Lightning Detection Stormscopes

[Ian]

Hi All,

Just wondering about the utility sferics devices such as stormscopes and their kin in Australia especially given that the year ahead is looking particularly wet again. It's interesting trying to correlate what you see on BOM with realtime strike activity on lightningmaps.org on  especially in those regions not well served by weather radar.

Not that I'm advocating flying into bad weather in any way shape or form, I just wanted to get some idea of their utility or lack thereof.

[Bruce Tuncks]

In more than 40 years of summer glider flying, and being attracted to towering cu's, I have never felt a need for such a device. Thunderstorms which produce lightning can easily be seen for 50 to 100 km away.

Just once, north of Gawler, a guy was flying in the club's new open-class glider which had carbon spars. The pilot asked what would happen if it got struck, and we told him the spar would explode. Not only that, it would attract the lightning to begin with.

I still wonder about this....  there was a Ventus in the US where the lightning went through the fuse and exploded the canopy and welded the controls up.

The pilot  survived to tell the story.

For many years, the metal glider, based in Alice Springs, which held the altitude record of 50,000 ft, sported discharge burns on the trailing edges. The pilot, who officially climbed up the outside of the cu-nim, said that in Sweden all was legal, and anyway the zone of risk in the cloud was smaller that we thought.

They took his record away in later years. I thought that this showed a lack of sense of humour.

[Bruce Tuncks]

And, I am a believer in electronic gadgets....  right now, I am trying to install a landing-system setup in my plane. Look up the video of Enginebridge lidar landing system.

My hope is that it will make landing easier and better.

[APenNameAndThatA]

WX-500 for sale for US$6k. So not totally out of reach. No good for me. I get sick flying on bumpy days. No clue if they are helpful. I suppose that they could help a VFR pilot spot embedded thunderstorms on overcast days in areas away from good weather services, like remote areas of Australia. Embedded thunderstorms are the type that you actually can't see 50 km away, but you won't be gliding below a solid overcast anyway. It might be useful in areas of Australia where you can't get weather on your iPad because no mobile phone service. I have no clue if satellite weather (as in weather data beamed from the satellite to your airplane, not weather detected by satellite)  is available in Australia and if it makes Stormscope an anachronism. In remote Australia, there will not be a huge number of days solid overcast that might be hiding a thunderstorm. Disclaimer: I have a massive 232 hours. 

 

What sort of plane do you have? The investment might make more sense in a Pilatus than a C172. The utility will depend on your budget. I am now curious about all these things. 

Edited October 14, 2022 by APenNameAndThatA

[facthunter]

You can have static discharge wicks and moving parts bonded. Keep away from lightning In Light aircraft Lightning burns holes in Al skin 1/10 inch thick.. Nev

[Ian]

There are some who swear by them, mostly by those who fly in the stormy areas of the US. The key discriminators are that they're real time, sometimes register small discharges in turbulent air, and can show buildups prior to radar.

I originally dismissed them as old tech but I'm not as sure anymore.

[facthunter]

IF you are flying IFR you NEED something to avoid dangerous areas. If you are VFR and met informed I can't see the need for one but if not too dear or heavy why not? A Good weather radar is indispensable for RPT..  Nev 

[Bruce Tuncks]

I never thought about embedded thunderstorms... thanks for the information. You are right about the instrument being useful there.

And I like the foxbat, I always called them Russian, wow that was wrong huh.

I have a Jabiru 230-d which has replaced the SK jabiru I built from a kit about 20 years ago. I really recommend the 230, there is a good write-up in the latest magazine, where it is called the flying ute. It can carry as payload and fuel, more than it's empty weight of 370 kg.

I have never had any problems at all with any Jabiru stuff, although the builder of the J230 did.

He lost a case about the 3300 engine, and now there is a Camit engine on the plane. I am happy with the engine, as the changes ( eg running a belt-driven alternator ) all make good sense to me.

[facthunter]

Belt driven  alternators or generators last longer. Gears are too harsh a drive without a rubber cushion.. Nev