tubby linton -
• Five in every eight pilots incorrectly thought green (short-range) radar targets shown near to cruise levels above FL310 need not be avoided. “Typically, at these altitudes, targets are less reflective. At high altitudes, there is a possibility of unstable air and hail above the storm cell. It is therefore not advisable to penetrate the less-reflective part of the storm top,” Khatwa explained.
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It's been my observation, and the observation of most of my coworkers, that the majority of us flying tropical weather do not leave the radars in the calibrated gain settings. The only way to see the "less-reflective part of the storm top" is to get out of the calibrated gain setting.