john@tower.UUCP (John Moore) (01/02/88)
Does anyone out in Netland know how the StormScope avionics system works. I have flown a small aircraft with one, and it gives a radar-like PPI display that shows storm cells and, purportedly, non-precipitating turbulance areas. However, it is not radar and is apparently completely passive. I am most curious about the principles of operation and how good it is. -- John Moore (NJ7E) hao!noao!mcdsun!nud!anasazi!john (602) 861-7607 (day or evening) The opinions expressed here are obviously not mine, so they must be someone else's.
ron@topaz.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) (01/03/88)
StormScope works by detecting the characturistic electronic signatures that are emitted by static discharges in the clouds. The designer pointed out that if mother nature wasn't so regular, he'd never had been able to build such a thing. These discharges may either be real lightning strokes or other discharges that are generated when layers of air pass each other in convective activity. -Ron
slr@ho95e.ATT.COM (Shelley.L.Rosenbaum) (01/05/88)
In article <484@tower.UUCP> john@tower.UUCP (John Moore) writes: > > Does anyone out in Netland know how the StormScope avionics >system works. I have flown a small aircraft with one, and it gives >a radar-like PPI display that shows storm cells and, purportedly, >non-precipitating turbulance areas. However, it is not radar and >is apparently completely passive. I am most curious about the >principles of operation and how good it is. It works on the principle that TRW's usually are associated with static electricity. This is due to the fact that you have strong updrafts and downdrafts in the vicinity of one another, and the friction of the air going up rubbing against the air going down causes the static electricity. The StormScopes merely detect the static. I saw a presentation of the StormScopes at an FAA Back to Basics seminar last year--the guy from 3M who presented it said that 3M recommended that people have both a StormScope and a weather radar system. He also showed us a picture of a weather radar screen which showed little precip, and what the weather really was at that location: a tornado. Pretty impressive. -- Shelley Rosenbaum; AT&T Bell Labs; (201) 949-3615 {ihnp4, allegra, cbosgd}!ho95c!slr "He's been up there for a week! But he's coming down!"
wiz@xroads.UUCP (Mike Carter) (01/05/88)
Interesting indeed. Now what interests me is what is he using for detection of such static discharges? ALso, where did you see the write-up? I'd like to check it out . Thanks, -Mike