T storms and flight planning. What level is too high for you?

James331 said:
There is a reason there is this for 135 IFR guys

”§135.175 Airborne weather radarequipment requirements.
(b) No person may begin a flight under IFR or night VFR conditions when current weather reports indicate that thunderstorms, or other potentially hazardous weather conditions that can be detected with airborne weather radar equipment, may reasonably be expected along the route to be flown, unless the airborne weather radar equipment required by paragraph (a) of this section is in satisfactory operating condition.”

Even with my pt91 personal plane I hold myself to many of the 135 regs.

You can launch into IMC with embedded CBs and you’ll probably be fine, but I would do it ;)
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Just because there are forecasts for thunderstorms, or even active thunderstorms doesn't mean one is in IMC. I like to get up to 10-12k so I can see the bad stuff visually as well as on ADS-B and avoid it. Yeah, in IMC with embedded thunderstorms is not a good place to be without live radar. I also work with ATC as most have live weather radar.

In the images I posted above, there were heavy to extreme rain in areas. I avoided those areas like the plague. On the trip south we only got a minute or two of very light misting on us. We went through a few clouds on the climb and that was it. IFR the whole way. On the second image, going north, we got more rain, but even that was light rain and not much. ATC was great with deviations left and right as well as vectors around the weather. I would not have tried the north bound trip VFR. There were lots of clouds, low and high. We ended up doing a visual approach at FHB, but on the way there the ceilings over FHB made it IMC. We were planing a GPS approach, but it all blew out over the ocean by the time we got there.
 
I went out for a flight test and tried to climb to 17500, I peaked out around 16800 and climbing at anemic 100 ft/min, density altitude was 19600. I reduced RPMs to 2600, speed was Vy+5kts, could of pushed it a little harder, but I know my conservative limits.
 
midwestpa24 said:
If you are below the bases, assuming the bases are high enough to fly safely under, you don't have to avoid the clouds. You just have to avoid the actual areas of precip which are very visible and obvious. Then you don't need any type of radar data, although XM or Nexrad at least gives you a big picture view of the situation.
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Some pretty good advice, but not sure I agree with it all. Reading the FAA circular is a good place to start.

https://www.faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/advisory_circular/ac 00-24c.pdf

Here is an excerpt, particularly on flying in clear air under a TS with no rainshaft. Usually works until it doesn't. Can be some severe dangers under a TS even when it is not precipitating.

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wayne said:
Just because there are forecasts for thunderstorms, or even active thunderstorms doesn't mean one is in IMC. I like to get up to 10-12k so I can see the bad stuff visually as well as on ADS-B and avoid it. Yeah, in IMC with embedded thunderstorms is not a good place to be without live radar. I also work with ATC as most have live weather radar.

In the images I posted above, there were heavy to extreme rain in areas. I avoided those areas like the plague. On the trip south we only got a minute or two of very light misting on us. We went through a few clouds on the climb and that was it. IFR the whole way. On the second image, going north, we got more rain, but even that was light rain and not much. ATC was great with deviations left and right as well as vectors around the weather. I would not have tried the north bound trip VFR. There were lots of clouds, low and high. We ended up doing a visual approach at FHB, but on the way there the ceilings over FHB made it IMC. We were planing a GPS approach, but it all blew out over the ocean by the time we got there.
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Keep in mind ATCs radar isn’t as live as real onboard and convective activity moves and changes FAST. I’d also rather end up putting to down safe VMC on a road or something and wait the weather out, vs getting trapped and having to descend through IMC around CBs to get away from it.
 
I won't go if there are thunderstorms unless they're widely scattered and the weather is VFR enough to avoid them. I don't even like flying through clouds with "extensive vertical development" even if they are not yet thunderstorms.
 
Yes, look at the forecast and all the rest. Especially on longer flights, a ‘Prob 30’ will eventually get you(close/over the field). The options then are to hold(if that works) or divert.

That’s why you always keep a divert(suitable) in the back pocket.
 
Now I kinda have the opposite issue. Where I leaving from is predicting scattered t storms, but high ceilings. Home is predicting partly sunny, no issues.

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When strictly talking about Thunderstorms, whether observed or forecast, with buildups extending well into O2 altitudes (in the east), all of the warnings in this thread apply. But many days or portions of days more often include rain showers without TSs observed or forecast. There can be plenty of convective development and plenty of ‘green, yellow and even red’ rain.

I find that most of the flying I’ve done over the past few weeks involved plenty of cumulus dodging, flying through rain and penetrating a few convective clouds, with and without rain. TSs were generally not forecast for these periods but rain and convective development was forecast.

I submit that while these are not wholly benign conditions they are quite flyable without the dangers of penetrating dangerous TSs. They can be flown very effectively using NEXRAD, above cloud bases and primarily in visual conditions. (These are not imbedded TS conditions). Traveling on these days in these conditions are the the key to getting around in the eastern summer.

I wonder if some of the conditions covered in this thread are misapplied to this kind of weather?


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Learned something new. I had been told that the flight briefest were trained meteorologists. A lack of a degree may explain some of my most recent experiences with them.


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