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Waiting out the weather

Ed_Wischmeyer

Ed_Wischmeyer

Well Known Member
Trying to fly from Savannah, GA to Prescott, AZ. Planned for three days, looks like it will be five. Maybe.

Spent all day yesterday in Tuscaloosa waiting out the weather before getting in a late afternoon two hour flight westward. Landed comfortably before sunset. Today it looks like I'll be waiting out the weather near Vicksburg and might -- might get in one leg this afternoon.

I'm not instrument current and that would have helped some on this trip, but severe thunderstorms don't care about your ratings. Unstable atmosphere, storms moving st 25 knots, weather I don't want to challenge.

I've got the advantage of being retired, but if you've been wondering if anybody actually does sit out the weather.... I'm exercising lots more patience than I really want to.

On a more positive note, I'm finally getting comfortable with the G3X touch. Lots of impressive features once you're up to speed.
 
Good call, Ed. I've been in your shoes and I am instrument rated. If my route of travel call for flying into weather, I usually make an attempt, knowing that if it doesn't look good I can turn around and return to good weather. Thunderstorms trump everything however...
 
Yep, good call. This is a good example of why an IR is not a panacea for those of us who don't venture into the flight levels. An IR is a great tool to have in the tool bag and can give you more options, but embedded convective activity or icing definitely lends credence to the old Shakespearean adage "discretion is the better part of valor".
 
Yep

Ed_Wischmeyer said:
. . . . . . . I've got the advantage of being retired, but if you've been wondering if anybody actually does sit out the weather.... I'm exercising lots more patience than I really want to. . . . . .
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About a year ago, I waited for 3 days in San Antonio and an additional night in Vicksburg, MS trying to get home from San Antonio to Madison, AL in January. It definitely helps to be retired!
 
Dan Langhout said:
About a year ago, I waited for 3 days in San Antonio and an additional night in Vicksburg, MS trying to get home from San Antonio to Madison, AL in January. It definitely helps to be retired!
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And if you are retired you could say that a few nights in a Motel 6 is cheaper than getting an Instrument Rating. :)
 
even when you get your instrument rating, you don't fly into weather if you can avoid it

atlanta was desperately trying to send me down the arrival yesterday, i kept refusing, they finally told me to state intentions so i said i'd keep my heading and stay clear of the bravo

they couldn't accommodate that so i canceled IFR and on my way i went, this is what they were trying to send me through

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Yup,
Happens to us all I think. Did to me and Diane heading west to the canyons from NC a couple of years ago. Fought our way through spotty thunderstorms until a BRIGHT yellow solid line of storms showed up on ADS-B. :eek: We landed and stayed the night in Texarkana. Storms were so bad I was worried about the plane (tiedowns were those sliding ropes on steel cables stapled on the ground type). Remainder of the trip was OK, except I had a darned headwind while coming back EAST. :mad: Go figure.


Getting past the spotty stuff
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Clouds weren't listening to the forecast. Didn't even make it to pattern altitude, but it was s nice if very short flight.
 
The other old but true saying: Better to be on the ground, wishing you were flying, than to be flying, wishing you were on the ground.
 
Ed,

Did you make it to V'brg? We're just north of Jackson, with hangar space. We're on the RV Hotel page.

Charlie
Slobovia Outernational.
 
My dad always carried a six pack of beer in his RON kit in case he ever got weathered in in a dry county.
 
So I'm now at the end of day five of a planned three day flight. I've lost a day each to frontal activity with thunderstorms; low clouds; and today, turbulence and winds over the mountains.

I've not done any mountain flying in years, and the RV-9A has a (*&^(*&^) fixed pitch prop. Takeoff at a 6,300 foot density altitude this afternoon took forever. Once up to speed, I had 1,000 ft/min easy, but it took a long ways to get there.

So glad I've got oxygen, even at 6,500. It makes the bumps much more tolerable. And if I get going on time tomorrow morning, oh dark thirty, I should make it to Arizona before the weather gets going. Maybe.
 
Im a new pilot and no IR but use my current Cherokee for bus travel and have been stuck in west texas before. It stinks but just the price to pay for getting to fly. Practically speaking... I could easily enough drive fort worth to Austin or fort worth to Lubbock but flying is just way more fun. I always leave a day extra when traveling and if it ends up more than a day... I can always re-schedule if needed.

One nice thing is when I travel... I use the smaller airports. They usually are much lower traffic (less stress for me as low time pilot) and the other perk is FREE COURTESY CARS! I've used the courtesy car in Lubbock for a day and half straight before. They didn't mind and much more fun than just sitting around the airport doing nothing. A good movie is a great way to kill some hours. I also check for local museums as most towns have a few and that is another good way to spend some time. For example, in Lubbock... they have a neat military museum plus the buddy Holly museum.
 
Last weekend I was goign to fly to Scranton PA for a family event:

Rain at both ends at both locations.

This weekend I was going to fly to Syracuse NY for Mother's Day.

Rain at both ends at both location.

Frustrating because it's these sorts of trips which were a major part of my decision to buy an RV-8. But them's the breaks. I just have to wait out the weather for a decent weekend. The Mother's Day thing can be done some other weekend. The Scranton thing could not.
 
Another kind of ?waiting-out-the-weather??

I flew the wife to breakfast two weeks ago and when she exited the plane she missed the step on the RV-12 and broke her ankle. Yesterday she had surgery to install titanium screws and a plate. Doc says no weight-baring for 3 months. Going to be a LONG summer. She let me sign her cast? :D

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Major bummer Jim. Hope she recovers quickly and also hope she doesn't hold it against ya! I know my wife of 30+ years has been known to remind me of my past sins once or twice. I recommend flowers and wine (maybe both to smooth things over) :)
 
oldrockfan said:
Major bummer Jim. Hope she recovers quickly and also hope she doesn't hold it against ya! I know my wife of 30+ years has been known to remind me of my past sins once or twice. I recommend flowers and wine (maybe both to smooth things over) :)
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And Chocolate....don't forget the Chocolate ;)
 
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