Author: pilotweatherwisdom
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My brush with fate makes the cut with Sporty’s
Here’s the link: They have a neat audio feature too. My credentials has one typo.
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Allied weathermen duked it out days before D-Day
Toronto’s Royal Alexandria Theatre (a short walk from my condo) hosted a weather-themed play, Pressure. The allied forces led by General Eisenhower wanted to pounce on France’s Normandy beaches on June 5th, 1944. But British meteorologist, James Stagg, convinced the Allies to delay the attack by one day. Stagg knew the North Atlantic weather patterns…
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Flirting with Fate
Most aspiring pilots face the daunting task of building flight time required for those golden airline careers. Usually, this entails pilots paying their dues at small bottom-feeder companies whose reputations can sometimes be dubious and whose procedures may raise eyebrows. Like most pilots pining for that illustrious flying job, I decided to leave my cushy…
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AQP4PP (Advanced Qualification Program for Private Pilots)
JETPRO is pleased to announce a training program for pilots owning and operating sophisticated aircraft who lack the benefit of an airline-like Advanced Qualification Program (AQP). It deals with pilots that may have overreached when buying an airplane, labeled Pilot Overreach Syndrome. Similar to when I purchased a lengthy sailboat and just learned to sail.…
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Happy National Weather Person Day!
I was just informed February 5th honors the weatherman (weather person). Who knew? Funny, I signed up for a free “backyard meteorology” course from Harvard University today. Why is a certified meteorologist taking such a simplified course? Not sure. Very few ever admit to when the weatherman is right, so happy weather person day, everybody.…
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Podcast with Sporty’s
A few weeks ago I chatted with John Zimmerman, who runs a huge pilot shop/training center in Ohio. Here is the intro: As a former meteorologist and a 25,000-hour airline captain, Doug Morris loves to talk about weather—but he’s worried most other pilots don’t share his love. He talks about the most misunderstood weather concept,…
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Wind was the Essential — How the Weatherman Instigated Flight
After a recent talk, I received a copy of David McCullough’s well-researched book, The Wright Brothers. Most pilots think they know the Kitty Hawk story, but I learned I didn’t. Wilbur and Orville Wright determined early in their multitude of experiments that wind was a must. Wilbur (oldest of the two) wrote to the…
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Link to Carleton University low-visibility talk
I just received a link to my recent talk in Ottawa regarding the B787, low visibility, and aviation in general. During the talk, I was told not to move around too much. I obviously didn’t heed this advice and moved about too much. Plus, I wish they had superimposed the questions asked onto the video.…
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The weather Grinch that stole Christmas
What a storm! When teaching weather, I frequently take the Socratic approach by asking questions. The most profound question I ask…if the surface winds are from the east, which way is the low-pressure system moving? Most of the time, I either get silence or the wrong answer. I must admit it is a loaded question,…
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CASI (CDN Aeronautics & Space Institute) Talk
November 23 saw Captain D give a presentation at Carleton University (Ottawa) for CASI. It was nice to hang around bright, upbeat people. I was very impressed with Carleton and the engineering department. Someone needs to set up an affiliated flight school/program. For decades, the ILS (Instrument Landing System) has guided pilots to safe landings…
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Southbound? Caribbean Flying
Airline schedules will be redirecting their flights southward as the days get shorter. You may be planning an adventuresome Caribbean cross-country flight, flying a biz jet or airliner to a sunny destination, or heading there on vacay. Flying within the Horse latitudes At around 30° north and south of the equator semi-permanent high pressure systems…
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Greece: Meteorology’s Origin
The first page of both my weather books mentions Aristotle’s discourse (Meteorologica) written in 340 B.C. I am recently back from a Greek Island and Turkish cruise with a few days spent in Athens, Greece. Everyone wants to head the Acropolis (I did that too), but I learned about Aristotle’s Lyceum. (I had to look…
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Every wind has its weather
17th-century English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “Every wind has its weather.” The contiguous US and the southern portion of Canada sit in latitudes where the winds prevail from the west (at the surface and aloft). But this vast geographic area is also conducive to the birth of low pressure systems. At the onset of…
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Are weather vanes oriented true or magnetic?
On a recent LAX layover, my F/O stood me up so I walked to Manhattan Beach where there is a pier with a small aquarium at the end. On its roof is a weather vane which triggered a thought…are weather vanes oriented to true or magnetic north? Did the builder wait until sunrise or sunset…
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Wall Street Journal article
Captain D was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal. Bad Atmosphere As a captain for Air Canada, pilot Captain Doug Morris has gotten plenty of practice this summer (politely) delivering bad news to passengers. Very often the blame is assigned to the weather. “Mother Nature can throw a lot of curveballs. She can challenge us,” said…
Pilot Weather Wisdom 