Onboard radar can be a life saver, and knowing how to use it properly boosts safety by 93%!
Well, we assume it does so don't quote us on that percentage, and the more quality information you have about thunderstorms when flying, the better.
If your aircraft is equipped with onboard radar and you're flying with a Garmin G1000 avionics suite, then you'll want to experiment with the vertical profile for your radar system.
On a recent flight north home from San José del Los Cabos, Baja México, we had to fly around and deviate off our IFR flight plan due to summer thunderstorms.
In our preflight, we explored what lurked along our path with ForeFlight overlays and imagery (a video on that coming soon), and then backed that up in flight with the CitationJet's onboard radar.
Traditionally, most pilots only use the horizontal view or profile on a radar scope. This, usually, covers all you need if aimed/tilted correctly. However, it's easy to pick up false signals if used incorrectly and can lead to false positives.
Adding a vertical profile scan on a bearing can help confirm and see just how tall a storm is (really just the moisture aspect of it, storms can be much taller than their radar signature suggests and still have dangerous turbulence).
Hope this helps inspire you to explore more of your own radar's capabilities and offerings so you can stay free and clear of some of nature's nastiest threats!
#avgeek #aviationdaily #aviationgeek #instaaviation #flight #aviation #flying #pilot #pilotlife #pilotlifestyle #whyifly #cessnacitation #citation #corporatepilot #corporateaviation #jetpilot #planespotters #garmin #garming1000 #radar #instrumentflying
