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Airborne Weather Sensors

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) and Nexrad provide strategic, often delayed weather data, which is insufficient for tactical, real-time thunderstorm avoidance due to rapid storm evolution.
  • Airborne weather radar is a tactical tool for real-time precipitation detection, requiring specific operational knowledge (often learned through self-study or mentorship), while sferic devices are strategic lightning detectors.
  • Pilots should prioritize staying in Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions and using visual cues for thunderstorm avoidance when not equipped with tactical radar, as Air Traffic Control provides only limited, indirect weather guidance.
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(Editor’s Note: This is the final contribution to a three-part series on going beyond the standard preflight weather briefing on your EFB.)

The contemporary electronic flight bag (EFB) is truly a “how did we ever live without this?” kind of tool. It can put just about any text or imagery on its display at the tap of an icon, tell us where to look for traffic and display the observations from ground-based Nexrad weather radar sites. One thing an EFB can’t do, though, is respond to questions you may have about your briefing.

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