N


ot only have I seen numerous pilots contract it dozens of times, but I also have fallen victim to it. It lurks both day and night. No, I’m not referring to a strange illness that can be cured only by some supplement found on


late-night infomercials. Instead, I’m talking about “Green-Dot Syndrome.” It usually presents itself in the following manner. The on-call pilot, such as an HAA pilot, law enforcement pilot, etc., receives a flight request. The pilot takes a quick glance at their favorite weather source. The display shows the point of departure as “green” (indicated by the green dot on the weather platform). There’s another green dot near the destination. What more do you need? “It’s all green!”


The pilot takes off, only to be met with disappointment. The cloud layers are much lower than anticipated, maybe even to the point of having to abort the flight or having to pick up an IFR clearance, if you are so fortunate to be flying an aircraft equipped for that. The pilot usually says a few choice words that relate to how much of a hunk of junk the ASOS or AWOS is, or how the forecasters are “wrong again.” In reality, it is likely that neither the weather reporting station nor the forecaster got anything wrong. Instead, the pilot contracted a case of “Green-Dot Syndrome.” He or she saw all green during that quick-glance weather check — and the green-dot bug bit. Fortunately, there is an easy cure for this condition, and now it could be easier than ever to avoid Green-Dot Syndrome from happening in the first place.


rotorpro.com


77


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83