Weather Tactics

Advancing technology puts weather downloads in the cockpit alongside the stalwart radar and sferics. The ideal setup is driven by budget

Snow only keeps wimps on the ground, right? Maybe, but maybe not. It depends on where youre going

Getting your airplane, your skills and your judgment tuned up for winter flight takes extraordinary attention to detail

Weather info delivered right to your cockpit is finally here, but the system has a few warts

On the same dark and stormy night, one pilot found a way, another stayed, the outcome determined by equipment, timing and geography

Visibility measurements at the airport dont mean you can see the field from that far away. The wicked world of slant-range vis

The student pilot was headed north-west on one of his first solo cross-country flights. The planned track took him from Dalhart, Texas, to the Denver, Colo., area. Preflight weather contained nothing ominous or unusual.Once airborne, everything was going routinely, except that the clouds began to thicken imperceptibly as he eased across the border into Colorado and a light chop began to develop.

Suddenly, the pilot found a solid overcast beneath him with thickening clouds and even more rapidly deteriorating weather.

On the ground, convective Sigmets unexpectedly appeared – as they often can in areas near the significant influence of the Rocky Mountains.Insidiously, two distinct l…

Many pilots base the go-no-go decision on ceiling and visibility. Yet the accident record shows there are other considerations of equal or greater importance. For example, how many times have you delayed or canceled a flight because of forecast or reported severe turbulence enroute or at your destination?

The hazard of thunderstorms is obvious and can be visualized. However, high and low level clear air turbulence is often treated casually. When clear air turbulence is encountered above 15,000 feet, it is referred to as turbulence encountered outside of convective clouds. At lower altitudes it is simply mechanical or low level turbulence.

Low level turbulence often takes the form of…

The accident involving JFK Jr. has focused a lot of attention on the plight of VFR pilots flying in marginal visibility and at night because it is a common cause of fatal accidents.

Getting boxed in by weather is easy to do, but preventing it is almost as easy. Dealing with it, while a little more difficult, isnt that hard either.

For non-instrument rated pilots, the first consideration is the pre-flight weather briefing. Despite the fact that a 1,000-foot ceiling and 3 miles visibility is legally VMC, it is not practical to attempt VFR flight beyond sight of the airport in such conditions.

Outside of the obvious problems of navigation and aircraft control, your ability to spot…

One clear, smooth night about 35 years ago, I was flying a load of passengers over Virginias Blue Ridge Mountains enroute from Dayton, Ohio, Washington, D.C. Suddenly, the Convair started losing altitude – big time. The airspeed dropped 60 knots in what seemed like just a couple of seconds.

I jammed the throttles as far forward as I could get them, heard the throaty roar of the two Pratt & Whitney engines as they ramped up to full power – but absolutely nothing happened.

I didnt know it at the time, but the combination of winds and jagged terrain below were teaching me my first lesson about mountain flying.

Just as suddenly as it began, the airplane stopped descending and righted…