Radar gain usage

dasleben

dasleben

That's just, like, your opinion, man
Please...please...if you insist on taking the gain out of the preset setting, please make sure that you put it back before handing the aircraft off to someone else. Got a nasty little surprise today banging into a nice yellow cell that wasn't painting on the radar. Turns out the gain was turned all the way down. Partly my fault for not catching it, but there's no conceivable reason to take a radar out of the preset gain for more than a moment or two to get rid of a little clutter; it can be outright dangerous if you don't put it back.

This has been a PSA, brought to you by your friendly neighborhood piston pounder who's running around down low. :D
 
Psh, gain settings...

Thats why we all need Nexrad or XMish stuff.

I cant recall, does that even have a gain control? I fly the encore+ so few and far between these days.
 
Crockrocket94 said:
Psh, gain settings...

Thats why we all need Nexrad or XMish stuff.

I cant recall, does that even have a gain control? I fly the encore+ so few and far between these days.
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Not sure how good a NEXRAD or XM uplink is for close-in "tactical" avoidance. I'd rather have a radar than an uplink for picking through a line...how often does that stuff update?

Bandit_Driver said:
Hello... Preflight your aircraft...
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You win at thread contribution.
 
What type of aircraft are you flying that switching through gains makes it difficult?

On the aircraft I fly you have a little knob that you just turn and click on 1 through 5 and takes 2 seconds and if your looking out the window and see a storm, you make sure its all setup right.
 
v1valarob said:
What type of aircraft are you flying that switching through gains makes it difficult?

On the aircraft I fly you have a little knob that you just turn and click on 1 through 5 and takes 2 seconds and if your looking out the window and see a storm, you make sure its all setup right.
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Same basic setup here, as well. However, I was in IMC and ran into something embedded. Nothing terrible, just a couple little jolts and some rain.

The issue is the placement of the preset setting on this particular radar model. If you twist it full left (below the lowest gain setting), it'll click. That's the preset level. If it's at the lowest variable gain level, it's easy to glance at it and think it's set into the proper mode.
 
Thankfully the ERJ gives you a nice big amber "VAR" on the MFD when the gain has been mucked with. If only they had given the autopilot this much thought....
 
wheelsup said:
If you're getting clutter in a piston you're not tilting it up enough...
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I absolutely agree. The only time I've needed to ever take a radar out of preset gain was in a jet trying to pick out larger cells at a distance. That said, it could be used to help define stronger echos, but proper tilt management is the better bet for that down low.
 
Once I rented a plane that was just out of annual. When I rotated the nose shot up and I had to push down really hard to prevent a stall. The mechanic had left the trim in the full aft position.

My error or the mechanics?
 
fholbert said:
Once I rented a plane that was just out of annual. When I rotated the nose shot up and I had to push down really hard to prevent a stall. The mechanic had left the trim in the full aft position.

My error or the mechanics?
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Do you have the mechanic run the preflight checklist for you?
 
fholbert said:
Once I rented a plane that was just out of annual. When I rotated the nose shot up and I had to push down really hard to prevent a stall. The mechanic had left the trim in the full aft position.

My error or the mechanics?
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Seriously...gonna be that guy, huh...

I already said my mea culpas in my first post. Yep, I screwed up by not seeing it. Now, please raise your hand if you've never missed something or done something incorrectly. I need to pick your brain and learn from you! This also occurred on my 26th leg in the previous 4 days. Stuff happens when you fly that much.

This post is meant to be a reminder to 1) remember to return the gain to preset (low gain could be hazardous to you and the next crew), and 2) check to make sure it's in preset before you go.

Anyone else want to get their cracks in? We've sure got some amazing aviators here at JC.
 
In my experience, it's a heck of a lot easier to notice the gain and/or tilt being off in glass than it is an old analog type radar. You get used to a certain setting, particularly when you're flying the same airplane (or type) on a frequent basis. I can certainly see how this would be an easy conundrum to get into... It's not like we have checklists for radar usage, and it's pretty uncommon for somebody to be screwing around with the gain by that much so it's not something you're going to be looking for.
 
dasleben said:
Seriously...gonna be that guy, huh...

I already said my mea culpas in my first post. Yep, I screwed up by not seeing it. Now, please raise your hand if you've never missed something or done something incorrectly.
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I have, but I didn't blame the other guy.
 
minitour said:
You're unprofessional.

And dangerous. ;)

-mini
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And apparently lucky I've survived this long flying in weather!

wrxpilot said:
In my experience, it's a heck of a lot easier to notice the gain and/or tilt being off in glass than it is an old analog type radar. You get used to a certain setting, particularly when you're flying the same airplane (or type) on a frequent basis. I can certainly see how this would be an easy conundrum to get into... It's not like we have checklists for radar usage, and it's pretty uncommon for somebody to be screwing around with the gain by that much so it's not something you're going to be looking for.
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This is true. Because of the number of different makes and models of radars installed in different aircraft, we don't have a uniform "flow" to preflight the radar.

But, that's neither here or there. Turning down the gain in variable mode should only be used as a temporary tool. If you mess with it, you've got to put it back. :)

fholbert said:
I have, but I didn't blame the other guy.
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You win, pal.
 
dasleben said:
But, that's neither here or there. Turning down the gain in variable mode should only be used as a temporary tool. If you mess with it, you've got to put it back. :)
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Fits in the category of "leave it how you want to find it".

I like cleaning up the airplane too and leaving it as a nice clean slate for the new crew. Makes me feel like I've finished that leg.
 
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