Read the Weather: Ice

Monday was spent in Dayton, Ohio at the Air Force Museum-one of the most interesting aviation museums in the world-with a vast selection of nearly 400 military aircraft in several huge hangars. Best of all theres no admission fee. We lost track of time and we were pushing the clock to get to Dubuque, Iowa that evening. Dave is with us again and he got a tip that the Best Buy there still has a few Sony PlayStation 4 units in stock. He doesnt realize avgas is over $6 per gallon, but you want the hours and theres probably a good local steakhouse to try. We agree, OK. Sounds good.

Editorial Staff

Wednesday, July 30, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots effectively leveraged modern datalink weather tools (e.g., XM Weather, AWC Flight Path Tool, METAR, CIP) for comprehensive flight planning and real-time in-flight monitoring while navigating challenging IMC conditions, including icing and snow, associated with an Alberta clipper.
The article details the meteorological characteristics of Alberta clippers, distinguishing their weather patterns from warm fronts, noting concentrated lift in cold conveyor belts, typically shallow icing layers (5,000-10,000 ft), and a tendency for good visibility but gusty winds due to instability.
Key weather products, such as composite radar for precipitation, METARs for exact visibility and wind, and the Current Icing Potential (CIP) for icing probability, were interpreted to make informed decisions and safely manage risks during the IFR flight.

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Monday was spent in Dayton, Ohio at the Air Force Museum—one of the most interesting aviation museums in the world—with a vast selection of nearly 400 military aircraft in several huge hangars. Best of all there’s no admission fee. We lost track of time and we were pushing the clock to get to Dubuque, Iowa that evening. Dave is with us again and he got a tip that the Best Buy there still has a few Sony PlayStation 4 units in stock. He doesn’t realize avgas is over $6 per gallon, but you want the hours and there’s probably a good local steakhouse to try. We agree, “OK. Sounds good.”