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Aircraft Radar: Your Techniques

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For those aircraft without EGPWS, this method works spot on for terrain avoidance. This came from Archie of course...

Tilt radar down until the distance out you paint the ground is the same as your altitude in AGL... example: you're 25,000' AGL, tilt to paint at the 25nm range.

Now tilt up 6 degrees.

You now have your radar set to paint down 400' for every 1nm forward, so at the 5nm scale, you're painting down 2000'(moutainous terrain clearance altitude). Don't let anything get inside of 5nm and you're golden.
Try this on a clear day to test it out. On final at 400' AGL, check to make sure your radar is painting ground at 1nm out.

The article goes on the explain how this method could have easily prevented that military 737 accident over in Dubrovnik a while back.


Fly
 
757BBJ_Capt said:
I have Archie Trammells little book, but some of those things he says can get you into lots of trouble about FL310.
I think you're trying to reinvent the wheel. And I agree with you, Archie's stuff could get you in a bind at altitude; but it's better than no training at all when it comes to using the weather radar. Over the years, I've had the opportunity to attend 4 or 5 of Archie Trammel's seminars (The company sent us every couple of years as part of our recurrent training program.) as well as Dave Gwinn's (Honeywell's) course and a couple of others. Dave Gwinn's course is far and away the best. I would highly recommend that you guys who have never attended a formal weather radar course to make arrangements to attend one. At one time the Honeywell course was free - you just had to reserve a slot in the various cities around the country where it is given. Check out Gwinn's website at www.davegwinn.com

'Sled
 
A good book: "Airborne Weather Radar: A user's Guide" by James C. Barr, Iowa State University Press, circa 1993.


It has comprehensive coverage of all the theory and operating techniques one would need. Written by a working airline guy.

The seminars are nice because you have someone to answer your questions, but you still need a good reference manual. Manufacturer's manuals are OK, but not as "textbooks" on the subject in general.
 
If....

... you ever flew air ambulance for Roy at B&C, then the onboard radar was the one peice of equipment that you were absolutely - positively - always - never relied on to work.

Instead, you take your right hand, palm facing down, place on your forehead as if you were shielding your eyes from the sun and then slowly move your head from left to right and repeat.

Indian Radar.
 

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