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Real-world concept / 2:53
Why does radar lose low aircraft?
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See how Earth’s curvature, radar height and the atmosphere shape what a radar can detect.
Written guide in English
Real-world radar principles. The written guides identify which features are simulated in Air Defender.
Jump to a chapter
Chapter times follow the selected video edition.
00:00Radar horizon and Earth's curvature00:36The atmosphere and its layers00:52The tropopause and its changing height01:15Why radar beams bend01:47Temperature inversions and ducting02:12Precipitation clutter and attenuation02:38Putting the radar picture together
00:00Radarhorizont und Erdkrümmung00:40Die Schichten der Atmosphäre01:01Die Tropopause und ihre wechselnde Höhe01:24Warum Radarstrahlen gekrümmt werden02:04Temperaturinversionen und Ducting02:29Niederschlagsclutter und Dämpfung02:55Das Radarbild verstehen
What you’ll take away
- Radar horizon and low-level coverage
- Why raising the radar helps
- Weather returns and unusual propagation
Check the real-world concepts
- FAA Aeronautical Information Manual, section 4-5-1: Radar ↗
- FAA Aviation Weather Handbook, FAA-H-8083-28B, chapters 4 and 19; appendix A.3.4 ↗
- Met Office: Earth’s atmosphere ↗
- ITU-R P.453-14 (2019): radio refractive index ↗
- ITU-R P.834-9 (2017): tropospheric refraction ↗
- US National Weather Service: Radar Reflectivity Measurement ↗
- NOAA National Ocean Service: Is the Earth round? ↗
Words used on this page
Choose an underlined term for a quick explanation, or browse the meanings here.
- Propagation
How a radio signal travels from one place to another.
Related guide: weather radar