Back to School

In 1986 Rodney Dangerfield returned to college with hilarious consequences.  Yesterday I headed back to radar school.  Lots of weather South of Orlando but clear up by us.  One area I have struggled with is tilt management past 40 miles. 

I have been studying and was ready to put the lessons to some practical use.  The first important consideration is how far away the horizon is.  As you climb, the distance to the horizon increases.  (Yes the flat earth folks will argue this point.) 

Altitude (ft)        Horizon (NM)    Ground Range

2000                       47.6                        35
4000                       67.3                        50
6000                       82.4                        62
8000                       95.1                        75

With the dish tilted down, the radar gets ground reflection.  So at 2000 feet you would expect to see ground returns out to 47 miles.  You don’t though.  They stop about 75% of the way out.  The reason for this is that as you get farther away, the angle of incidence of the beam gets shallower.  As it gets less than 2 degrees, the energy no longer bounces back.

This means that depending on the distance and your altitude, you may not be able to confirm attenuation for farther off storms.  This all assumes flat ground, a city for example provides flat surfaces to return energy.  Also, since buildings are tall, they can reflect even when they are technically over the horizon.  A 100-foot building effectively increases the distance 10 miles, a 200 footer adds 17 miles. 

How do I know this all works, I went and flew at 2,4,6, and 8k while tilting down to paint the ground.  This worked well and I was easily able to tilt down and paint ground from 5 miles out to the values above.  As you tilt the dish up you lose the ground.  At 8000 for example, 3.5 degrees up paints some ground around 60 miles.  Everything beyond this is weather or something tall on the ground. 

The key to seeing storms father out is to keep most of the beam off the ground but not so high that you scan above the weather.  It’s easy to over tilt.  A 6 degree up has the bottom of the beam 2 degrees above the horizon.  At 100 miles the beam is 18,000 feet above your altitude or 26,000.  This also ignores the fact that the earth has curved away from you about 8000 feet as well so you are really scanning around 34,000 feet.  Easy to miss serious weather that is not a monster storm.  Also at that level the water is likely frozen and does not reflect as well.

After working ground returns, I focused on weather.  I have been trying to get better at that 80 plus mile range.  One tool I am still learning is VP (Vertical Profile).  In this mode you set a bearing and the dish scans up and down.  This eliminates the tilt issue.  You will always see the ground out to the distance previously discussed.  Anything else is a storm or a ground object.  

Above is an example of VP pointing towards clear air from 8000’.  Below is looking at weather, the storm at around 105 miles is clearly visible and matched the XM weather data.

Relaxing

Tuesday was our day to relax. When the light started leaking through the window, rather than rise, I rolled over and caught a few more Zssss. Eventually we started moving and were on the road by 10. We were heading back to twin falls.

We had visited the lower twin falls on a previous trip. It’s an easy hike to a great view. Our visit today was a lot like our last. You drive through a rural residential area and then come upon a dirt parking lot. Last time we got one of the last spaces. Today we were alone.  . 

The hike is only about 7 minutes and today we had the falls to ourselves. We stayed on the observation platform as the plants had taken over. Late spring is way more leafy.

Our next goal was the upper falls trail. To be fair, it is not known for its views but it was a bit harder and we needed a workout. We needed to work off those brownies.  It was a bit hard to find the trail head. I think I would have missed it without Google Maps. Only a few spaces on the shoulder and no marking. We started up the trail and found a small sign with somewhat cryptic directions.

We continued down the trail and found the fence. There was no trail head sign but we went with it. Off we went and the trail headed down. This is never a good sign when you are heading for the upper falls. After a long trek down, we started climbing.

The reviews were right, the view from the top is just the the creek heading for the falls. You could potentially see more but you could also fall to your death so we stayed off the wet slippery rocks.

The way back started easy with a gentle descent. Then we came to the up part and we had to work. By the time we got back to the trail head, I was breathing quicker. Our next stop was for some cold drinks to hydrate and we decided to call it a day as the temperature had risen quite a bit.  It was actually hotter in the upstate than back home.

Our dinner was traditional South Carolina pulled pork BBQ.  Not my favorite but CC really likes it.  We tried Little Pigs Bar-B-Q and they did a really nice job.  Even better were the Chocolate chip cookies they had for dessert in the lounge.

Wednesday when the light peaked in we got going.  Rumor had it that there was a tailwind so I was excited for the flight.  We dropped our car and loaded up the plane.  Pre flight checks were good and we were soon taxiing out.  The airport had some construction and the middle of the taxiway was closed.  This was not an issue inbound as I landed long and turned off past the closure.  

Outbound we would need to go on the runway to circumvent the closed area.  Ground turned us over to tower and tower cleared us onto the runway.  We were told to back taxi as long as we like and tell them when ready.  I mentioned I needed a minute or two more before departure and was told to take my time.  Sort of strange to just hang out on the 11,000 air carrier runway but we did.

The checks were soon completed and with 8000 of runway I called for departure.  The sky was clear and we were soon at 9000 enjoying a darn good tail wind.  Our flight down would only take 1:25.  Our arrival back home was smooth but I had a strong gusty crosswind.  It all worked out well and I planted the upwind wheel smoothly, lowered the other two and gently rolled to the end.

the only trouble we had was that the tug I used to push the plane back broke a weld and we ended up pushing the plane the last few feet by hand.  Luckily my mechanic welded it and I had it on the tug the next day.

Quick trip

Between upgrades and maintenance, I have not been flying as much and our travel has been limited. Cecilia had some business in Greenville which made it the perfect trip to work back into travel.

The weather forecast was good. It was supposed to be clear. The winds were another story. They were supposed to be as much as 35 on the nose at 9000 I decided we should fly lower as the gain of 3 knots per 1000 feet would be lost to the winds.

Our departure was pretty clear with just some scattered clouds but just North we had a thin overcast that persisted until mid South Carolina. I had also filed via SAV VOR to avoid the restricted airspace but just after departure we were given direct.

The winds were on the nose but about 5 knots less than forecast. All was good until the controller moved us to 7000 for airspace. This put us closer to the forecast. Our air time was 1:42 which beat the estimate by 2 minutes so all was good.

Our rental car was waiting for us and the Marriott had our room ready so we dropped our stuff and went off to sightsee and get CCs stuff done. CC wanted to reminisce a bit so we drove by her childhood home and also visited the park near where she was living when we met. Finally, we took a stroll downtown.

After a quick lunch we switched to the other side of town. We visited Pelham Mill Park which was the site of the first textile mill in South Carolina. They had harnessed the Enoree river by building a dam and redirecting the water. A long time ago we lived downstream near the confluence of Rocky Creek. We hiked a bit and enjoyed the rapids and then headed to the Marriott to enjoy the lounge snacks and take a rest.

One disturbing story, CC wanted a salad so we stopped by Panera to satisfy her craving. The total was $8.09. I gave the young lady $10.10 and said, keep the penny. She then stared at the register for at least 2 minutes. Finally she handed me a dollar bill and 4 quarters. I asked if they were out of singles and she said no. So I handed the coins back and asked for a bill. She said hold on, she wasn’t very good with money.

I know cash is passé but really? This episode was offset by the excellent chocolate chip brownies they had put out for dessert so in the end all was tasty.

Surprise Weather

I picked the plane up from New Smyrna on Saturday.  On the drive down I reviewed the weather and it looked cloudier than forecast so I filed IFR.  There was no rain though on our drive and only some broken clouds that looked like they were clearing.  I departed about 40 minutes later and it still looked very nice.

Once airborne, I quickly noticed that weather had formed on my path home.  My first thought was to formulate a plan.  My second was that this would let me get some more radar practice, cool!!!

Checking in with departure, I discussed a plan to avoid it.  The controller took me just offshore.  I have 3 sources of radar, two are sent to the plane and delayed.  I also have the dish in the nose which scans every few seconds. 

The wind was 45 knots from the Northwest.  This meant the storms were moving fast as well.   While the satellite radar is great for the big picture, today it was running way behind.    Using the onboard data and my eyes, I found a nice clear path.  The controller was very accommodating and I was cleared to deviate and then direct destination.

The direct route would have taken me through a pretty big storm but with the right data, I stayed safe and dry.  It was a good reminder to never trust the delayed weather in close.  It had been received only 2 minutes before but was at least 10-15 minutes old.  When I had cleared the weather, it was still showing me about to enter the line.

On The Edge

The plane has been back for a few weeks now and I have been doing more flying than blogging.  I have also had some down time as I addressed some minor issues and some routine maintenance.  Along the way I finally gave my Dad a ride in the Baron.  I should have written a post but I forgot to take any pictures.  Luckily CC got one because without a picture, it didn't happen.

I went out today for more radar practice.  Have not had to fire it up much lately.  The last trips have all had excellent weather.  Today there was a line of significant storms North of Jacksonville.  I chose to work from 6500 which meant I could not see as far.  As discussed in older posts, radar is all about geometry.

At 6500 the horizon is about 105 miles away.  I was trying to paint weather that was 70-100 miles out.  The issue is that at 6500 feet, you typically tilt up about 4 degrees to miss the ground.  This works well for weather in the 10-40 mile range as this keeps the bottom of the beam off the ground and the energy in the region of the rain.

Out past 50 miles, most of the beam is above the storm  I was able to paint the weather but I really should have focused on lower scan angles.  this would have had a band of ground clutter up close but better long range resolution.

One other area I am still learning to deal with is cities.  They paint like strong storms.  Take a look at Savannah as I was turning towards home.  Its the storm at 85 miles left of the nose.

I also played with the vertical profile mode today.  Normally the unit scans left to right.  In vertical mode, you pick a direction and it scans up and down.  You will always see the ground but you also see a slice of a storm.  I did it twice, once pointed at a storm and the second time at a clear area.  I should have zoomed in to make it a bit clearer though.  Note the scale, you are looking up over 180,000 feet.  Storms typically live in the 0-60,000 range and that's what we see below.

Overall it was good practice and I learned a bit more and knocked some rust off old skills.  I am still more comfortable in the 10-40 mile range but with more practice I hope to get better out to 90 miles.  Past that the Geometry and Physics are stacked against you.

She's Back

 After 49 days of upgrade, the plane is back home.  It was delayed due to COVID and some parts that came defective and had to be re-ordered.  

Pick up went well with only one small issue to address before departing. After filling the tanks I took off on runway 17 and then turned to 140 for an almost straight line home.  I landed runway 14 and was soon back in the hangar.  Shout out to my friend for the 5 hour detour to drop me off.

Performance is not changed.  The plane zipped along at 191 knots on 25 gph.  What changed is that I have 3 massive overhead vents up front.  Plenty of airflow.

The controller hides behind the throttle quadrant and looked like it would be a problem but in cruise there is plenty of access and even with everything forward its easy to adjust as the needed controls are on the outside.  It is like an automotive system in that you set a temperature and either choose auto fan or set it it as desired.  There are 10 speeds so you can really tweak it.

There are a few new vents on the side of the plane but the biggest difference is a slight bump on the front left of the left engine.  The compressor hides under their.  Before and after pictures below.

The plane also lost 25 pounds.  The old system that had 1/4 the cooling weighed a lot more.  I now have 1625 pounds useful load which is pretty good for a De Iced 58 with AC.  Full fuel, CC and onboard and we still have 350 pounds for luggage.  If we want to carry another couple, I can drop the gas to 5 hours and have 510 pounds for that theoretical couple and our luggage.  More than enough for our needs.

There are a few cosmetic projects and other tweaks I want to make but will be focusing on training, 7 weeks of rust is not good.  The flight home was perfect with easy weather but need to sharpen my skills again.  

A little help from my friend

On Tuesday I dropped the plan off for an upgrade.  When I was looking for the plane I wanted new engines, props and avionics.  Good paint and interior were also important and I wanted Air-conditioning.  Well the plane had everything but the last.  It actually had an old electric system but after fiddling with it it did not work well and my research told me it would never handle Florida in the summer.

Since a good part of my flying is lower level in the summer, I opted to do an upgrade.  I am having the current factory system installed that should keep me nice and cool even in the Southern heat.

So why did I wait?  When I looked at booking a slot for an install, the soonest was late September.  Some of the best flying weather in right about then so I decided to book January/February as they were not as busy and could hopefully get me done faster. I figured it was a good time to take the plane down as I had other projects to finish.

I had scheduled to start Monday January 10 months ago.  Looking at the weather on Sunday, it looked pretty crummy.  We would have low ceilings the first 100 miles and really strong winds.  I had waited over 6 months so what's an extra day.  I wrote them and said, I'll come Tuesday.  Tuesday was much better.  Still had some headwinds but it was clear and smooth.

The flight was 458 nm and programmed at 2:40 with the winds.  That worked out to 170 knots ground speed even though the plane was chugging along at 190+.  Fuel burn was 77 gallons vs. a prediction of 76.5, close enough for me, I landed with half tanks.

My arrival was smooth and the shop marshalled me into position and right after shut down I was pushed into the heated hangar.  Mine was the only plane currently in for modification.  There was another they had finished Monday that was headed out later that day.  They usually have several in at once so fingers crossed, it will go faster than the 4-5 week estimate.

I had made it to Selmer TN pretty easily but now I needed to get home.  I took it to this shop because they were the ones that created the system and are the experts.  The only downside is they are 70 miles from Memphis, have no car rentals and are basically in the middle of nowhere.  On the plus side they are the experts and were friendly.

Luckily a friend gave me a lift.  He had departed a bit after me so as I wrapped up checking in the plane, I saw him approaching the airport on Flightaware.  It was pretty cool to head out and watch the arrival.  After a quick stop we were soon heading home.  Of course the headwinds we fought on the way up had subsided and we only got a bit of a tailwind.  His Bonanza it turbo normalized and it scooted along close to 190 knots at 11,000 sipping gas compared to the Baron.  Basically 60% of the fuel burn for the same speed.

The trip back was straightforward with a minor detour for a military operations area that was now active and getting sequenced behind a jet on the way into home base.   I'll be planeless for a few weeks now so I guess that gives me an excuse to clean and organize the hangar a bit.