Ajay Raghavendra, Ph.D.
Ajay Raghavendra is an ERJ-175 first officer with a regional airline who pilots the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter as an aviation officer with the U.S. Army (New York National Guard). He holds a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from SUNY-Albany and graduated with honors from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla. campus) with a B.S. in Meteorology and Computational Mathematics. He has participated in two cloud-seeding projects and flew the Cessna 340. Ajay is a strong advocate for aviation safety and education in the general aviation community. He is a FAASTeam representative (FAA Safety Team) with the Albany Flight Standards District Office and works as a CFI and Part-141 Check Airmen in Albany N.Y.
Anticipating Upper Clear-Air Turbulence
Editor’s Note: We are pleased to welcome Ajay Raghavendra, PhD back to our pages. Ajay took a sabbatical for service to the country, additional...
Windshear: The Science, Equipment, and Mitigation
A series of thunderstorms and windshear-related air carrier accidents culminating with the crash of Delta 191 during final approach into DFW had a profound...
What Type of Icing is on the Plane?
Icing is a triple threat that impacts the aerodynamics, performance, and handling of an aircraft. While the threats of icing are reviewed and examined...
Beautiful Mountains, but Turbulent Skies
You’re flying your usual leg from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Dallas (DFW) for the hundredth time on another beautiful sunny day with blue...
Why are runways often oriented perpendicular to the shoreline?
The construction and design of an airport is not a trivial task. Planners consider a multitude of factors such as economic impact, potential for...
What’s Behind that Cold Front?
Thunderstorms are one of the most significant hazards to aviation. For instance, on 12 January 2023, a relatively strong cold front dominated the eastern...
The Clashing of Air Masses
Seasons play a significant role in disrupting aviation operations. Summers are characterized by intense thunderstorms and heat. For instance, density-altitude-related performance degradation resulted in...
Understanding the Characteristics of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL)
Aircraft operate in the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) during the critical phases of flight, e.g., takeoff, climb-out, low altitude cruise flight, approach, and landing....
Take those Left or Right Deviations for Weather
Thunderstorms are an essential part of the Earth’s weather system, but these storms are a significant hazard to aviation. In fact, thunderstorms harbor all...
White Jet Trails across a Blue Sky
We often observe aircraft condensation trails (commonly, contrails) at high altitudes. These long cloudy streaks form behind the turbofan engines that power airliners. The...
