VAI/COLTEN GONZALEZ-HILL DESIGN


By Christine Knauer


Get a Read on Weather Conditions Heed this practical advice during preflight planning.


LEARN


more about the FAA Weather Camera Program


Even as today’s sophisticated digital weather-fore- casting tools have supplanted the Farmers’ Almanac, legacy knowledge and common sense are still critical to a pilot’s decision-making pro- cess. It’s smart to harness all available resources to weather Mother Nature’s whims. Below are five dos and don’ts for your preflight weather planning.


1


DO consult weather cameras. Nothing beats seeing the conditions for yourself. The expand-


ing network of webcam services, including the FAA’s 500-plus weather cameras and Airservices Australia’s weather cameras, provides near real- time views of current surface weather conditions. These services are especially valuable when flying in areas that lack air traffic control surveillance, such as mountain passes, or where the weather changes rapidly. “It’s been an unbelievably useful


tool in Hawaii,” said Casey Riemer, special projects manager for Jack Harter Helicopters, in the Dec. 6, 2022, “FAA Weather Camera Program” webinar. “We believe it will be a significant aid in reducing accident rates … because the weather changes in Hawaii—like in Alaska—really easily and very dra- matically.” According to the FAA, implementation of the agency’s weather camera service across Alaska resulted in an 85% reduction in weather-re- lated accidents from 2007 to 2014.


2


DON’T rely on just a couple of weather sources. Reports can differ dramatically,


especially between automated surface observing systems and crowdsourcing reports, according to the US Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) report Weather Technology in the Cockpit (WTIC) Research. Use a variety of weather source types, including crowdsourced observations. Talk with


26 ROTOR MARCH 2024


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  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100