Barometers??

[peteandthira]

PPS - I forgot to add - make sure you do the adjustment whilst on the boat. If you take it home and do it there, you will then have it correct for your home altitude, not the boat's. This procedure is perfectly OK to do retrospectively, as the difference will remain the same. That is, as long as you took the reading at a known time, you can go back and do the difference adjustment a week later if need be.

Pops

 

[peteandthira]

VicS

"Remember that if you are setting your barometer at home, but intend to use it on the boat, to allow to for your altitude. Pressure falls by 11.4 mb / 100m. So if the sea level pressure given at your nearest weather station is 1013 and you are 100m above sea level you must set it to read 1001.6mb"

Please don't consider me a pedant, that would only be true if he does indeed want to take it back to the boat afterwards. If you keep one at home as well, then you still need to make it read 1013 to match the synoptic pattern, which takes no account of altitude.

Extreme case is a guy who lives on a mountain. It is unlikely that his barometer would be able to show the actual pressure there, and needs to show the imaginary sea level pressure thousands of feet below him.

I suggest you already knew that, and I am not trying to "out-do" you. I mention it purely for those who DO have barometers at home and Smiffy may well be one of them.

Pops

 

[peteandthira]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks once again both, just got to unscrew Barometer from bulkhead, and see if there is a screw to twiddle, is that how you do it? (I'm not very bright, shouldn't be allowed out really) /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, thats the sort of thing. Do you have to be under supervision while you are out? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[bilbobaggins]

[ QUOTE ]
I was an RAF pilot for 26 years

[/ QUOTE ]

From Montgolfier balloons to Tornados, eh? I'm glad you survived all that..... Little Rissington, eh? Respect, dude. Good ale, buxom barmaids, and regular 'Trapper' landaways?

"There's nothing quite so useless as altitude above you and runway behind you......" Oh, and "Different ships, different long splices."

On meteorologists ( 'Cu-Nim Jim' to the initiated ).... Although the Senior Forecaster at St Mawgan/Cornwall was a great guy, the hairy-arsed aircrew ( 'JPs' ) there had little need of the 'Great Computer' at Bracknell.

At morning briefings, all the guys and the 'squadron wheels' would assemble awaiting the arrival of the Duty Forecaster from his lair in the tower. We'd know as he came through the door what the a.m. forecast would be....

If he was wet, it was raining. If he was in shirt sleeves, it would be warm and dry. If he had his coat on, it would be cold. And if he didn't turn up at all, it was foggy.....

If we wanted to know what the afternoon had in store, we could phone up - on HF - the nearest Shackleton bumbling about the Western Approaches, ask what weather they actually had - then forecast that for ourselves a couple of hours later. Or send one of the jets doing Continuation Training out to the west for 20 minutes, and radio back what cloud, precip, winds and temps there were, at different heights. An 'ascent', in the jargon?

We'd pass that info up to the Senior Forecaster, and he'd forecast that - with a suitable time delay - into the Terminal Airfield Forecast ( TAF ) for St Mawgan.

Guys coming back from 'task' at high level - upwards of Flight Level 400 - could readily plot the edges of a frontal system, or a break in cloud-sheet - even photos, on occasion - to hand in to the Duty Forecaster on landing. All very unofficial, all very helpful, all very pre-MeteoSat!


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[peteandthira]

Bilbo

"If he was wet, it was raining. If he was in shirt sleeves, it would be warm and dry. If he had his coat on, it would be cold. And if he didn't turn up at all, it was foggy....."

Nice one, centurion. I don't think I ever met any aircrew with more than a passing interest in meteorology. I was forced to be interested because I was given the job of ensuring trainee instructors knew the score. I had to learn it first!

Then I learned to sail, and was glad I knew summat about the weather.

I acquired an old Weatherfax machine, and it quite amazing how many sailors I have met who say "Wot the ell do you want that for?"

I don't think I could sleep without it now. Sad or what!

Sounds as if you've done your time too. I was only ever 2-seat AD then was put out to grass at CFS in 1994, so have the embarrassing problem of having more hours on the Tucano than proper jets.

Funniest thing I ever heard from a truckie skipper in a hurry:

"Look Scroggins, we just haven't got the time to navigate today. We'll just have to go straight there!"

Regards

Pops

 

[bilbobaggins]

Hee, hee!/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

As anyone who's ever sailed with me will swiftly recall, I've got more silly stories about "I flew about learning from that" ( 'Flight International' regular column ) and could ( ? ! ) 'bore the brass off a barometer'..... Still, I do extend tolerance to others' wee obsessions now and then.

'Icing letdowns' from altitude were serious issues in a Canberra ( FWIW, ice formed progressively within the engine intakes, in certain quite common met conditions, causing 'flameout' and/or broken compressor blades - which increased the pucker-factor as well as the rate of descent. ). The sudden incidence of fog at one's destination and diversion fields, or 'below authorised limits' visibility, was another common flight hazard. You'll know about 'hard centred clouds', of course.....

Being cavalier about aviation met was not a good long-term health strategy. It's still true. You just get a lot more time on a wee boat.

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[DeeGee]

Not much use directly in Bideford, but a nice link all the same, here

 

[Clive_Rigden]

A really good - and entertaining - thread /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif My late father was a meteorologist and would have loved to have contributed to this one !

 

[peteandthira]

Khyber

I am surprised not to have heard from SimonJK on this thread. Perhaps he only joins in to put his weekend forecast here, which I think is absolutely BEEZER of him to provide for us.

Are you there Simon? I would love to hear your comments.

Pops

 

[Guest]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Do you have to be under supervision while you are out? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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Yes.....................SO? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[peteandthira]

Smiffy

Just make sure your colostomy bag is sorted before you go, and keep your mobile phone charged up in case of an emergency!

 

[bilbobaggins]

Pro forecasters - and a few others - need to retain an air of professional 'gravitas'. Consider how comfortably this would fit in with the anarchic behaviour in here, then transplant that onto a meeting of the august Royal Meteorological Society.....

Simon and his team are A-OK. One of 'em provided a very detailed met briefing that contributed significantly to a class win in a recent Fastnet Race, by a close friend of mine. However, tweaking SJK's tail might well be counter-productive.....

I learned early that, among those it was imprudent to pi33 off were your pilot, your dentist and your forecaster.

But you could ask Simon about the highly-secret Met Office statistics - that every forecaster knows - showing incontrovertibly that, if they were to forecast for tomorrow exactly what we've had today, the success 'hit rate' would be significantly higher than by using any other forecasting model.

Think about the implications........


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[Guest]

[ QUOTE ]
Smiffy

Just make sure your colostomy bag is sorted before you go, and keep your mobile phone charged up in case of an emergency!

[/ QUOTE ]

Hush! I'm busy, I have been making this dear little wax doll, I have made a nice little RAF uniform for him, and he has got your name on! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif..............

Tomorrow, I am going to get some nice sharp little pins to stick in him! Oh what fun I shall have, a little pin here, and little pin there...........................

Don't worry, I wont keep it up for too long! (Huh! the story of my life!) Oh shut up woman! sorry, that was 'er indoors, always complaining about something /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Toodle Pip! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif