When you prepare for your Part 107 initial or recurrent exam, you're going to pour over the F.A.A. study guide. You may read something and think to yourself, "Fine, I'll memorize this for the exam but no way is that applicable to me." Don't let microbursts be in that category. The study guide only addresses microbursts in a single, 178-word paragraph. Microbursts are strong winds that often precede the thunderstorm. As an operator, you may see the thunderstorm coming, but it's not raining, so you stretch it. Be careful! Just because it isn't raining, doesn't mean that you're safe. Has this happened to me…sadly yes. It was late in the day and I was on my last mission. I saw the storm coming and wanted to capture one more dataset. Fortunately, I didn't lose the drone but I did lose the controller! I put it on a folding table, got hit with a microburst, and knocked it to the ground. The screen was smashed but I was able to limp the drone back. Glad all I got was a broken controller and a good story to tell. Moral of the story, the danger of a thunderstorms occur before it starts to rain. Weather Channel Video
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