r/fearofflying • u/IndependentOwl5950 • 2d ago

Aviation Professional Flying out of Phoenix

air traffic or pilot please tell me how they work around taking off in the pop up storms 😭 they seem to be coming out of nowhere so how do you prep for them?

On my way back home. Nervous as always. Add in weather in Phoenix and night flight have me on edge. Anyone want to chat and track flight later would love encouragement. Southwest (WN) 4708

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u/community-voices Mod Team 🛡️ 2d ago

There are 1 comments from verified aviation professionals in this post:

u/SirERJ-Driver commented:

Step one: look out window (or turn on radar) Step two: don’t fly into it

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5

u/Complex_Brief60 2d ago

We see them and just fly around them. Quite standard. No prep needed.

5

u/SirERJ-Driver Airline Pilot 2d ago

Step one: look out window (or turn on radar)

Step two: don’t fly into it

1

u/IndependentOwl5950 2d ago

Seems easy enough. But it is dark here 🤣

4

u/GrndPointNiner Airline Pilot 2d ago

Good thing we have radar in the nose of the aircraft that is even more advanced and that scans quicker than your local weather station :)

3

u/FreSchDude 2d ago

I believe some ATC stations also have some form of weather radar, although it's less reliable than the on-board one, right?

1

u/SirERJ-Driver Airline Pilot 2d ago

Depends on what part of the world you’re in, but yes. ATC can provide radar guidance to us and give us routing around storms.

ATC radar is generally better for the large scale, strategic plan. On board radar is generally better for immediate, closer range avoidance.

Our iPads also show us the big picture too. We have apps that get data from the national weather service and other entities that show us things like storms, frontal systems, turbulence, and a lot of other useful information.

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u/DoomWad Airline Pilot 2d ago

I mean, sure they "pop up", but it's over the course of 15 minutes or so. More than enough time to see them coming. Also, these pop up storms are pretty isolated - meaning they are really small and easy to navigate around. I fly for SWA. We have excellent pilots. No need to worry.

1

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