Do you have a Stormscope (Poll)

[201er]

Do you have a Stormscope or other lightening strike detection device? Did it come with your plane or did you install it? Do you use it?

[Rwsavory]

Our Stormscope came with the plane.  I am using it in conjunction with XM weather displayed on the GNS430.  It is nice to be able to cross-check the two systems and make sure I steer well clear of thunderstorms.   

[carusoam]

Strike detector + sky radar and FlightWatch. Helps get 90% of the picture.

You're busy tonight, Mike!

Best regards,

-a-

[Oscar Avalle]

I had a Stormscope 500 installed linked to my 430. Wonderful addition.

[AmigOne]

Interesting that so far the poll does not show anybody planning to install a lightening strike detection device. Personally I feel that I can safely plan a flight in weather with the preflight briefing (plus in flight updates) and XM weather taking fully into account the shortcomings of the latter. I recently ferried a 210 to Argentina withWX-10 and the dots drove me nuts,ended up having to fly through them as they were disappearing as fast as they were appearing. With XM if you see red deviate if you can leaving a wide margin, if you can't retreat or land.

[201er]

Interesting that so far the poll does not show anybody planning to install a lightening strike detection device. Personally I feel that I can safely plan a flight in weather with the preflight briefing (plus in flight updates) and XM weather taking fully into account the shortcomings of the latter. I recently ferried a 210 to Argentina withWX-10 and the dots drove me nuts,ended up having to fly through them as they were disappearing as fast as they were appearing. With XM if you see red deviate if you can leaving a wide margin, if you can't retreat or land.photo-23.JPG

I added wx500 just a few months ago. It helps you distinguish if the picture you see on radar is convective or not.

[fantom]

XM-1000+ installed at the factory. Works very well in conjunction with XM weather.

[Marauder]

Interesting that so far the poll does not show anybody planning to install a lightening strike detection device. Personally I feel that I can safely plan a flight in weather with the preflight briefing (plus in flight updates) and XM weather taking fully into account the shortcomings of the latter. I recently ferried a 210 to Argentina withWX-10 and the dots drove me nuts,ended up having to fly through them as they were disappearing as fast as they were appearing. With XM if you see red deviate if you can leaving a wide margin, if you can't retreat or land.

By your expression in the reflection, you certainly don't look like a happy camper! I had a WX-8 and had it removed. The WX-8 did show a rough image of where activity resided but because of issues with radial spread, it wasn't accurate enough for me to navigate through or around anything. I understand the newer scopes are more precise and can be integrated with MFDs displaying the weather products. Because of the WX-8, I've learned over the years to give these nimbus clouds a wide berth or to avoid them all together by flying early in the day. Have I lost some of my flying flexibility? Sure, but it sure beats ending up like a crushed aluminum can.

[Bennett]

I had WX-8 stormscopes in one of my Cessna 172s, and in my Mooney 261. Generally helpful, but one day I simply forgot that the WX-8 was not synchronized to heading changes, and while turning and twisting my

way through some buildups (these were my stupid "bold" days)I found myself in a box canyon between some

really nasty stuff. A bit of a rough ride , even with a 180 out of there, but it was a lesson well

learned. Nowadays I rely on XM weather by subscription, and NexGen via a Garmin GDL88. Out here in the

San Francisco Bay Area it is rare to see the sort of convective weather that is common to the Mid-West.

I can certainly understand the utility of Stormscopes and Strikefinders if you regularly travel in areas

with convective weather as an adjunct to XM and NexGen, but I have no intention of adding such a unit to my aircraft. At this point in life, I am very conservative in flying across the country, so I pick my

times and routes very carefully, and use the onboard displays to avoid the "bad stuff".

[AmigOne]

By your expression in the reflection, you certainly don't look like a happy camper!

You can say that again. There is always a mixture of respect for the instrument and concern when you are flying over not so friendly terrain with fewer options that we are used to. The point in this case was "where was the beef". My experience in this flight and others in the past when my airplane had SS or SFinder is that unless these dots get bunched up into a larger and steady glow, there is no danger. My understanding being that the convective areas are always associated with intensive precipitation and turbulence if I see red, which I can see with plenty of warning on the XM, I deviate or land. Since I never had onboard radar, XM is the best thing plus the absence of attenuation. Most importantly I never have be anywhere so I can plan my flights accordingly.

[AmigOne]

We did see on the SS this weather east of the airport as we were approaching Georgetown in Guyana but on the SS I could not tell the size or see cloud as we were going in and out of IMC. We beat it by a few minutes but had to stay inside the airplane for a long time. In the meantime lightening struck a telephone pole 200 yards from our parking spot. I guess on XM this would have shown as red so to me heavy rain and convective activity most of the times go together.

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[Bob_Belville]

This '66E had a Stomscope 900 installed when I bought it. A big plus to me. I spent $900 to have it rebuilt. I bought a (Ryan!) Stormscope for my first Mooney back in the '80s. I am a true believer having had to pick my way through buildups many times, particularly on the N/S route near JAX FL.

 

I now have GDX 88 displaying Nexrad and more on a GTN 750 (I dropped XM on the 696.) But if it gets really tough I'd trust the SS on 25nm range over the Nexrad. 

 

(Of course at 70, flying 75 hours per year, I am unlikely to put myself in a tough situation. BTDT-HTTS.) 

[John Pleisse]

Old analogue version of the Strikefinder. Works better than anything I have used. Great at long distances. It augments and confirms all other sources.

[thinwing]

I have a 500 that displays on garmin 530...I think combined with the nexrad picture provided by xm weather it allows both 5min old data to be realtimed for tacticle storm advoidance....

[Earl]

Mine came with the plane and I use it regularly in conjunction with XM weather.  What I like is it confirms for me the presence or absence of lightning in an area of heavy precipitation that I see on XM which tells me to stay far away.  You do have to regularly clear the screen, especially if you are making turns to avoid weather.  It is definitely a strategic tool but not tactical to the extent that on-board weather radar can be.

[Z W]

I really like my Stormscope.  When you're in IMC and about to fly into some yellow or yellow/orange on the XM, it's nice to get confirmation from the scope that there are no strikes, in real time, and it's actually just moderate precipitation.