Strike finder thoughts...

CharlieD3

CharlieD3

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CharlieD3
Back in the day, I remember seeing ads for StrikeFinder... It fit in a standard instrument hole 3&1/4" IIRC.

It detected lightning. And plotted the "strike" on it's radar like display.

"Poor man's weather radar, I guess.

Occasionally, I see them listed as equipment on used GA aircraft for sale still.

I always thought they were a good idea. And I tried to get the plant I worked at to purchase one for one of the control rooms in an area where we did not start certain highly explosive (potentially) chemical reactions in severe weather. They didn't purchase, so if there were severe thunderstorm warnings in the area, we would not start. That could mean a delay for no reason, as the storm might pass 10-50 miles away or more.

Is a StrikeFinder a valuable tool for IFR, VFR, MVFR... today?
 
With modern ADSB it’s less important unless you are IFR and dodging thunderstorms. I prefer to stay VFR if scattered thunderstorms are in the area. They always say “don’t use for thunderstorm penetration”
If I did want to go dancing with thunderstorms, I’d want radar, adsb wx, and strikefinder.
 
I have one, it gives a lot of what I expect are false indications. VFR I would trust my eyes over the gadget but IFR with any storms in the area I am definitely watching it. ADS-B data is as much as 15 minutes old or something close to that, the stormscope is realtime.
 
cowman said:
I have one, it gives a lot of what I expect are false indications. VFR I would trust my eyes over the gadget but IFR with any storms in the area I am definitely watching it. ADS-B data is as much as 15 minutes old or something close to that, the stormscope is realtime.
Click to expand...
Yes on the real time.... And, if I'm not mistaken, lightning is caused by friction... convection... The most dangerous part of the storm... Where hail is born.
 
It can be more useful than ADS-B or XM just because it is onboard and real-time. With experience, it is a good tool to have if you insist on flying IMC in convective weather, and aren't equipped with on board radar.
 
They were the bees knees for folks who would brave embedded crap in light aircraft a few decades ago. Kinda a bare step up from having looked at a prog chart and listening to an empty ADF frequency to see how scary the crashes sounded. LOL.
 
I personally still think that a storm scope is a fantastic piece of equipment. You do have to know how to use it and how to interpret it, and the only way to do that is to fly around thunderstorms. However if you do (and it’s a good one, the WX-500 is my favorite) it really helps you distinguish between normal precip vs convection. Keep in mind that XM has a lag and only counts cloud to ground strikes.

I actually wish the MU2 had one.
 
So, I share this story every so often.

Flying in Florida near the west coast headed south. IFR but VMC. Summer time and typical build ups.

Strike finder shows a cluster of lightning right in front of me. I have Sirius xm radar, it shows nothing. I have ADS-B radar, it shows nothing. I ask the controller for deviations left and he consents but states that he sees nothing on his radar.

I pass around the edge of a storm cloud that I probably would have that nothing about penetrating.

Over the next 30 minutes, the radar quickly went from green to yellow to purple.

The Strike Finder gives you different information than the radar does.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have one in the Venture and scoffed at it at first. Without ADSb weather I didn’t trust it and didn’t see a whole lot of value in it. Having both on board now is a game changer. It’s as close to true Radar as you can have. I can compare the strikes to the ADSb info and have a really good understanding of the weather. They sorta work to confirm one another.

coming back from Maine last summer there was a band of precip blocking my path. The band extended from the coast to the Washington no fly zone. I was either going way off shore or find a hole. ADSb showed a small gap that kept changing with each update. Approach noticed the same thing on their radar but wasn’t sure and didn’t have anyone who had passed through it. As I got closer, sure enough the two cells showed up on the strike finder even though they were not visible at that time. Was able to confirm the radar vectors in conjunction with ADSb and the strike finder that would would shoot the gap and it turned out to be spot on. Not even raining between the two cells. Without the strike finder I might have either diverted to an alternate or gone out over the coast.

with that said, if it breaks I doubt I would make an effort to repair or replace. I am glad it is on board though.
 
Grum.Man said:
I have one in the Venture and scoffed at it at first...
...

with that said, if it breaks I doubt I would make an effort to repair or replace. I am glad it is on board though.
Click to expand...

Why wouldn't you replace/repair a device that proved so valuable in at least one case, and probably others?

Is it cost?

As a strictly VFR pilot, I have flown in rain.. obviously not thunderstorms... But, in the summertime, Tstorms can crop up, imbedded in "just rain."

Seems it would be a useful tool. Yeah, Tstorms show up on ADSB, but not real time....

As was said... It's the closest to real radar you can get... And far less expensive.

Just wondering.. and discussing and thinking out loud...
 
CharlieD3 said:
Why wouldn't you replace/repair a device that proved so valuable in at least one case, and probably others?

Is it cost?

As a strictly VFR pilot, I have flown in rain.. obviously not thunderstorms... But, in the summertime, Tstorms can crop up, imbedded in "just rain."

Seems it would be a useful tool. Yeah, Tstorms show up on ADSB, but not real time....

As was said... It's the closest to real radar you can get... And far less expensive.

Just wondering.. and discussing and thinking out loud...
Click to expand...
I guess it depends on price. Few hundred bucks maybe, few grand and I would put that towards other panel updates.
 
The work in a power company control center is at its most challenging as a thunderstorm passes through.

Two of the management team were pilots, and when the strike finder first appeared on the market, they recommended the office buy one, and install the screen at the desk that co ordinates with the overhead line department.

Within a few months, they were accurately pre positioning line men ahead of the storm, and repairs started as soon as the wires went down. The line men were not completely happy to be there when it was happening, preferring to arrive after the storm was over, or at least tapering off.

A year or two later, when a much more advanced model came out, the original was retired, and replaced by 2 of the new model, one installed at the Overhead lines office, so they could also do advance planning for major storms..

The pilots that had recommended it bought the old one and installed it in their plane, and swore by its value.

I have been in the control center when a storm was approaching, passed through, and faded away. The accuracy of the DIRECTION was amazing. Distance is approximate, but when flying, you do not care much how far off to the side the storm is, as long as you are not flying into it. That is what the Strike finder allows you to do, accurately.

By modern standards they are relatively expensive, but if you have one, it should be well worth repairing if it failed.

One for sale on eBay that is guaranteed to be working would be a good investment if you fly IFR.
 
geezer said:
The work in a power company control center is at its most challenging as a thunderstorm passes through.

Two of the management team were pilots, and when the strike finder first appeared on the market, they recommended the office buy one, and install the screen at the desk that co ordinates with the overhead line department.

Within a few months, they were accurately pre positioning line men ahead of the storm, and repairs started as soon as the wires went down. The line men were not completely happy to be there when it was happening, preferring to arrive after the storm was over, or at least tapering off.

A year or two later, when a much more advanced model came out, the original was retired, and replaced by 2 of the new model, one installed at the Overhead lines office, so they could also do advance planning for major storms..

The pilots that had recommended it bought the old one and installed it in their plane, and swore by its value.

I have been in the control center when a storm was approaching, passed through, and faded away. The accuracy of the DIRECTION was amazing. Distance is approximate, but when flying, you do not care much how far off to the side the storm is, as long as you are not flying into it. That is what the Strike finder allows you to do, accurately.

By modern standards they are relatively expensive, but if you have one, it should be well worth repairing if it failed.

One for sale on eBay that is guaranteed to be working would be a good investment if you fly IFR.
Click to expand...
Yeah... I wish we had had one at our plant... Would have made us more productive...
 
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