Radar Gain

[Lead Sled]

Radar is a funny thing. Everyone pretty much knows what it does - or thinks they do...

You got that right. Perhaps the three most misunderstood aspects of weather radar operation are 1) tilt control; 2) range settings; and 3) understanding attenuation. You're only fooling yourself if you think you know how to operate and interpret weather radar if you've never taken a formal radar course - and I don't care how experienced you are. I'd like to have the interest on the interest on the money that's been wasted circumnavigating cities during thunderstorm season.

I'm fortunate to fly an aircraft that is equipped with both weather radar and a Stormscope. It does make things a little easier (Provided you know how to properly use and interpret the weather radar.) If you're flying aircraft with both types of equipment you typically use the Stormscope to decide what you're going to deviate around and you use the radar for the actual deviation, its resolution is much better. Having both systems is by far the best and it also provides you with some redundancy. The absolute best combination is a Stormscope matched with one of the Vertical Profile radars. I had one of those in the Lear 35 I flew. It made interpreting what you're seeing on the display silly simple.

'Sled

 

[Lead Sled]

Hey TIS thanks for the extra info. Is there anywhere that sells a Dave Guinn radar seminar on video?

Check out www.davegwinn.com

'Sled

 

[TIS]

Hey TIS thanks for the extra info. Is there anywhere that sells a Dave Guinn radar seminar on video?

No I don't know of anyone whose produced it for sale.

I tried to find out more about what it takes to get him to speak to your group a while back. You have to go through Honeywell to do it so I suspect that if there's a video it's theirs as much as it is his.

Some of the impact of his presentation would be lost in a video anyway - particularly when he demonstrates the penetrating power of low frequency waves - simply by speaking in a very low register. He does this as part of showing what center radar is capable of in terms of weather depiction - if you know what to ask for. But even still, some of it's better than none.

TIS

 

[TIS]

Check out www.davegwinn.com

'Sled

Well there you have it. I guess I should've checked before I answered.

TIS

 

[FlyChicaga]

Great thread.