Aviation weather and lighting won’t come out of nowhere with new radar technology
There’s not a whole lot that bothers me more than flying on a dark, moonless night with a wall of lightning in front of my nose. Of all the aviation weather phenomena, for me, lightning is right up there with the worst of them. Every flash that lights up the sky with millions of volts of energy translates in my mind to turbulence that will rip the wings from my plane.
Thanks to basic weather radar and subscription-free weather, but they both have their limits. I can’t tell you how often my radar has painted something that wasn’t there. Or even worse, it shows a clear screen when I’m asking for deviations around a build-up dead ahead. Of course, we always have the iPad up and running with the radar selected, but again, it’s not uncommon to hear “where did my radar go?” at the worst possible moment.
So, every advance in lightning detection or anything designed to keep us safe from storms is aces in my book. Fortunately, Flash Scientific Technology is bringing its A-game to aviation.
Flash Scientific Technology is partnering with JetNet to bring its lightning-prediction technology to the aviation market. The company can predict lightning up to one hour in advance within a radius of less than one-half mile with 96.5% accuracy. Imagine how helpful that would be when flight planning and choosing a route or setting a departure time.
This deep learning technology can predict the first strike before a storm has developed and the last strike from a storm already in progress. The potential benefits from this are unbelievable. There are broad implications for wildfire prevention and life-saving advanced notice for tornados, windstorms, hail, and winter storms.
I’m most impressed with how this will impact aviation weather, specifically aviation safety. Give me a way to know where the lightning will strike, and I’ll make sure I’m someplace else!
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