Airborne Weather Sensors

Monday, September 25, 2023 at 07:10 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) and ground-based Nexrad provide strategic, often delayed weather data, making them unsuitable for real-time thunderstorm avoidance, which requires additional resources and pilot judgment.
Airborne weather radar is the only true tactical thunderstorm detection tool, but it is heavy, complex to operate, and requires proper training and understanding of settings like tilt and range to differentiate storms from ground returns.
Sferic devices (e.g., Stormscope) detect lightning in real-time as a strategic tool, but their range is an estimate, and they may not detect all turbulent or rainy weather without electrical activity.
The most effective thunderstorm avoidance strategy is to stay in visual conditions, while understanding that Air Traffic Control (ATC) can only offer deviation clearances, not specific 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.