Ever noticed how the weather doesn't cooperate?

[Ghery]

Had a nice flight to eastern Washington planned for this weekend. July, it's summer, right? And a nice IFR equipped C-172 all set. Thunderstorms are not common in this part of the country. Except today. Active on the west side now, and predicted in the destination area shortly after we were scheduled to arrive. 50% chance on Sunday when we were planning on returning. Let's see, thunderstorms plus C-172 = ? How about too much potential for you all to be reading an NTSB report about me. Just cancelled the plane and rental car and my wife and I will be driving over. The trip isn't optional, her high school class 40th reunion, but the mode of transportation is optional.

Now watch the weather guessers be wrong and the weather be beautiful. I'd rather be on the ground... You know the rest.

I'm firmly convinced that the IR has simply made me more of a student of the weather. And that's not a bad thing. Now to put the car on autopilot. It knows the way all too well.

 

[CMTowner]

I used to think the weather gods didn't like me flying. I could swear that it would be super nice weather out until I schedule a plane to fly, then it would be nasty and stormy until my flight window passed. Thankfully I found enough decent days to get my training in, and now I live in Florida so I get lots of decent flying days.

 

[david0tey]

As a private pilot soon to start my instrument training, I'm curious to know what types of weather would keep you grounded when flying IFR. The obvious ones being SIGMETS/convective SIGMETS, what are you looking for when making the go/no go decision?

 

[GMascelli]

My auto no-go is convective activity and/or ice enroute, but thats just my personal limits. This flying stuff is for fun, not a job.

I don't mind solid IMC for hours or requesting deviations for those monster buildups, ATC is always good to work with.

........Now watch the weather guessers be wrong and the weather be beautiful. I'd rather be on the ground... You know the rest.

I'm firmly convinced that the IR has simply made me more of a student of the weather. And that's not a bad thing. Now to put the car on autopilot. It knows the way all too well.

Ghery.....couldn't agree more!

 

[comanchepilot]

Someone once told me that the weather is VFR legal 95% of the time - the problem with that is when you want to fly is always the 5% . . . .

No go is ice [clouds below ZR not necessarily known ice - at least in certain parts of the country and certain wx systems] and Thunderstorms of more than 50% coverage enroute or @ destination.

the thing about thunderstorms is that you can always turn around or land. ..

 

[fgcason]

I came to the conclusion a long time ago that when my plans and the weather doesn't match up that I was the one who wasn't cooperating with the weather, not the other way around. It's not the weathers fault I pick a day that's scheduled for embedded thunderstorms or zero visibility freezing rain to go flying...

 

[Datadriver]

50% chance of t-storms or greater the day before is when I cancel in advance. Less than that the day of and sometimes you can work around it.

Leaving early in the morning can help too. Regardless,don't fly thru the towering cloud masses.

 

[Threefingeredjack]

Sometimes you can scoot up or down the gorge in the mornings and miss the build ups along the hills. Depending on your destination in the eastern part of the state that may or may not have been an option. I never fly IFR in thunderstorms in GA airplanes. Too many surprises lurking. IMHO you made the right call.

 

[Skip Miller]

My CFI told me that Mother Nature hates checkrides.....

-Skip

 

[fgcason]

My CFI told me that Mother Nature hates checkrides.....

The long XC was my problem. It was something like a month of trying and there was always something in the area. It wasn't little stuff like being overly cautious about a 10% chance of light rain somewhere in the western hemisphere or whiny sissy OCD paranoia stuff. It was more like get the life rafts out that have the 1" plate steel roofs on them and hope for the best type stuff between rounds of embedded thunderstorms...nasty weather.
The day the weather cleared, it went to severe clear..but I was in high school. One call to mom and she called the school with some cock-n-bull nonsense story about who knows what. Five minutes later we were outta there and within 20 minutes I was scooting down the runway. I was too sick or something to be in school that day..but I was perfectly ok for 6+ hours in the airplane by myself.

 

[Ghery]

Sometimes you can scoot up or down the gorge in the mornings and miss the build ups along the hills. Depending on your destination in the eastern part of the state that may or may not have been an option. I never fly IFR in thunderstorms in GA airplanes. Too many surprises lurking. IMHO you made the right call.

The forecast problem was at the destination. Going direct over the Cascades wasn't an issue. Going in the morning wasn't an option, something about having to work. Oh well, we had our usual 5 1/2 to 6 hour drive and, of course, flyable weather the whole way.

 

[Threefingeredjack]

The forecast problem was at the destination. Going direct over the Cascades wasn't an issue. Going in the morning wasn't an option, something about having to work. Oh well, we had our usual 5 1/2 to 6 hour drive and, of course, flyable weather the whole way.

A nasty disgusting habit.....

I love flying over the Palouse and seeing the erosion from the great flood. Better luck next time.

 

[Ghery]

A nasty disgusting habit.....

I love flying over the Palouse and seeing the erosion from the great flood. Better luck next time.

Actually, the Palouse were formed when Mt. Mazama blew. Think, Crater Lake. Some of that soil in the Palouse is 200 feet deep. Richest wheat land in the world. The scablands out in the middle of the Columbia Basin are leftovers from the great flood.

Either way, great to see from the air.