Dan wrote:
For those of you with a Garmin 396, how do you avoid dangerous weather,
avoid yellow and steer clear of the lightning strike indications? I am
considering the purchase of one and am wondering how to use the info
safely, but yet with the maximum utility.

Dan

I've had a 396 for a year, but not that much weather flying with it. I
drive a lot and it's fun to analyze from the ground.

I think one of the big dangers as mentioned here before it getting into
a rapidly building tower cumulous which might not show up if you're in
the soup with your 396. I remember in Robert Buck's book "Weather
Flying" I think he said the worst turbulence he ever experienced was
in a cloud that hadn't produced rain yet.

My solution is to try to stay either above to see the buildups, or
below and avoid the rain shafts. But the 396 can also be used to find
areas of less cloud cover and lower tops. The echo tops have that
feature where you can scroll through the altitudes and watch where
cloud appears. Then you can just look for the holes in the regular
satellite display.

So to me the trick it so combine all these: The 396 weather features,
what image ATC is painting, the overall weather picture to determine if
the ingredients for convection are there, what you see out the window,
PIREPS and ride reports, tactical weather flying to try to keep
yourself visual as much as possible. Green or yellow may be fine on
days when you know there is little chance of buildups. But if green is
next to a steep gradient of yellow, into orange to red. Steer clear.

I think the 396 is an amazing tool. You can sit on the ground in your
airplane and it's almost like having the internet in your lap. I sat
on the ramp at Midway a few weeks ago and waited for a hole in the
weather using the 396. I practice with Elite simulator which will now
drive your 396 plugged into a serial port. I can put the satellite
antenna out the window to get real weather, download through Elite and
the internet real weather, and I can do near real time weather practice
sim flying. And you get a great automotive navigator for a few extra
bucks. ... akiley