Did you know that when you fly, if you use the plane’s WiFi you have access to more current and detailed weather information than the pilots who are flying your aircraft do?  Not having the best weather information has led to planes flying directly through thunderstorms and even hail shafts, causing damage to planes and injuries to passengers and crew.  But that is about to change according to Cliff Mass in his blog post earlier this week.  You can find it at https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2016/09/a-weather-data-revolution-in-cockpit.html.

Pilots for the different airlines will be getting new and improved real-time radar information that will allow them to avoid the worst weather without having to rely on their outdated aircraft radar, which is low-resolution and one-dimensional. This will help them find alternate paths which will skirt or totally avoid the worst weather.

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