Lets talk Thunderstorms

Jimmy cooper said:
Thanks. Yes he did. So what chance would I have?! None.
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I just received my ASEL in North Carolina 5 months before this incident, and it blew my mind (and hurt my confidence) that a super pilot could get himself in such a situation.

If I recall, I think part of the blame went to ATC that failed to give him Wx advisories.
 
JasonM said:
Well, the decision was made for me on the other end before takeoff (meeting canceled). I checked the weather and would have been able to beat the storms out and it still looks like it would have been an uneventful flight today. I was more concerned about the trip home, so I will be interested to see how things progress today. I'm going to keep a close eye on it and put myself out there during my planned times/positions for fun. I was looking forward to the challenge, but when ever something this easy can change plans, I am certain it was for a reason.
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Internet flying the weather is often an enlightening experience. Have fun watching it develop.
 
JasonM said:
Well, the decision was made for me on the other end before takeoff (meeting canceled). I checked the weather and would have been able to beat the storms out and it still looks like it would have been an uneventful flight today. I was more concerned about the trip home, so I will be interested to see how things progress today. I'm going to keep a close eye on it and put myself out there during my planned times/positions for fun. I was looking forward to the challenge, but when ever something this easy can change plans, I am certain it was for a reason.
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Great way to learn! See where the weather is real time and see how your planning would have worked out.


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Right now I would be landing back in FDK and getting ready for my last leg back near PIT. Looks like today would have gone without a hitch at all. Never did see anything that would have caused me to divert all day.
 
Thanks for all the good input guys. I will be sure to apply this thread to my next trip with a similar forecast. Maybe tomorrow :)
 
Keep in mind that when flying around thunderstorms, each storm is different and each day is different. Storms are about like wild bulls. You can have some idea of what they might do, but ultimately you don't know and they're bigger than you. That said, there are storms somewhere in the world every day, and there are planes flying around those storms every day as well. The key is good decision making to do the best you can to avoid getting in a bad spot. And if you get in a bad spot, use a clear head to get yourself out of it.

Really, it's a practice thing. If you have a local pilot you know who's familiar with flying around storms who can go on some flights to help you learn, all the better. I had a few students who were plenty capable and experienced pilots, but my role as instructor was to simply teach them how to use their fancy on-board weather equipment to put their plane to better use.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Keep in mind that when flying around thunderstorms, each storm is different and each day is different. Storms are about like wild bulls. You can have some idea of what they might do, but ultimately you don't know and they're bigger than you. That said, there are storms somewhere in the world every day, and there are planes flying around those storms every day as well. The key is good decision making to do the best you can to avoid getting in a bad spot. And if you get in a bad spot, use a clear head to get yourself out of it.

Really, it's a practice thing. If you have a local pilot you know who's familiar with flying around storms who can go on some flights to help you learn, all the better. I had a few students who were plenty capable and experienced pilots, but my role as instructor was to simply teach them how to use their fancy on-board weather equipment to put their plane to better use.
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OP: There's your answer. Couldn't be said better.
 
nddons said:
Not an astronaut, but uber test pilot Scott Crossfield, the first pilot to fly at twice the speed of sound.

He died on 19 April 2006 in a Cessna 210A in a thunderstorm.
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At the time, I was at VPC, about 30 miles south of the crash site, picking my airplane up from the IA who had done some work on it. We stood outside looking to the North at the big convective area, and commented that it was no time to be flying a light aircraft in the vicinity. Then I cranked the airplane and taxied to my hangar.

Later in the day we got word of the crash.
 
FWIW, I flew Durham NC into KAGC today. KPIT would have been a little tougher when I came in but it is a timing thing.

You can look at FlightAware to see what it looked like - N215TG. I've never been able to figure out when the Nexrad pic is taken for Flightaware images but it looks to me like the picture corresponds to about 45 mins into the the 2 hour flight. I was IFR and cleared direct. All the kinks in the leg are deviations for buildups. This could have been flown VFR with a bit more deviation.

None of the buildups were particularly big and everything was slow moving and slow developing. I filed for 8 and climbed to 10 to stay above the 'dry' Cumulus so I could see the taller buildups. When I got close to the weather at AGC, I had them take me down below cloud base so I could see the rain shafts. No need flying at 5-7 and creating a simulated embedded T-storm situation.

Clarksburg approach was particularly helpful in suggesting some deviations, though I depended on my ADSB sourced Nexrad for the big picture (along with the Mark 20 eyeballs).

If you are VFR on these flights there is every reason to use flight following to help with the vectoring. If you can figure out what to do using Nexrad, and ATC suggests vectors consistent with that you see, that's reassuring.

I grew up in Pgh and remember the grayness but jeez. I've been there 5 times over the last 45 days or so and I've gotten wet on 8 out of 10 arrivals/departures. Some of it was snow. I really like NC....
 
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