With datalink the rage, we haven’t seen new lightning detectors in years. This product advances the technology, but display flexibility is limited for now.

By Larry Anglisano

Although satellite weatherlink seems to have permanently dented the Stormscope/Strike Finder market, Avidyne is forging boldly forward with a new sferics-based product called the TWX670 digital Tactical Weather Detection system. It’s already being called a modern Stormscope.

Are these guy nuts? Not necessarily. Don’t forget, outside the U.S., weatherlink doesn’t exist and some North American pilots still want sferics-based detection to go with their datalink. The TWX60 fills the need with real-time mapping of storms and aggressive filtering of noise responsible for bogus strikes. Although the price is high, this new device promises to simplify installation and it color codes the strike pattern, potentially taking the guesswork out of tactical…