Got soaked yesterday

[Ghery]

The weather yesterday was scattered showers with a chance of occational thunderstorms. I had the Arrow reserved for the afternoon and drove to the airport on the chance that I could get some time in the pattern between bouts of low clouds. Insurance company requires 3 hours in a 180 day period or you get signed off by a CFI again. The 180 days was getting close.

Hit a great period between lousy weather and got in an hour in the pattern. Saw some rain showers headed for the field so I called it quits in time to get gas before the line boy and I would get wet. There were a few drops in the air as I was signing the receipt.

Taxiing back to the hangar I saw heavy precipitation on the taxiway ahead of me and by the time I got to the hangar and shut down it was pouring and hailing. Fortunately, we don't get damage causing hail around here too often, but I wasn't taking chances. I bailed out as quickly as I could shut down and ran for the hanger, opened it, grabbed the tow bar and headed back to the plane. I was slipping on the ramp while shoving it back under cover. Just after I got it under cover - BANG! I think that lightning bolt was right over head. Definitately a "glad I'm down here and not up there!" moment. Sure left a lot of water on the hangar floor from all the hail melting off the plane.

Ah, life in the Pacific Northwest. Now to get another 2 hours in before the 28th...

 

[sere]

The weather yesterday was scattered showers with a chance of occational thunderstorms. I had the Arrow reserved for the afternoon and drove to the airport on the chance that I could get some time in the pattern between bouts of low clouds. Insurance company requires 3 hours in a 180 day period or you get signed off by a CFI again. The 180 days was getting close.

Hit a great period between lousy weather and got in an hour in the pattern. Saw some rain showers headed for the field so I called it quits in time to get gas before the line boy and I would get wet. There were a few drops in the air as I was signing the receipt.

Taxiing back to the hangar I saw heavy precipitation on the taxiway ahead of me and by the time I got to the hangar and shut down it was pouring and hailing. Fortunately, we don't get damage causing hail around here too often, but I wasn't taking chances. I bailed out as quickly as I could shut down and ran for the hanger, opened it, grabbed the tow bar and headed back to the plane. I was slipping on the ramp while shoving it back under cover. Just after I got it under cover - BANG! I think that lightning bolt was right over head. Definitately a "glad I'm down here and not up there!" moment. Sure left a lot of water on the hangar floor from all the hail melting off the plane.

Ah, life in the Pacific Northwest. Now to get another 2 hours in before the 28th...

How I remember those days. Lived in Spokane for over 12 years and spent a lot of time in Seatac and Tocoma area. Great state.

 

[judypilot]

I didn't even TRY to fly yesterday. It was low ceilings, pouring rain, cold, clammy temperatures, until about 1500, then it cleared up. Had a nice flight to Spokane on Saturday, though.

Judy

 

[Ghery]

I didn't even TRY to fly yesterday. It was low ceilings, pouring rain, cold, clammy temperatures, until about 1500, then it cleared up. Had a nice flight to Spokane on Saturday, though.

Judy

That's what Marilyn said. She and our daughter were over in Pullman this weekend to work on the ADPi sorority house. The weather stank on Sunday morning, nobody else came to help, so they drove home. She said it was pouring rain. That agreed with the weather radar they were showing on the Seattle stations before I headed for church.

Hope the weather is better next Saturday. We'll be back over for a nephew's wedding.

 

[judypilot]

Hope the weather is better next Saturday. We'll be back over for a nephew's wedding.

Last time I looked, it's supposed to get better by the end of the week, but I haven't looked at the models in a few days. I'm hoping for good weather Tuesday, when I launch on a month-long trip around the country, first leg to Reno.

Judy

 

[Ghery]

Last time I looked, it's supposed to get better by the end of the week, but I haven't looked at the models in a few days. I'm hoping for good weather Tuesday, when I launch on a month-long trip around the country, first leg to Reno.

Judy

Have fun. Don't go broke buying 100LL! You'll have a lot more flexibility than I would with your instrument ticket. VFR only does have its disadvantages.

 

[judypilot]

Have fun. Don't go broke buying 100LL! You'll have a lot more flexibility than I would with your instrument ticket. VFR only does have its disadvantages.

Ha! Except that I'm not current. My airplane, while legal for IFR, doesn't have good enough avionics for me to feel comfortable flying IFR. The one time I tried, I scared myself, and I vowed not to try again until I had better avionics.

I went on a 3.5-week trip around the country last summer and was grounded only 1.5 days due to weather. The key is to be flexible. I was, and was fine.

Of course, this year it could be completely different. But so far, the long-range climate models are showing very, very favorable weather for at least the first part of my trip.

Judy