Looks like this storm came up so fast, even the folks in the tower got a scare:http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/13_1a/lead...n_194108-1.htmlHate to see this, as my local FBO is getting squeezed badly enough already by high insurance costs, and this claim sure won't help. Plus, there's an ever-dwindling supply of affordable 172's in the world...John G.

>You don't consider someone experienced enough until 1000>hours? Here I am wondering if I will ever get to 40 hours :)Not experienced enough to fly into a storm that has the energy to produce this large of a tornado.

Having lived in west central Alabama for a number of years prior to moving to Florida, I can vouch for the lack of warning a tornado gives. The only thing certain during tornado season is that the threat exists every day. I've been in high school when the entire roof departed the building, complete with a bus spinning in the air, I've been under a spawning tornado that dropped a hundred foot interstate service station sign like a wet dishrag and scattered debris from an obliterated Holiday Inn from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham. We've lost acquaintances in tornadoes - I even had an old CFI of mine hit directly on final with a student and thrown into a hangar roof (which they somehow survived)- just to mention a few. At the beginning of each season we even had a week of tornado awareness training at the U of A. You are completely defenseless against the wrath of a tornado, aside from taking whatever shelter you have.However, as stated above hurricanes are a different critter all together. If and when reasonable threat of a hit in central Florida is identified I fly mine back up to my Dad's place in Alabama - which is generally past the worst of tornado season. Incidentally, that paid off the first time I vacated Lakeland as we took the eye of - I think it was Jean - which pushed in our hangar doors. Ironically, I had taken it up there at the threat of Ivan, which then by-passed us and drew a line on our place up there (all was well though). I'll leave it there usually until the season wanes and then retrieve it.As an interesting note - try showing up at the airline counter having purchased a one-way ticket a couple of hours prior with a flight-bag carrying enough stuff to fly their airplane just about anywhere in the continental US. Then try explaining how you had just flown a plane out of harm's way etc., etc., - then you head on over to the guys behind the screen for the secondary body search.Regards,Leon

Great post, very informative for some of us who don't live in the 'tornado alley'.Michael J.

Thanks Michael,When we moved to Florida we thought we'd left the tornados behind, but as we've seen over the last decade or so even here we're at risk. Ironically, a few years back we took a hit from a smaller one here in Lakeland that peeled about half of our shingles off and carried the kid's trampoline a few yards down. It was time for a roof anyway.Welcome back, by the way. I haven't seen you post in a while.Regards,Leon

Even up here in Washington State we are not out of the dangers of tornadoes. We had a crazy one develop the first week of flying this year. Luckily it was at the far west end of one of the practice areas and no one was close enough to be bothered by it.

I bet it dosn't break the heart of Embry-Riddle. They'be probably been developing a strategy for a while for replacing their older analog gauge trainers with the new glass cockpit trainers that Diamond and others are building and now they have an instant solution to what was going to be a long and costly process. You can be sure there are a lot of smiles in the Embry-Riddle boardroom. billg

>I bet it dosn't break the heart of Embry-Riddle. They'be>probably been developing a strategy for a while for replacing>their older analog gauge trainers with the new glass cockpit>trainers that Diamond and others are building and now they>have an instant solution to what was going to be a long and>costly process. You can be sure there are a lot of smiles in>the Embry-Riddle boardroom. Perhaps so... although, checking the ownership of the a/c shown in the pictures shows that they are - without exception - owned by a leasing company. Depending on the terms of the long-term lease agreement, getting rid of the "steam fleet" might not have been all that expensive a process...

I don't know how they do it at E-R but it is way too easy to practice instrument flight in a glass cockpit. So most flight schools keep the steam gauges for instrument training.

>it is way too easy to>practice instrument flight in a glass cockpit.Sorry, I don't buy it. Glass cockpit has proven to be 'easy' for some and 'difficult' for other. I don't see this easy-difficult being any factor in whether a flight schools adopts a glass or none. Most flight schools would like to go glass but this is mostly a financial-logistical decision. Most of the prestigeous flight schools started phasing in the glass long time ago. I base my opinion what I read on the subject in FLYING.Michael J.

>Not experienced enough to fly into a storm that has the energy>to produce this large of a tornado. Hopefully, if you ARE experienced enough, you'd know that if a storm like that was approaching, you'd stay on the ground, inside a safe building, and NOT taking a plane up in the air. Better an empty plane wrapped around a tree than one with me (or you) in it!