Any tips for summer (thunderstorm) VFR flying?

Wow! Wasn't really expecting so many replies.
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I'll have to check out the materials recommended, would be nice to have some reference books on the subject.

I agree about going when there's no haze especially, I have been up when it's clear and a million and you could see the CBs/TCUs a long way off. Went up today in 4SM and HZ, and you really couldn't see anything until you were right on top of it. Fortunately today is a calmer non-convective day.

Our aircraft don't have radar, Stormscope or even GPS, so the Mk1 eyeball is all I have to use, can get kinda tricky sometimes.

What our Cherokees really could use is air conditioning, when it gets to the triple digits with the humidity you are pretty well melted to the seat on the ground.
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Great topic. It applies to me as well. I want to make a few cross countries this summer and we have thunderstorms forcast everyday here in Charleston.
 
I saw some Archie Trammel CD-Roms on Sporty's website, but the only problem is they cost upwards of $300! Hence why I'm hoping that the seminar thing pops up. I have Dave Gwinn's website bookmarked, and check it often hoping for a seminar date.

Sometimes to me, lack of radar knowledge is downright scary. Pilots trying to navigate areas of weather without knowing how to operate the one piece of equipment which will help, as antiquated as it may be. Even worse is knowledge of the thunderstorms themselves, and knowing how to use other resources available to help make decisions (ATC, etc.).

Oh well, I'll keep hoping for a seminar! I wish there were more seminars like this to learn from retired pilots and those nearing retirement. I'm afraid of getting to a major and 75% of the current list of experienced pilots to be retired already! It's looking that way.
 
Archie's tapes are great, but watcher beware! You'll need to slap yourself in the facea few times to stay awake.
 
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Sometimes to me, lack of radar knowledge is downright scary. Pilots trying to navigate areas of weather without knowing how to operate the one piece of equipment which will help, as antiquated as it may be. Even worse is knowledge of the thunderstorms themselves, and knowing how to use other resources available to help make decisions (ATC, etc.).

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I'll tell you what's scary. When I first came into this industry we flew through thunderstorms a lot! Guys just didn't have any idea how to safely use the old monochrome radars. And when we got in the stuff we headed for the nearest clear area, the heaviest part of the storm! It was a total tribute to how tough Boeing and Douglas airplanes were that we didn't have more Southern Airways type accidents.

The color radars helped immensely just because it reduced intrerpretation error in attenuation situations. But now we routinely fly through the tops of thunderstorms, hurting lots of passengers and crew per year, because guys don't know how to operate the tilt.

The funny thing is that storm scope is probably the better technology. But airline types won't consider it because they think it's light plane stuff. I tried to campaign for storm scope technology in the airline industry and hit a wall.
 
The real game is to count how many times Archie either blinks or smiles during the entire course of the video.

(You can count it on one hand)
 
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