Pilots gain renewed confidence in their ability to make the
right decisions before flight
Chesapeake Aviation
Training, of Baltimore, Maryland, has announced the next locations
for a two-day weather seminar for pilots. This two-day
weather-based seminar will introduce pilots to many aspects of
weather planning not taught in traditional aviation training. The
pilot will walk away from the seminar with a renewed confidence in
their ability to make a well-informed judgment before every
flight.
A Forecast For Icing Not Always An Easy Task
Winter flying presents
a significant challenge for most general aviation pilots. The
northern half of the country is typically littered with Airmets for
icing throughout the winter months. While a few new icing analysis
products have recently surfaced, it is nearly impossible to find
any pilot-centric short-range forecasts for the potential for
structural icing
As a result, pilots become heavily biased by pilot reports.
Pilot reports for icing are extremely valuable. Pilots need to be
aware that their value ages quickly. Icing can be an isolated or
transient condition. It can also be representative of a large-scale
synoptic development. Additionally, pilots cannot become complacent
that the absence of pilot reports means the absence of structural
icing.
There are, however, several forecast methods and tools that can
be used by pilots to identify those areas of adverse weather
including areas of icing potential 12 to 36 hours in advance.
"Weather is a factor in many fatal aviation accidents," according
to seminar author and presenter, Scott Dennstaedt. "The goal is to
help pilots recognize adverse weather such as icing prior to flight
and develop a plan to avoid it while in flight."
Pilots need to balance their desire to fly with their need to
minimize exposure to hazardous weather such as icing, thunderstorms
and fog. Mr. Dennstaedt designed the "Weather or Not" seminar for
that very purpose.
Scott Dennstaedt Combines Aviation and Weather Experience
Mr. Scott Dennstaedt
(right) will present the two-day seminar. Mr. Dennstaedt is an
experienced FAA-certified instrument flight instructor (CFII) and
meteorologist in the Baltimore-Washington area. Besides presenting
weather seminars, he is a contributing editor and writer for IFR
Magazine and will soon have a featured weather column in
Aero-News.Net.
Seminar Covers In-Depth Weather Information Not Available in
Aviation Training
The weekend-long seminar dissects two familiar weather products
and introduces several weather products that are extremely useful,
but may not be familiar to most pilots. The featured segments teach
pilots how to understand and make practical use of:
- NEXRAD images
- Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs)
- Tools to assess atmospheric instability to include
thermodynamic diagrams
- Weather forecasting models for short- and long-range
planning.
In addition to the
topics above, there will be plenty of time available for an
interactive discussion about all facets of weather planning.
Seminar Dates and Costs
Chesapeake Aviation Training is holding "Weather or Not"
seminars at the following Texas locations:
- January 24-January 25, 2004 at Austin, Texas (KAUS)
- January 31-February 1, 2004 at Fort Worth, Texas (KFTW)
The price of the two-day seminar is $350. An early registration
discount price of $300 is available until 15 days before the
published seminar date. Student pilots holding a valid student
pilot's certificate and FAA-certified flight instructors can
receive a discounted price of $250. The price above includes a
light lunch on Saturday and Sunday and a CD containing the
presentation slides.
Chesapeake Aviation Training is committed to providing
outstanding one-on-one flight training and inspired ground training
the industry has to offer. Founded in 2001, Chesapeake Aviation
Training is a privately held firm headquartered in Baltimore,
Maryland.