Finally got the IR wet...

Ghery

Ghery

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 25, 2005
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Olympia, Washington
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Ghery Pettit
Flew from PUW to OLM this afternoon. 3.1 hours on the Hobbs, 0.2 hours IMC getting down from cruise to landing at OLM. That 0.2 hours is why I got the IR.
 
Jaybird180 said:
Was IMC in the original forecast?
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You betcha. Clear sailing across the state, but picked up the forecast undercast while crossing the Cascades. Needed the IR to get down through it to get into OLM. Ceiling was high enough that the final approach was in VMC.
 
Ghery said:
Flew from PUW to OLM this afternoon. 3.1 hours on the Hobbs, 0.2 hours IMC getting down from cruise to landing at OLM. That 0.2 hours is why I got the IR.
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Great isn't it! Nice to options when needed.
 
Jaybird180 said:
Could the flight been conducted VFR?
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Not the route I flew. The west side of the state had a solid layer of clouds and if you came over the Cascades you needed an IR and clearance to get down through it. Taking the sea level pass (Columbia River gorge) would have been dicey due to a TFR for fire fighting (you should have seen the smoke cloud rising above Mt. Adams) and low ceilings predicted as you got near Portland, Oregon.

EppyGA said:
Great isn't it! Nice to options when needed.
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You got that right. It made a possibly doable VFR trip down the Columbia River unnecessary. This was so much easier.
 
Ghery said:
Flew from PUW to OLM this afternoon. 3.1 hours on the Hobbs, 0.2 hours IMC getting down from cruise to landing at OLM. That 0.2 hours is why I got the IR.
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Isn't it a great feeling?
 
spiderweb said:
Isn't it a great feeling?
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Yes, it is. Made all the difference in the world coming home yesterday. Without the IR we would have had to come down the Columbia River gorge and hope ceilings cooperated. With the IR I just filed, flew the plan and got home. No fuss, no muss, no bother. Now, my wife was a bit nervous (I don't blame her) about entering the clouds, but it worked like it was supposed to. She said the view from inside the clouds wasn't very interesting, but I missed it. I had my eyes glued to the panel. :D What was really fun was going in and out of clouds while being vectored to the ILS. Got a chuckle when a plane on VFR flight following was told to watch for me and couldn't see me. I confirmed our altitude and that I was in the clouds. Funny, we didn't see him, either.
 
Congratulations! This is one of the most important reasons to get an IR. It takes away the stress and makes VFR flying more enjoyable because you have an out if conditions deteriorate.
 
Ghery said:
Now, my wife was a bit nervous
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Congratulations!! Living where you do the IR is essential IMHO.

The first time my wife went IMC with me she was the same way. We hadn't been married very long, and all previous flights had been VFR. She was very adept at following along with the chart, and suddenly she was out of a job. When we finally broke out, (pretty low as I recall) she was elated there was a runway there!! She now backs me up on approach plates calling out altitudes and waypoints. Enjoy your new skills and keep them sharp.
 
Ghery said:
Yes, it is. Made all the difference in the world coming home yesterday. Without the IR we would have had to come down the Columbia River gorge and hope ceilings cooperated. With the IR I just filed, flew the plan and got home. No fuss, no muss, no bother. Now, my wife was a bit nervous (I don't blame her) about entering the clouds, but it worked like it was supposed to. She said the view from inside the clouds wasn't very interesting, but I missed it. I had my eyes glued to the panel. :D What was really fun was going in and out of clouds while being vectored to the ILS. Got a chuckle when a plane on VFR flight following was told to watch for me and couldn't see me. I confirmed our altitude and that I was in the clouds. Funny, we didn't see him, either.
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I actually like flying in stable stratus--find it very relaxing.

On a trip last year from Maryland to Albany, I was in it from 2,000 feet, and stayed in it almost the whole time. It was so stable and smooth, it felt very calm.
 
Ghery said:
Flew from PUW to OLM this afternoon. 3.1 hours on the Hobbs, 0.2 hours IMC getting down from cruise to landing at OLM. That 0.2 hours is why I got the IR.
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Congrats!! It's great to know we can get out and into the sunshine on what seems like a ugly day for ground pounders.
 
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