"Dan Luke" wrote in message
...

"Kyle Boatright" wrote:

I don't have XM weather (wish I did), but the thing I've found which
really helps me circumnavigate convective 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.

That's ok if the CBs are isolated. Often though, they're more numerous,
and hidden by towering CU that rise above the useful altitudes for my
airplane. On those days, I used to fly below the bases so I could spot the
darker areas and rain shafts. I spent a lot of time in sweaty, bumpy
rides at 3,000 ft.

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.

Must be nice. What airplane?


RV-6, and the performance is wonderful. There have been numerous times where
I've completed a flight through or around "VFR not recommended" weather due
seeing the convective stuff from far away. The aircraft's relative speed
also allows me to deviate around weather without losing all day and to get
to breaks in weather before they close. On the other hand, the altitude has
also kept me out of trouble when I saw stuff I didn't like and was able to
put down 10 or 20 or 50 miles away instead of stumbling into it down low,
sweaty, and in the haze.

Of course, you have XM to help with the weather. The heat and haze are
another issue...

KB

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM