helping to adapt his techniques which were predominately targeted at larger air transport category radar to my smaller radar.

Cheers – E

eal
Lovin' it
VTCY VTCC VTBD

Why did the engine stop?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

On 15/10/91, at 09.30 local time, I departed Grand Junction KGJT VFR for Vernal, Utah solo in a Pa28. As I climbed I noticed what I thought was smoke to the SW. I could see through it. A flash caught my attention and I realised there was lightning. It then solidified into a CB. As another formed I turned back. There were three thunderstorms in a line as I joined the circuit. I landed at 10.40.
As I’d booked for the day, the FBO was, I was told, not happy. By 12.00 the thunderstorms had reached the airfield and lasted all day.
They’d been forecast for late afternoon. After that, I was a trusted customer.
Arriving at EGPE Inverness in late May, about 16.00 local to fly to a Glenforsa Fly-in, a row of large CBs stretched across the route. A phone call confirmed there was a clear route north of them. By the time I took-off at 17.20, they had collapsed and I flew direct

Maoraigh
EGPE, United Kingdom
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