Training and use of airborne weather radar

[falconer1]

to keep the coals hot here...

safetypee ( in the A330 Tech Thread) correctly reminds us all of some severe stuff that had happened years ago, when a commuter a/c manufacturer changed the radar spec from an older high powered cloud slicer to their suppliers new (ever so top top top whatsoever) low powered digital flashlight radar..

make no mistake, that EFIS cockpit looked the same as the older birds..

BUT somebody forgot to inform the crews..

so they were looking at the same radar picture on their MFDs and EHSIs..

the radar had the same controls, in short you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference in the radar by looking at the cockpit..

only to find, well, all of a sudden, two different, highly experienced crews, who never dented a bird before, had hail damage on two different planes of the newer types..within a week of putting the new birds into service..

same clouds, same location, all the same..

EXCEPT, the new radars "led" them directly into the thick of some cells..

well, one should add, that the radar manufacturer also had forgotten to tell the aircraft manufacturer that their old radome spec wouldn't be good enough anymore...(well they had not forgotten, it was written in the installation manuals.., but alas, nobody at the aircraft manufacturer cared to read... sort of had overlooked the small print in the installation manuals..)

anyway, nobody got hurt, the insurance paid for the hail damage on the birds..

but coudda been worse...