"Dan Luke" wrote in message
...

snip


Before I had XM WX, it was impossible to plan summer trips with any degree
of confidence, and often nerve-wracking to fly them.

Now? The boomers aren't nearly as scary when I know exactly what they're
up to.

I ain't sayin' I'll go *every* time, but I've postponed only one flight,
and landed short and waited only once in the two years I've had NEXRAD
aboard. Used to happen all the time.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

I don't have XM weather (wish I did), but the thing I've found which really
helps me circumnavigate convestive stuff is altitude. Like you, I live in
the South, where the haze layer often tops out at 8-10k ft. To get a good
look at the CB's from afar, I climb above the haze.

Since I fly an airplane which has the performance to get "up high"
relatively easily, SOP for me in the summer is to climb above the haze
layer, where I can see building weather from hundreds of miles away. The
other plus is that 90% or more of the GA fleet is below you when you're at
10k or better, so there is less traffic in the first place and the
visibility lets you see any traffic from a good distance.

KB