Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being better pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 05.05.06

The best advice: don’t. Don't fly in thunderstorms. Don't fly close to thunderstorms. Don't fly under thunderstorms and, in almost all cases, don't try to fly over thunderstorms.

The Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) provides some do's and don'ts for thunderstorm flying.  Here's 100 years of flying wisdom condensed into a short list:

Thunderstorm "Do's"

• Above all, remember this: never regard any thunderstorm "lightly" even when radar observers report the echoes are of light intensity. Avoiding thunderstorms is the best policy.
• Avoid by at least 20 miles any severe thunderstorm identified or giving an intense radar echo. Circumnavigate the entire area if the area has 6/10 thunderstorm coverage.
• Clear the top of a known or suspected severe thunderstorm by at least 1,000 feet altitude for each 10 knots of wind speed at the cloud top. This will exceed the altitude capability of most aircraft.
• Regard as extremely hazardous any thunderstorm with tops 35,000 feet or higher.

Thunderstorm "Don'ts"

• Don't land or takeoff in the face of an approaching thunderstorm. A sudden gust front of low level turbulence could cause loss of control.
• Don't attempt to fly under a thunderstorm even if you can see through to the other side. Turbulence, wind shear and hail under or near the storm could be disastrous.
• Don't fly under the anvil of a large cumulonimbus.
• Don't fly without on-board radar into a cloud mass containing scattered embedded thunderstorms.
• Don't trust visual appearance to be a reliable indicator of the turbulence inside a thunderstorm.

Aero-tip of the day: Thunderstorm season is in full swing across much of the planet. Adhere to the "do's" and "don'ts" of thunderstorm flying.

FMI: Aero-Tips