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Questions about Door-page and Weather Radar


Ilya1998

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Good evening!

Thanks again for the very nice and realistic aircraft.

My questions are:

1) If I open a window in the cockpit, it isn't visible on the ECAM-door page like it was in the AXE. The windows just remain being green. Is that as how it should be?

2) (for the pilots out here) In which case do pilots use the weather radar? Are there certain rules for it? For example when there are too many clouds?

3) When using the weather radar, do pilots operate it most of the times in the AUTO or the MANUAL mode?

4) Is it possible to recognize the ground clutter from the thunderstorms? If yes, how?

5) This is probably the most important question because I really don't understand it. I've read about the use of weather radar in your manuals. And lot of things remain very unclear for me. For example you wrote in your manuals "During the climb you need to select the negative tilt. , During the approach set positive tilt at about +4 etc." I really can't understand why you must scan those areas, because it's the opposite direction of where you're flying to in those stages of the flight.

Also during the approach in my A319, when I select the radar to AUTO it uses a positive tilt. Can somebody please make it clear to me why it's as how it's?

Thank you very much in advance!

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  • Deputy Sheriffs

Answer to question 1: that was a bug in the AXE. It is correct in this version, those are the avionic bay doors near the cockpit. Not the windows.

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Hello,

maybe it helps, if you read this book, which you can find in the internet: Collins WXR- 2100 ; Fully Automated Weather Radar.

It is a pdf file, containing more than 200 pages of Insider know how. I´m admitting not having read this book by now. But I pledge improvement This subject isn`t that easy as it seems. A few colours. but a lot to read :blowbubble_s:

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  • Deputy Sheriffs

Answer to question 2: we, I, use the WXR when we think we need it. If there is a chance of rain, or there is rain, we switch it on to have a look.

When there are only stratiform clouds around there is not that much of a threat and using the WXR is just on a nice to know basis. But when there are cumulus clouds around it gets more interesting. We really do not care for the rain but more for the intensity of it. We are looking for turbulent and shearwind areas like CB's, TCU's and TS's. These are there were the intensity (yellow, red) and small colour gradients (small line of green then a small line of yellow followed by a red inner spot) are.

Some airlines have an SOP that the WXR must always be on when it is night (dark). In this case you can not see the bad weather by looking outside and you have to rely on the WXR.

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  • Deputy Sheriffs

Answer to question 3: Normally we use it in auto mode. Only when we pick up some interesting weather that concerns us , some switch to manual to get a better feel for the situation.

At the moment we have two types of pilots. The ones who flew before the auto stuff was available and those who do not know any better than Auto mode as standard. The latter ones have never learned to really operate and interpret the WXR in manual mode. This is a bit of black art which can not be learned from reading manuals.

The first group, also me included, learned how to use the radar in manual mode because that was the only mode back in the day. As we got the first WXR with auto mode the software was very sketchy and it sometimes showed, and still shows now, absolute BS that could not be trusted. I still have a healthy mistrust in the auto mode and rather fly in manual mode. The newest WXR, HDR4000 and such, are rather good but the collins that is modelled in this sim is not that great in RL.

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  • Deputy Sheriffs

Thank you very much for your answers.

But can somebody please also answer at least the last question? Because it's the one that I don't understand the most

Thanks

Generally speaking, you have to tilt in order to "look at the weather": When you are very low, the wx is above; when you are really high, the wx is below. Additionally, tilting up may avoid ground clutter on your ND during the descent/approach (if GC is not suppressed).

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