Author: pilotweatherwisdom
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Captain D (60 in 60 at 60)
July 7th saw me enter the realm of the 6th decade. When am I going to retire? In about two years. I have a book to promote this coming spring (2022). My tennis partner filmed me, but the first take was photo bombed by a maintenance guy that felt it necessary to sweep the court. […]
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Psych 101—flying with weather fear
While editing my draft for Pilot Weather Wisdom and paralleling (no, not plagiarizing) what famous Robert Buck states in his iconic book, Weather Flying, I should talk about pilot weather psychology Years ago, when looking toward the sky, I read an article in an aviation magazine about an airline pilot that developed a […]
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Book #5 (Pilot Weather Wisdom)
This future book hit its first wave of turbulence. FYI, Book #4 has been put on hold until next spring. “This is Your Captain Speaking: Stories from the Cockpit has entered a long holding pattern due to COVID. I wrote about 260 pages for book #5, thinking it could do with some tweaking but overall […]
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Interview with Skywing World
There is a new virtual aviation book store in Toronto. These two young guys are keen for business. Yes, they are selling my book and I recently had a debut interview with Gabe, Skywing’s partner.
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Canadian Aviation Weather edition #3 has landed
Finally, the books arrived. I think the “nip and tuck” worked out well. However, I only printed 100 copies and I am nearly out. Don’t fret, another 200 are coming in 2 to 3 weeks. I think, I hope, I believe.
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Canadian Aviation Weather gets a facelift
CAW #3 will be available at the end of February. I hope. Due to miscommunication, printers breaking down and planets not lining up things were delayed about a month and a half. The new “nip and tuck” version will be full colour, have an extra chapter on altimetry, errors and typos fixed with a new […]
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A little weather Quiz
I found this weather quiz I wrote about a year ago. Advanced Meteorology Quiz Global Weather: The area ten to fifteen degrees north and south of the equator associated with rising air, convection, and low pressure systems is: Horse latitudes Bermuda high pressure ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone) Tropic of Cancer 2. Jet Streams: […]
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Europe’s Volcanic Ash Fiasco
Studying at Purdue University for a Masters. Lots of papers. Here is one on the eruption of Iceland’s volcano in 2010 that brought European airspace to its knees. Abstract Iceland’s eruption of Eyjafjallajökull (pronounced “A-ya-fyat-la-yœk-utl”) in April and May of 2010 spewed volcanic ash high into an eastward-moving jet stream, paralyzing Europe’s airspace located […]
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Canadian/American METARs vis-à-vis
Nearly 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the American border so there is a good chance a pilot will head south of the border or visit Alaska. We know weather has no political boundaries, but you’ll find METARs have inherent differences when comparing observations vis-à-vis (face to face). ***Sadly, NAV CANADA’s archaic website […]
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Website for Pilot Weather gets a facelift
Everything succumbs to the test of time and that includes websites. The creator of the original website did an okay job. Rumour has it, he flies airplanes for a living. Come over for a visit and enjoy the nips and tucks. Our new site! Still the same address just a new facade.
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Every Wind has its Weather
17th century English philosopher, Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “Every wind has its weather,” but singer Bob Dylan averred, “You don’t need a weatherman to know where the wind blows.” Fair enough. Contiguous USA and the southern portion of Canada sit in latitudes where the winds prevail from the west. That’s at the surface and aloft. […]
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Dew points and pilots
Dew point is the temperature at which condensation starts at a constant pressure. (Make sure you include “at a constant pressure” when answering your exam question on dew point). Dew point is found on METARs immediately after the ambient temperature. Pilots should always be looking at temperature/dew point spreads. Knowing the temperature and dew point […]
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Podcast with Ryan at Cardinal Aviation
Did a 30 minute podcast interview with Ryan Van Haren co-founder/owner of Cardinal Aviation located on Canada’s West coast.
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Dubious, devious, deluding highs
Pilots learn to watch out for ominous low pressure systems and troughs and generally welcome highs and ridges. Highs and ridges induce pleasantness, sunny outlooks, fair weather, harmony, a sense of well-being. “Feel high in a high and low in a low.” (Just made that up). But high pressure systems can be massive in area, […]
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Have you hugged your weatherman?
We are taught to be skeptical of the weatherman. After all, you received 10 inches of snow instead of the 8 inches they promised. They predicted cloud bases to be 3,000 feet, but they started at 2,500 feet. Maybe unlimited visibility was assured, but haze reduced visibility to six miles. How could they be so […]
Pilot Weather Wisdom 