tonycondon
Gastons CRO (Chief Dinner Reservation Officer)
Had a charter to Lafayette, IN this afternoon. Met up with some friends from Purdue that I used to work with at Rockwell. Had some great pizza and departed LAF at about 9 Eastern. We could see during preflight weather briefing that there was going to be some precip to deal with in Iowa. We chose low altitude for return (4000) to stay well out of the icing and in VMC for as long as possible. Also winds were preferable to the low route. As we motored across Illinois both me and my right seater were keeping a close eye on the 396 NEXRAD downlink as well as waiting for precip to start painting on the on board radar. Let me tell ya it is sure nice to have these tools on board! It was very timely that our own Scott D wrote a great article in this months Twin and Turbine (also featuring Dave Siciliano!) about general thunderstorm avoidance and using on board and downlink weather to your best advantage. Thanks Scott!
As we got to eastern Iowa it was obvious that there was an area of lighter precipitation on the north side of Cedar Rapids, while some really heavy stuff was moving towards CR from the south. I was considering asking for a deviation to the north of Cedar Rapids when 2 King Airs also headed for central Iowa got on with Quad Cities approach and said they didnt like what they were seeing on their radar and asked to go the direction I was thinking. I followed suit and off to the Northwest we went. Once we were over to Cedar Rapids approach we started to go IMC and get into some rain. approach was seeing a similar picture on their radar so we were confident in our decision. we kept the hard stuff off to our left and worked our way around the corner until we were headed back to Ames. Note: Flight aware screenshot was a couple hours after landing. radar shown is not indicative of what we faced in flight.
The approach was generally uneventful. Heavy rain had moved out of the area leaving us with winds 020 at 12, overcast 800, and 8 miles vis. Vectors to the ILS 01 were provided and down we came. the runway lights were a PIA like they usually are here, but other than a rough landing it all was great. We had a fun flight, its times like these that make me realize how awesome it is to be current and proficient and have an instrument rating without being afraid to use it!
I also amused myself with how PoA plays into my decision making. Not only is there the typical "if i screw up and do something stupid the people on the forum are going to rip me to shreds" but I also realized that while cruising through west/central illinois my airport choice in the event of an engine failure was peoria. Not only was it the nearest airport with long runways and services, but Bruce lives nearby. Once into eastern Iowa the hands down choice was dubuque. also long runways but it was downwind and we could crash at Greg's. Its nice to have friends all over
As we got to eastern Iowa it was obvious that there was an area of lighter precipitation on the north side of Cedar Rapids, while some really heavy stuff was moving towards CR from the south. I was considering asking for a deviation to the north of Cedar Rapids when 2 King Airs also headed for central Iowa got on with Quad Cities approach and said they didnt like what they were seeing on their radar and asked to go the direction I was thinking. I followed suit and off to the Northwest we went. Once we were over to Cedar Rapids approach we started to go IMC and get into some rain. approach was seeing a similar picture on their radar so we were confident in our decision. we kept the hard stuff off to our left and worked our way around the corner until we were headed back to Ames. Note: Flight aware screenshot was a couple hours after landing. radar shown is not indicative of what we faced in flight.
The approach was generally uneventful. Heavy rain had moved out of the area leaving us with winds 020 at 12, overcast 800, and 8 miles vis. Vectors to the ILS 01 were provided and down we came. the runway lights were a PIA like they usually are here, but other than a rough landing it all was great. We had a fun flight, its times like these that make me realize how awesome it is to be current and proficient and have an instrument rating without being afraid to use it!
I also amused myself with how PoA plays into my decision making. Not only is there the typical "if i screw up and do something stupid the people on the forum are going to rip me to shreds" but I also realized that while cruising through west/central illinois my airport choice in the event of an engine failure was peoria. Not only was it the nearest airport with long runways and services, but Bruce lives nearby. Once into eastern Iowa the hands down choice was dubuque. also long runways but it was downwind and we could crash at Greg's. Its nice to have friends all over
)
