CJones
Final Approach
As mentioned in an earlier thread here, I passed my IR checkride Saturday. I really wanted to get it done before Christmas so I could make the yearly trip to Alabama to visit family with a little more peace of mind regarding weather. So my first 'real' IFR flight without an instructor in the right seat took place Monday while the ink was still wet on the temporary Airman's Cert.
The original plan was to depart Ames, Iowa (KAMW) around 7-8am Monday which would give us plenty of time to get to Muscle Shoals, Alabama (KMSL) and get settled before the plethora of buffets began. Checking weather Sunday afternoon/evening/night showed a large Low spinning up over Louisiana throwing Gulf moisture up into southern Missouri. As I continued checking the forecasts, the idea of ice started to play the leading roll in the go/no-go decision. I finally decided that there was nothing I could do to remedy the situation, so I decided to wait and check things in the morning. Nephews were able to roll everyone out of bed by 6:30am Monday morning, which allowed me to start the poring over weather info very early. The icing had somewhat pulled itself out of the forecasts, but was replaced with a couple of Convective SIGMET's over the area from SE MO to NW AL that I would be traveling. At that point, all I could do was sit and watch the radar loops and wait for it to start moving out of the area. At 11am, the convective stuff was moving out of the area and ice was going to be a non-event at 5000'.
Get plane loaded, file my first REAL IR flight plan, and away we go! Get clearance on the ground at Ames, climb out at 110KIAS and 1700fpm right through the SCT 3500 layer. Once on top, Rachel says "WOW this is COOL!" and immediately reaches for the camera. Level off at 5000', set cruise power and we're getting 174kts GS. Our first stop will be in Kennet, Missouri (KTKX) for cheap 100LL and a known-accessible FBO w/ weather access. Due west of of St. Louis, the BR/OVC layer below us was matched by a OVC layer above us. The farther south we went, the layers were closing in on us until we were eventually completely in the soup for the last 1.5hr of the trip. We picked up a little light rime ice but we actually got into some light precip and it helped melt any ice off. The only 'bump' in the entire trip came when getting into TKX. 40 miles out from TKX, MEM Ctr. decides to get us set up for the GPS 2 approach, cleared direct to the IAF 50 miles out with a descent down to 2300'. At 2500', the boat was a'rockin! We were in solid moderate turbulence for the entire approach, which didn't settle good with Rachel. She has a weak stomach to begin with and that rough approach didn't go well. We broke out at 1000' with 250' to spare. We decided to sit on the ground until SHE gave me the thumbs up to continue on to MSL.
After some time on the ground to get our legs back under us, we departed back into the ~1000' OVC and climbed back to 5000'. When checking weather at TKX, there was a little moderate precip in our line of travel and the 396 show us exactly where it was. We diverted around it as soon as the bumps started and stayed smooth the rest of the trip. The second noteworthy event in the trip came when I was given the descent for the ILS 29 at MSL. Apparently, a Bonanza had shot an approach to a neighboring airport from the MSL VOR and hadn't canceled IFR yet, so I was given HOLDING INSTRUCTIONS on the Localizer at the VOR. I was still 20 miles out, so I pulled power back and slowed things down to 90kts to burn some extra time.
As I got closer, Mem Ctr asked me to go over to the neighboring airport CTAF and see if the Bo was on the ground so I could skip the hold. No joy. I made one circuit around the hold and on my inbound I'm cleared for the ILS 29 at MSL. Broke out on the ILS at 1300' in the dark with a smooth landing.
Lessons learned on this trip: Don't descend unless 'I' am ready to start down. I realized later that Mem Ctr was simply wanting to get me low so he wouldn't have to think about me anymore. From now on, if I'm given a descent clearance that seems too far out, and I'm in smooth air, I'll request to stay high until I'm ready to come down later.
It's amazing how this stuff actually works.. Even when there's not an instructor sitting beside you poking you in the side saying "hey stupid, you forgot..."
-Chris
The original plan was to depart Ames, Iowa (KAMW) around 7-8am Monday which would give us plenty of time to get to Muscle Shoals, Alabama (KMSL) and get settled before the plethora of buffets began. Checking weather Sunday afternoon/evening/night showed a large Low spinning up over Louisiana throwing Gulf moisture up into southern Missouri. As I continued checking the forecasts, the idea of ice started to play the leading roll in the go/no-go decision. I finally decided that there was nothing I could do to remedy the situation, so I decided to wait and check things in the morning. Nephews were able to roll everyone out of bed by 6:30am Monday morning, which allowed me to start the poring over weather info very early. The icing had somewhat pulled itself out of the forecasts, but was replaced with a couple of Convective SIGMET's over the area from SE MO to NW AL that I would be traveling. At that point, all I could do was sit and watch the radar loops and wait for it to start moving out of the area. At 11am, the convective stuff was moving out of the area and ice was going to be a non-event at 5000'.
Get plane loaded, file my first REAL IR flight plan, and away we go! Get clearance on the ground at Ames, climb out at 110KIAS and 1700fpm right through the SCT 3500 layer. Once on top, Rachel says "WOW this is COOL!" and immediately reaches for the camera. Level off at 5000', set cruise power and we're getting 174kts GS. Our first stop will be in Kennet, Missouri (KTKX) for cheap 100LL and a known-accessible FBO w/ weather access. Due west of of St. Louis, the BR/OVC layer below us was matched by a OVC layer above us. The farther south we went, the layers were closing in on us until we were eventually completely in the soup for the last 1.5hr of the trip. We picked up a little light rime ice but we actually got into some light precip and it helped melt any ice off. The only 'bump' in the entire trip came when getting into TKX. 40 miles out from TKX, MEM Ctr. decides to get us set up for the GPS 2 approach, cleared direct to the IAF 50 miles out with a descent down to 2300'. At 2500', the boat was a'rockin! We were in solid moderate turbulence for the entire approach, which didn't settle good with Rachel. She has a weak stomach to begin with and that rough approach didn't go well. We broke out at 1000' with 250' to spare. We decided to sit on the ground until SHE gave me the thumbs up to continue on to MSL.
After some time on the ground to get our legs back under us, we departed back into the ~1000' OVC and climbed back to 5000'. When checking weather at TKX, there was a little moderate precip in our line of travel and the 396 show us exactly where it was. We diverted around it as soon as the bumps started and stayed smooth the rest of the trip. The second noteworthy event in the trip came when I was given the descent for the ILS 29 at MSL. Apparently, a Bonanza had shot an approach to a neighboring airport from the MSL VOR and hadn't canceled IFR yet, so I was given HOLDING INSTRUCTIONS on the Localizer at the VOR. I was still 20 miles out, so I pulled power back and slowed things down to 90kts to burn some extra time.
As I got closer, Mem Ctr asked me to go over to the neighboring airport CTAF and see if the Bo was on the ground so I could skip the hold. No joy. I made one circuit around the hold and on my inbound I'm cleared for the ILS 29 at MSL. Broke out on the ILS at 1300' in the dark with a smooth landing.Lessons learned on this trip: Don't descend unless 'I' am ready to start down. I realized later that Mem Ctr was simply wanting to get me low so he wouldn't have to think about me anymore. From now on, if I'm given a descent clearance that seems too far out, and I'm in smooth air, I'll request to stay high until I'm ready to come down later.
It's amazing how this stuff actually works.. Even when there's not an instructor sitting beside you poking you in the side saying "hey stupid, you forgot..."
-Chris
