Ajay Raghavendra
Ajay Raghavendra is 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 with a B.S. in Meteorology and Computational Mathematics. Ajay holds the FAA Commercial Pilot and flight instructor certificates (CFI/II/MEI). He has participated in two cloud-seeding projects. As a strong advocate for aviation safety and education in the general aviation community, Ajay is active as a FAASTeam representative (FAA Safety Team) with the Albany Flight Standards District Office.
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...
Going with the flow!
Consider a distance of 100 NM and a true airspeed (TAS) of 100 kt. Under a zero-wind condition, an aircraft will cover this distance...
Taxi, Takeoff, Landing and Ice Skating?
The threats from winter weather are not limited to flight, but also produce potentially hazardous conditions for push-back, taxi, takeoff and landing. Improper ground...
Check HOT before Takeoff
Holdover time (HOT) helps pilots determine the temporal effectiveness of the deicing procedure across a wide range of temperatures and precipitation intensities. Often, colder...
Get Out! You’re on Thin Ice
Professional pilots undergo frequent recurrent training and education. However, some evaporation of knowledge from the classroom is expected with time. This winter, my goals is to...
