Page 31 - TNT Dec 2017

another little echo directly behind it. No question the echo in the rear was more intense than depicted, but I needed to know how much more intense, so I selected VP. It revealed that the little echo was literally blowing its top. It was short but it had developed a totally detached wad of detectable precip above its top. I figured that was a weather system to stay far away from. Again, I had a look, not in the now, but into the potential future.
On that same flight, I encountered a vicious-looking storm with a smaller cell next to it. VP revealed that the large cell was very tall, the small one barely out of 15,000 feet. A wise convective storms research pilot, Jim Cook, had earlier warned me about just this situation. Often the larger storm will begin to drop its load of moisture and the smaller one will suck up that energy and explode upward. As I orbited at a safe distance and watched, sure enough in the next l0 minutes the large storm dissipated and the smaller one grew into a monster.
Again, VP revealed the future to me.
Why Not More VP?
The question that must be asked is why haven’t other radar development teams incorporated VP in their radars, only those three? Not even those automated radars manufactured by Collins and Honeywell have it, they scan only up to +15 degrees to create a top-to-bottom image of a storm. VP is to 30 degrees.
The answer to why oth•er manufacturers haven’t offered VP is because their radar engineers have little-to-no knowledge of convective meteorology. Perhaps it should be a prerequisite to a degree in electrical engineering. T&T
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December 2017
TWIN & TURBINE • 29
Considered a pioneer in onboard radar and convective weather training, Archie Trammell is a highly respected safety consultant whose lectures, video programs and instruction classes on the proper use of weather radar have been used to train thousands of pilots and more than 4,000 business flight departments.
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