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Digital Weather Radar
Past, Present and Future
by Dale Smith
IMAGE COURTESY OF HONEYWELL
“Conversation about the weather (radar) is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” – Oscar Wilde, Irish Dramatist
Obviously, Mr. Wilde was not a pilot – well, at least not a pilot that did any serious in- strument f lying. If he were,
he’d have a much greater appreciation for the safety-enhancing capabilities offered by airborne weather radar.
When properly operated, airborne weather radar gives pilots the best possible, real-time view of the posi- tion and severity of any precipitation between the nose of their aircraft and the intended destination.
4 • TWIN & TURBINE / September 2020
I say “intended” because the real value of live radar is helping you plan a safe deviation track around said weather. The stronger the precipitation return, the wider the berth. Believe me, heavy rain, hail and associated areas of wind shear and turbulence have brought down bigger airplanes than any of us are f lying.
Radar is all about weather avoid- ance, so when in doubt, heed the old sailor’s warning: “Thar’ be dragons out thar’...”
Monochrome and Magnetrons
There’s no debate that today’s weather radar systems are marvels of capability and simplicity. Digital tech- nologies have enabled manufactur- ers to add a host of safety-enhancing functions, including turbulence, hail, lightning and predictive wind shear detection capabilities into many of today’s new-generation systems.
But, before we dive deeper into what the new generation of radars can do