Detection Tools, Then And Now

In the beginning, airborne lightning detection was a bug, not a feature. Older radios, especially the automatic direction finder (ADF), tended to fall down when thunderstorms and associated lightning were about. Communications became filled with static and the ADF needle pointed to the lightning, not the desired station. Soon, enterprising pilots figured out the ADF was pointing at a dangerous part of the thunderstorm and used it as an avoidance tool, coarse though it was. Then, weather radar become small and light enough to routinely be fitted to transports, relegating the ADF to pointing at outer markers again.

Key Takeaways:

• Airborne lightning detection evolved from an unintended function of older radios (like ADFs) that pilots used for crude storm avoidance, to dedicated "sferics" devices offering more accurate azimuth and range estimates.
• Today's sophisticated technology provides pilots with near-real-time lightning information, viewable on electronic maps, serving as a key tool alongside visual observation and datalinked weather for effective thunderstorm avoidance.

Key takeaways sponsored by Aviator Pro | Start Your Training ->

See a mistake? Contact us.