In the movie ?Kelly?s Heroes?, Oddball (Donald Sutherland) is talking about their specially modified tank, and says something like ?It has four forward gears, and five for reverse?.we like to think that we can get OUT of trouble faster than we got IN to it!? That is a large part of the reason that I like XM Weather in the cockpit!
I have written quite a few times now about trips that I have taken in my RV that would not have been possible - or at least I wouldn?t have been able to complete them ? without having the NEXRAD and other weather data in the cockpit. I know that statements like this can be controversial, and bother some folks, and quite frankly, I understand that, so I think that maybe it is a topic that deserves a little amplification. It would be easy for a low-time weather pilot to consider themselves invincible because they have these tools on board, when in fact, they are simply tools, and not armor plate. I?d like to share some of what I consider to be the limitations of the system, and the ?rules? under which I use them. I am by no means saying that these limitations should or must be followed by anyone else ? they simply work for me with the level of experience and learning that I have. I am actually pretty conservative when it comes to flying safely, and try never to be in a position where I feel uncomfortable or unsure about an outcome in the air. And that is one of the reasons that I find XM weather to be so valuable?it allows me (to quote Oddball) ?to get out of trouble faster than I got into it!?
The best thing that I can say about having XM in the cockpit is that it removes the guesswork involved with flying in weather. Instead of guessing where the storms are, and how intense they might be, you know! And knowledge is power ? power to proceed with caution, or to call it a day. I don?t know how many times in my flying career I have set down because I saw weather ahead and to the sides that I simply didn?t have knowledge of.
The other thing that makes XM so useful ? and the reason the topic is so relevant here ? is that coupled with a fast, long-range airplane such as an RV, large deviations (like the size of a STATE) are reasonable to make if you can get around a known area of weather and continue to your destination. With my old 250 mile, 120 knot Grumman, XM would have been mostly wasted?..
When I fly, I use the concept of the ?Flight Rule? ? pre-made decisions which you make before the flight, on the ground ? to avoid making hurried, bad decisions in the air. They can occasionally be bent with good reason, but as a rule, you follow them or land and re-think. Here are a few ?rules? that work for me personally when using XM weather ? hopefully, with good judgment!
1) If I am IFR and in IMC, I will not fly through anything more than ?yellow? showers, and then only if they are a few pixels wide and there is only one or two pixels of orange or red anywhere nearby. Green is fine.
2) I?ll fly through green or yellow VFR if I can maintain VFR visibility and ceilings ? and you generally can?t do that with yellow returns.
3) The primary purpose of the NEXRAD (for me) is to go around an area of bad weather, and know where the boundaries are. RV?s are fast enough with long enough range to go around weather areas, unless they stretch over several states. I will use XM to penetrate a huge area of weather if the cells are very light (one or two red pixels) and WIDELY scattered ? with clear paths of green only in between, and with good retreats.
4) Large area of southern thundershowers are too tall to climb over in the afternoons, so I will generally duck down underneath areas of showers rather than getting trapped on top in clouds that can go up faster than I can. I use the METAR?s available through XM to assure myself that I have good ceilings along my route ? and ?good? means above the minimum VFR altitudes listed on a Sectional or WAC chart. Those altitudes constitute a ?hard deck?, and I?ll file IFR before violating them unless the visibilities are very, very long. (I have obstacle warnings on my EFIS, but they are only as good as the database?.)
5) I always keep track of my retreat options, and make sure that if I am headed into an area of interesting weather, that I can get through it before it develops into something really ugly, or maintain a clear line of retreat. I never leave myself with no options but to fly through bad weather!
6) I will fly IFR through areas of Precip if there are no storm cells showing and the air temperatures are significantly above freezing.
7) I have little to no experience with XM weather in northern winter weather, and will be very cautious when I try it due to icing concerns. Forecasts of icing scare me much more than forecasts of thundershowers?.I can SEE the showers!
8) I will use the ?animate? function to give me an idea how rapidly the weather returns are growing. Rapid development is a very bad sign, and calls for extreme caution and much conservatism.
9) The cloud images need to be taken with a grain of salt ? or two, or three! They generally don?t show large areas of low morning cloud/fog. METAR?s are much better than the satellite images!
10) I always consider that the most recent update might be the last one I get (if the machine fails, the satellites quit, etc?) and make sure that I have a good plan for staying clear of the weather if this happens.
Even with these conservative rules, I am finding that my ?dispatch reliability? has grown by leaps and bounds since accepting XM Weather in the cockpit. Understanding its limitations, you can still use it to make the RV a reliable and efficient traveling machine. Oh, and one more thing?..a full-fare airline ticket is generally fully refundable. If you absolutely, positively need to be someplace, buy one?.if the weather is good on the morning of departure, cancel the ticket, and enjoy the flight in your RV! Having a good back-up is the best way to take the pressure off yourself?.
Ten Rules is a good start...but I'm sure that others flying with these tools can add more!
Paul
I have written quite a few times now about trips that I have taken in my RV that would not have been possible - or at least I wouldn?t have been able to complete them ? without having the NEXRAD and other weather data in the cockpit. I know that statements like this can be controversial, and bother some folks, and quite frankly, I understand that, so I think that maybe it is a topic that deserves a little amplification. It would be easy for a low-time weather pilot to consider themselves invincible because they have these tools on board, when in fact, they are simply tools, and not armor plate. I?d like to share some of what I consider to be the limitations of the system, and the ?rules? under which I use them. I am by no means saying that these limitations should or must be followed by anyone else ? they simply work for me with the level of experience and learning that I have. I am actually pretty conservative when it comes to flying safely, and try never to be in a position where I feel uncomfortable or unsure about an outcome in the air. And that is one of the reasons that I find XM weather to be so valuable?it allows me (to quote Oddball) ?to get out of trouble faster than I got into it!?
The best thing that I can say about having XM in the cockpit is that it removes the guesswork involved with flying in weather. Instead of guessing where the storms are, and how intense they might be, you know! And knowledge is power ? power to proceed with caution, or to call it a day. I don?t know how many times in my flying career I have set down because I saw weather ahead and to the sides that I simply didn?t have knowledge of.
The other thing that makes XM so useful ? and the reason the topic is so relevant here ? is that coupled with a fast, long-range airplane such as an RV, large deviations (like the size of a STATE) are reasonable to make if you can get around a known area of weather and continue to your destination. With my old 250 mile, 120 knot Grumman, XM would have been mostly wasted?..
When I fly, I use the concept of the ?Flight Rule? ? pre-made decisions which you make before the flight, on the ground ? to avoid making hurried, bad decisions in the air. They can occasionally be bent with good reason, but as a rule, you follow them or land and re-think. Here are a few ?rules? that work for me personally when using XM weather ? hopefully, with good judgment!
1) If I am IFR and in IMC, I will not fly through anything more than ?yellow? showers, and then only if they are a few pixels wide and there is only one or two pixels of orange or red anywhere nearby. Green is fine.
2) I?ll fly through green or yellow VFR if I can maintain VFR visibility and ceilings ? and you generally can?t do that with yellow returns.
3) The primary purpose of the NEXRAD (for me) is to go around an area of bad weather, and know where the boundaries are. RV?s are fast enough with long enough range to go around weather areas, unless they stretch over several states. I will use XM to penetrate a huge area of weather if the cells are very light (one or two red pixels) and WIDELY scattered ? with clear paths of green only in between, and with good retreats.
4) Large area of southern thundershowers are too tall to climb over in the afternoons, so I will generally duck down underneath areas of showers rather than getting trapped on top in clouds that can go up faster than I can. I use the METAR?s available through XM to assure myself that I have good ceilings along my route ? and ?good? means above the minimum VFR altitudes listed on a Sectional or WAC chart. Those altitudes constitute a ?hard deck?, and I?ll file IFR before violating them unless the visibilities are very, very long. (I have obstacle warnings on my EFIS, but they are only as good as the database?.)
5) I always keep track of my retreat options, and make sure that if I am headed into an area of interesting weather, that I can get through it before it develops into something really ugly, or maintain a clear line of retreat. I never leave myself with no options but to fly through bad weather!
6) I will fly IFR through areas of Precip if there are no storm cells showing and the air temperatures are significantly above freezing.
7) I have little to no experience with XM weather in northern winter weather, and will be very cautious when I try it due to icing concerns. Forecasts of icing scare me much more than forecasts of thundershowers?.I can SEE the showers!
8) I will use the ?animate? function to give me an idea how rapidly the weather returns are growing. Rapid development is a very bad sign, and calls for extreme caution and much conservatism.
9) The cloud images need to be taken with a grain of salt ? or two, or three! They generally don?t show large areas of low morning cloud/fog. METAR?s are much better than the satellite images!
10) I always consider that the most recent update might be the last one I get (if the machine fails, the satellites quit, etc?) and make sure that I have a good plan for staying clear of the weather if this happens.
Even with these conservative rules, I am finding that my ?dispatch reliability? has grown by leaps and bounds since accepting XM Weather in the cockpit. Understanding its limitations, you can still use it to make the RV a reliable and efficient traveling machine. Oh, and one more thing?..a full-fare airline ticket is generally fully refundable. If you absolutely, positively need to be someplace, buy one?.if the weather is good on the morning of departure, cancel the ticket, and enjoy the flight in your RV! Having a good back-up is the best way to take the pressure off yourself?.
Ten Rules is a good start...but I'm sure that others flying with these tools can add more!
Paul