Weather

WSI has developed and installed a system that allows airplanes to collect weather data that is difficult to predict or measure by other means, namely turbulence. Called Total Turbulence, the software has been integrated into several commercial airliners, which are automatically distributing the data to provide information to other aircraft. The software has the potential […]

What’s more harrowing than a tough crosswind landing? Well, a crosswind landing at night. As we’ve seen, the Birmingham Airport in the UK provides endless challenges day and night for pilots taking off and landing at the windy airport. But as daunting as the shaky ascents and descents can be, there’s no doubt that the […]

Lockheed Martin and Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) have both won contract bids to provide DUATS for a year, the FAA recently announced, meaning Data Transformation Corporation (DTC) will no longer provide service as it has for the past 25 years since DUATS first became available in 1989. The new contracts, which can be renewed each […]

The fast-moving cold front bristled against the western edges of Washington’s Cascade Mountains. Rain showers and gusty winds swirled through the valleys as thick clouds enveloped the rising terrain. Darkness had long since fallen that February night as clock hands edged past 10 p.m. Air traffic controller Jared Mike plugged his headset into the workstation […]

After we’ve been flying for a while as pilots, things get a lot easier. Our hands and eyes begin to go to the right places in the cockpit naturally, and the body just knows how much response the airplane will make to each control movement. We become comfortable with aviation communications. We get to know […]

Despite the hard work from every segment of aviation, we have to reluctantly admit that there are still unforeseeable factors that can lead to incidents and accidents. From TWA Flight 800 to Air France 447, seemingly standard missions can be hit by disaster, with flight crews left unable to respond adequately, if at all. Through […]

Hovering over a counter in Operations, I tapped at my iPad screen. I was reviewing WSI weather information for our flight south from JFK to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The satellite picture indicated a wispy but clearly defined line of cloud cover that stretched in a curved path from the Florida Keys all the way to […]

Fliers landing at Birmingham Airport in the United Kingdom over the past few months encountered some pretty skill-testing conditions as strong crosswinds and wind gusts pummeled the runway area. Coupled with the additional challenge of an unlevel runway, the weather almost proved too much for some of the airplanes. Check out the footage in this […]

It was a lousy day for a VFR trip — not unusual in coastal Southern California in the spring. We get stratus clouds that come in from the ocean and create low ceilings that last for days. On this particular day we needed to get a package up to Corona Airport, and I did not […]

With the iPad propped up on the restaurant table, I picked away at my veggie omelet. Not entirely confident that the almost cartoonish radar data of the flight planning program was presenting an accurate picture, I switched to my professional weather rock — the WSI program. I thought it apropos that I had spent the […]