Extra Eyes

[AU_James]

I'd like to say a quick "thank you" to the controllers in central Florida (JAX and Tampa) this past Sunday!

I had my fingers crossed to complete a Pilots N Paws mission to bring an American Eskie from Brunswick, GA to Tampa. I knew the forecast all weekend was poor, but during the summer in Florida I wait as long as possible before making the decision to cancel. Saturday was out as it rained and stormed most of the day in Tampa, but Sunday turned out to be better than forecast.

I called the weather briefer at about 7am and went over the forecast. We agreed that the flight Tampa to Brunswick would be fine and that the return leg would still be VFR with some vicinity rain showers (no convection). Off I went for a gorgeous flight from Tampa to Brunswick!

I picked up the pup and not long after departing GA toward Jacksonville I knew at my altitude I would need to start going around some buildup. In the ~1.5 hrs since I flew over Jacksonville heading north in clear skies, the entire area was covered in scattered CU. I went more west-southwest around some clouds and was able to turn on course north of Gainesville. That's about the time I realized that conditions had progressed a lot more and gotten a lot worse than forecast.

I descended and went under a ridge with some light precip and was able to continue toward Ocala before the controllers (JAX at the time) asked if I had onboard weather. I did not, so they helped out so much. First sending me southwest to go around Tampa along the west coast. Then realizing conditions were changing in the Gulf even faster, routing me east then southeast toward Lakeland (now Tampa approach). Finally weaving me around the heavy/extreme stuff and to south Tampa where I landed in some pretty nice, clear weather.

The help was tremendously appreciated! The mission was a success, the flight home took an hour longer than expected but that's just more experience for me. It gave me a much better idea of what a controller can see when it comes to precipitation and what "light" vs. "medium" vs. "heavy/extreme" looks like in real life. Thanks again to the Florida controllers routing me and plenty of others around the weather this weekend!

 

[frfly172]

Flying out of Florida most of the year,I really appreciate ,the work the controllers do. I work with Tampa all the time,never had a problem,their always there to help.

 

[EdFred]

Sometimes that light/moderate/heavy/extreme is deceiving - in either direction. I've had ATC tell me they are showing moderate to heavy precipitation at my 12 for the next xx miles, but encountered no precipitation at all. I've also had them say light and its been significantly moreso. Most times it's pretty close but be prepared to have it not be what they say it is as well.

 

[mscard88]

Sometimes that light/moderate/heavy/extreme is deceiving - in either direction. I've had ATC tell me they are showing moderate to heavy precipitation at my 12 for the next xx miles, but encountered no precipitation at all. I've also had them say light and its been significantly moreso. Most times it's pretty close but be prepared to have it not be what they say it is as well.

This! My experience too. Most of the what ATC tells you is what you're seeing. But, don't fall into the trap of fully relying and/or trusting ATC all the time. If there's ever a question over what you're observing, and what they are telling they "see" with radar, and they conflict, trust your instincts and go with what you see. ATC radar does not show everything. I agree they're very helpful and will do their best to help you, but it's your butt up there and you're ultimately the PIC.