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#1
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Learning more about weather
I've recently earned my instrument ticket, and feel that I still need to
learn more about weather. I've been looking at several resources for study and would like recommendations on which ones are good/bad, which ones are best, other suggestions. Jepp Aviation Weather Buck Weather Flying Sportys has a 2 DVD set by Ricard Collins on weather Anybody used/red these and have any comments? |
#2
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Severe Weather Flying by Newton
Mike MU-2 "Matt Young" wrote in message news I've recently earned my instrument ticket, and feel that I still need to learn more about weather. I've been looking at several resources for study and would like recommendations on which ones are good/bad, which ones are best, other suggestions. Jepp Aviation Weather Buck Weather Flying Sportys has a 2 DVD set by Ricard Collins on weather Anybody used/red these and have any comments? |
#3
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"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
.net... Severe Weather Flying by Newton Seconded, plus Flying the Weather Map by Richard L Collins. Julian Scarfe |
#4
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Flying the Weather Map is good. It was one of the first
books I bought when I was working on Inst rating. "Julian Scarfe" wrote in message ... "Mike Rapoport" wrote in message .net... Severe Weather Flying by Newton Seconded, plus Flying the Weather Map by Richard L Collins. Julian Scarfe |
#5
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"Peter" wrote in message ... "Mike Rapoport" wrote Severe Weather Flying by Newton Mike MU-2 One can learn as much as one wants to about weather interpretation - there are countless books and websites which talk about atmospheric behaviour. However I think the biggest problem is getting the data which to interpret or perhaps interpreting the data which one can in today's internet era. All the weather tutorial material I have seen is the old-fashioned stuff which just talks and talks about how warm fronts interact with cold fronts, etc, etc - what I feel is needed is a tutorial which teaches, hands-on, how to get onto for example the NOAA website and interpret the stuff that's on there. If somebody did a course showing how to do this, I would gladly pay for it. But I've never heard of one. I tend to agree. Pilots really should have a course that amounts to a "Practical Forecasting" course first, before (or even instead of) the "Weather for Pilots" type of instruction that ground-school pretends to provide. Every so often I get an urge to try to assemble something, but then life gets in the way... Perhaps a CD such as: http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/cd.rxml may already be doing it, anyway. There are also a number of on-line University courses that seem to be of the "practical forecasting" type, but I don't know if they get into it deeper than we care to go. At any rate, my suggestion is to look for something *in addition* to (and other than) the standard "weather-for-pilots" sort of thing. If you have the time and opportunity, take a University night class. |
#6
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Have you tried visting the local office of the NWS? I went there and
asked a few questions and the staff (CRW) could not have been more helpful. |
#7
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"Randy" wrote in message oups.com... Have you tried visting the local office of the NWS? I went there and asked a few questions and the staff (CRW) could not have been more helpful. Oh, I am sure they are, as they are in the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC). I don't know exactly about the NWS, but the MSC has "centralized", and the TAF for your airport is issued (typically), from a windowless basement some hundreds of miles away. The phone number for that basement is not public. You get to speak to an FSS briefer for your area, but he gets what he gets through the MSC communications network. I am not even sure that even *he* gets to actually speak to the windowless basement.... except possibly in the case of "emergency" where the forecast is truly bust. The guys in the basement would be *very* helpful.... if you could get to them, somehow. MSC used to publish a 1-900 pay-per-call number for speaking to a forecaster, but I don't see those advertised anymore, either. Even the FSS has "centralized". In the most densely populated area of Canada, a single FSS now handles an area well over 200 miles across. No sweat... what with 1-800 number dialup, internet, and strategically-distributed remote-radio transceivers.... But those methods of communication do not beat "going there and asking a few questions", as you put it. |
#8
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I guess I'm fortunate: the local NWS installation is 10 miles from me,
and one of their staff is in my local flying club :P Dave Icebound wrote: "Randy" wrote in message oups.com... Have you tried visting the local office of the NWS? I went there and asked a few questions and the staff (CRW) could not have been more helpful. Oh, I am sure they are, as they are in the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC). I don't know exactly about the NWS, but the MSC has "centralized", and the TAF for your airport is issued (typically), from a windowless basement some hundreds of miles away. The phone number for that basement is not public. You get to speak to an FSS briefer for your area, but he gets what he gets through the MSC communications network. I am not even sure that even *he* gets to actually speak to the windowless basement.... except possibly in the case of "emergency" where the forecast is truly bust. The guys in the basement would be *very* helpful.... if you could get to them, somehow. MSC used to publish a 1-900 pay-per-call number for speaking to a forecaster, but I don't see those advertised anymore, either. Even the FSS has "centralized". In the most densely populated area of Canada, a single FSS now handles an area well over 200 miles across. No sweat... what with 1-800 number dialup, internet, and strategically-distributed remote-radio transceivers.... But those methods of communication do not beat "going there and asking a few questions", as you put it. |
#9
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In addition to visiting the NWS offices you can read the forecast
discussion from the NWS websites. I've learned a lot by reading where the forecasters discuss why they made the forecast the way they do and what factors they were considering that day. |
#10
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It's gotten a bit tougher. Last time I visited, having an informal chat was
made a bit more difficult by post-9/11 security. But the chat was informative anyway.... ..... it concerned the apparent lack of agreement between the METARs for RDU and actual conditions. That's when I learned about the limitations of a windowless office even if it is located between the runways. Can't look out if there isn't a window and the METARs and briefers are sourced from instruments that may or may not reflect weather over the majority of the airport. Very interesting. No sub for taking a look whether in the air or on the ground. "Randy" wrote in message oups.com... Have you tried visting the local office of the NWS? I went there and asked a few questions and the staff (CRW) could not have been more helpful. |
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