labbadabba
Pattern Altitude
Did a WX workshop this past weekend with FAA ARTCC weather guys and the NWS/NOAA. Really awesome stuff. Our keynote speaker was a bit of a local KC pilot celebrity. Johnny Rowlands has been doing aerial traffic and weather spotting in the metro since 1983 and has been under hire with basically every local TV station and radio outlet since I can remember.
His spiel was in regard to thunderstom avoidance, but if you're caught in a thunderstorm, particularly a supercell, what do you do? His advice was to fly to the SW quadrant of the storm where the intake jet is located. A supercell is basically a mini-low pressure system and the low is located at the back-end of the cloud. As that low circulates it sucks in clean high-energy air and is dispersed into the cloud. (This is where you get the hook echo) But that air is usually clear albeit turbulent.
He warned tho not turn north after passing the cloud as there is a very strong downdrafts as the prevailing wind slams against the back of the cell and is forced downwards.
The final piece of advice was also interesting. When flying up to a tornado (within 1 mile) he flys 500 AGL or less if he can. The reason being is that at 1,000-2,000 there are a lot more developed up/downdrafts but at <500 AGL those downdrafts disperse as the spread across the ground. He says you get a lot more mechanical turbulence but you don't run as much risk of getting driven into the ground or sucked up into the cloud.
Anyway, I have no intention of ever flying a mile away from a 'nader much less a supercell but it was interesting nonetheless. He showed a video of a tornado from beginning to end shot in 2004 in a Jet Ranger. Apparently it was the first time a tornado has been ever filmed up close from the air for that length of time.
Dude's a little bit crazy...
His spiel was in regard to thunderstom avoidance, but if you're caught in a thunderstorm, particularly a supercell, what do you do? His advice was to fly to the SW quadrant of the storm where the intake jet is located. A supercell is basically a mini-low pressure system and the low is located at the back-end of the cloud. As that low circulates it sucks in clean high-energy air and is dispersed into the cloud. (This is where you get the hook echo) But that air is usually clear albeit turbulent.
He warned tho not turn north after passing the cloud as there is a very strong downdrafts as the prevailing wind slams against the back of the cell and is forced downwards.
The final piece of advice was also interesting. When flying up to a tornado (within 1 mile) he flys 500 AGL or less if he can. The reason being is that at 1,000-2,000 there are a lot more developed up/downdrafts but at <500 AGL those downdrafts disperse as the spread across the ground. He says you get a lot more mechanical turbulence but you don't run as much risk of getting driven into the ground or sucked up into the cloud.
Anyway, I have no intention of ever flying a mile away from a 'nader much less a supercell but it was interesting nonetheless. He showed a video of a tornado from beginning to end shot in 2004 in a Jet Ranger. Apparently it was the first time a tornado has been ever filmed up close from the air for that length of time.
Dude's a little bit crazy...
