Stupid Question, (I think).

[surplus1]

I used to do cloud seeding on thunderstorms in south Texas last year. We would never penetrate the body of a thunderstorm. We would pop flares into developing parts of the storm at mid altitudes (18-22k), or prowl around under bases to release silver iodine particles into updrafts.

If you're paid to do it, then you take your chances (like hurricane research). Otherwise, "prowling around under bases" has been known to decrease the longevity of more than one pilot.

Beware! Under the base of a TRW or under the overhang may be better than in the thick of it but definitely aren't the best places to be.

 

[414Flyer]

If you're paid to do it, then you take your chances (like hurricane research). Otherwise, "prowling around under bases" has been known to decrease the longevity of more than one pilot.

Beware! Under the base of a TRW or under the overhang may be better than in the thick of it but definitely aren't the best places to be.

Well keep in mind I also fairly set parameters though. I usually flew the 340 at a certain power setting and altitude, and looked for updrafts that would yield an indicated airspeed of about 155 in the 340.

If my airspeed started getting higher than that, while maintaining that altitude, we moved away from the storm. If it dropped lower, we moved a bit closer.

It was pretty routine usually, and often was just circling the base of a cell, or going back and forth just in advance of a line.. I think only about twice did that get pretty memorable. I remember once over San Antonio, I hit a pretty big updraft and the plane starting going up pretty quickly..Even with power pulled back, plane pointed down quite a bit, I still wasnt going down much at all.

Hitting cells higher up with flares was different, but usually routine too. The sound an iced up tail makes when stalling though is interesting

 

[hyper]

414flyer,

At one point, I was looking into getting into seeding. How did you like it? It looks like pretty interesting work. How did you guys monitor and determine your success with the seeding?

Thanks

 

[surplus1]

Some time ago (many years) an airline named Braniff (the original) lost an L-188 in the Southwest (can't remember exactly where). If I remember correctly the airframe broke up while skirting some cells, in the clear, but underneath. I don't know where to find it but, if you have the interest, check out the report of what happened and how. Quite a bit of reasearch by a famous Japanese born meteorologist working out of the Chicago area, at the time, was involved. That gentleman knows more about thunderstorms than most anyone else. It changed a lot of thinking. Might be worth reading if you can find it.

 

[Timebuilder]

Isn't that the guy that did all of that work on microbursts?

 

[414Flyer]

414flyer,

At one point, I was looking into getting into seeding. How did you like it? It looks like pretty interesting work. How did you guys monitor and determine your success with the seeding?

Thanks

It is definitely some interesting flying that you will not do anywhere else. Do not expect to fly a lot though. From April to September last year, I flew about 90 hours on storms, and half of that was last week of august to first week september. Either you dont fly for month, then you fly your butt off when there are lots of storms.

Right now is a harder time to get hired for cloud seeding, at least with my old company, since some states and countries have cut back funding for it.

Its not something you can make a career from really, but you learn more about storms, (although I will never pretend to be an expert about them), and have some fun flying.

The results are not something that you can see really from short term, although some say you can see a different in the storm. At the most, it gives about a long term increase of about 10 percent more rain, when done right and at the right times.

The company I worked for has a webpage about it if you want to learn more. http://www.weathermod.com/wxmod.htm

 

[bobbysamd]

It's probably Dr. Fujita, http://www.tornadoproject.com/fujitascale/fscale.htm .

 

[Timebuilder]

Ah, the guy with the Fujita Scale.

Thought so.

 

[hyper]

414flyer,

Sounds very interesting and some fun flying! Thanks for the insight.

Fly safe