I just flew a Piper Warrior today and I got confused with the instrument shown below, it's the one above the CDI and to the right of the altimeter.
1 Answer
WX-10 Stormscope
The WX-10 System consists of a display, remote processor, and an antenna. This Stormscope offers thunderstorm information on a bright green CRT display. The more the dots on the display are clustered together, the stronger the storm activity. Up to 256 dots may be displayed. The WX-10 also has a Forward mode to concentrate the display and processing power on the airspace ahead of you.
See also: Wikipedia: Lightning detection § Aviation use
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7$\begingroup$ They have been out a long time, since the 70s or so. They are very limited in usefulness because you really want to detect water, not electrical activity, to avoid the worst of cells. You have to give a much larger clearance from indications to be safe compared to radar. I would not want to try to pick my way through a line of cells with a Stormscope. $\endgroup$– John KApr 18, 2021 at 3:56
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1$\begingroup$ @JohnK: There are newer versions that are integrated in glass cockpits. For light aircraft purposes, I think it's a cheaper solution to avoid CBs than a full-blown weather radar. $\endgroup$– user14897Apr 18, 2021 at 12:00
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7$\begingroup$ They are better than nothing, but if you are going to fly in the vicinity of CBs deliberately, not much. When I was bush flying on floats, scud running around in murky weather in the wilderness, I used the ADF as a very primitive stormscope. Between the crackling on the audio, and the needle briefly swinging toward the storm when a lighting strike hit, it at least provided a hint about which way to run. Stormscope is kinda in between that, and actual radar. There is no way I would ever try to thread my way between cells relying on a Stormscope. $\endgroup$– John KApr 18, 2021 at 12:45