I hope this isn't routine

Skyrys62

Skyrys62

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Meet the Fokkers
I've been out soloing for a while, but took off on my first 'official' solo cross country today. Weather reports were good for the most part, but I could see some stuff building. I commented to my CFI that it looked a little iffy. He said everything is fine.
I took off and about 25 miles out had to detour around some pretty heavy rain.
Get to my destination and landed with probably the second most mechanical turbulence I've ever experienced. Ate up most of a 4000 foot runway and pretty sure I was on the nose wheelbarrowing for a good 200 feet.
Taxied back, took off while cussing the trees.
About the same spot as the last shower, I see storms ahead. Check my phone and my CFI has been trying to contact me to return.
Controller contacts me on the radio and says storms ahead, so I divert and land.
Walk into FBO, get a drink.
A blackhawk helicopter lands which was really cool. Hang out with the crew a little.

A big storm hits that really didn't look bad until it hit the fan. I ask for tie downs but the lightning is so intense no one will go out, not even me. Thank the Lord for the chocks.
The plane dances around like a drunk person trying to stand on a basketball. I cringe for 15 minutes realizing I didn't set the parking brake either. Hold on little buddy!!
The FBO doors blew open and knocked one sideways and jammed it. I had to help bust it loose.
Things calm down, but still windy and rainy as hell.
Wait about 2 hours while trying to get reports from the home drome whether I can depart and head back.
Phone dies.
No charger.
Storms settle down but won't go away enough to get a take off.
Tie the plane down. Pack up.
Just got home a few minutes ago with a ride from my daughter.
Going to go back in the morning and fly the rest of the way back.

Please tell me this is not typical...
 
It's not atypical.... good to learn a healthy respect for aviation during your training!


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My first solo cross country I tried to turn around after see the weather going south and ran into a snow storm. Luckily there was an airport right off the wing so I landed. Spent all day waiting for the snow to stop. Never did. Drove home after spending 6 hours at the airport. It happens.


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It doesn't get less challenging, you get better and more prepared. You learn to manage risk. You learn weather. You learn what will bite you and what's no big deal. And sometimes you scare yourself a bit, and realize you shouldn't do something again...


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That's not my routine, but sometimes things go sideways. Good decision making is key.
 
Wow, sounds like quite an adventure! No, it's not typical. And I'm surprised your instructor would send you out when the weather was "a little iffy." My CFI required really good, calm weather for my solo cross country - thank goodness! I was nervous enough even with clear skies and light winds :)

I would say yes, this outcome is a possibility any time you launch around potential thunderstorms. But no, it's not normal for my kind of recreational flying, and it's DEFINITELY not normal for a student pilot to launch into storms on their first solo cross country.

Good job living to fly another day! You learned some important lessons about decision making today.
 
Make it a positive. I've had some interesting times stopping (over nighting) at places I didn't plan on. (Weather, mechanical). Roll with the punches, and enjoy. Eat at a new restaurant, meet and chat with people you wouldn't have normally met. (Like the Blackhawk crew you mentioned). Life's what you make of it. Sounds like you learned more on your XC on the ground than in the air. Trust me, it's just as important...good job
 
not typical, but it happens.

did a XC one day with a buddy from KARR to KBMI for a meeting. weather was CAVU at departure from KARR and forecast to remain that way for the rest of the day. outbound leg and landing were uneventful. went to the meeting, then lunch and headed back to the field. we walked out to do the pre-flight and discover a flat nose wheel. call to the ramp crew and try to re-inflate the tire...no go. only thing left is the the tire tube...which is not in stock. called the plane's owner (i rent) and explain the issue. he says to leave the plane and order the tube. i arrange for hanger space and authorize the tube order. now, to get home. we head on over to the main terminal and rent a car for the 1-way trip back home. this was on saturday. tuesday i get a call from the owner...plane is ready. i arrange to fly down with another buddy to pick it up and fly back. the good news is that the plane's owner reimbursed me for the rental which helped offset the cost of the plane. not a great day but it could've been a lot worse. could've lost the nose tire on landing. stuff happens. oh, the tube. owner summed it up...cheap, chinese c**p.
 
Sounded like a pretty easy, normal typical flight.....

Kidding bud, not typical but as you found out stuff happens. It sounds like you made some great decisions (except not tying down with weather coming) and had a little adventure as well, good job..!!!

Just add this to your knowledge bank.
 
Skyrys62 said:
I've been out soloing for a while, but took off on my first 'official' solo cross country today. Weather reports were good for the most part, but I could see some stuff building. I commented to my CFI that it looked a little iffy. He said everything is fine.
I took off and about 25 miles out had to detour around some pretty heavy rain.
Get to my destination and landed with probably the second most mechanical turbulence I've ever experienced. Ate up most of a 4000 foot runway and pretty sure I was on the nose wheelbarrowing for a good 200 feet.
Taxied back, took off while cussing the trees.
About the same spot as the last shower, I see storms ahead. Check my phone and my CFI has been trying to contact me to return.
Controller contacts me on the radio and says storms ahead, so I divert and land.
Walk into FBO, get a drink.
A blackhawk helicopter lands which was really cool. Hang out with the crew a little.

A big storm hits that really didn't look bad until it hit the fan. I ask for tie downs but the lightning is so intense no one will go out, not even me. Thank the Lord for the chocks.
The plane dances around like a drunk person trying to stand on a basketball. I cringe for 15 minutes realizing I didn't set the parking brake either. Hold on little buddy!!
The FBO doors blew open and knocked one sideways and jammed it. I had to help bust it loose.
Things calm down, but still windy and rainy as hell.
Wait about 2 hours while trying to get reports from the home drome whether I can depart and head back.
Phone dies.
No charger.
Storms settle down but won't go away enough to get a take off.
Tie the plane down. Pack up.
Just got home a few minutes ago with a ride from my daughter.
Going to go back in the morning and fly the rest of the way back.

Please tell me this is not typical...
Click to expand...

It is August and airmass thunderstorms can be a daily occurrence. You are lucky the plane didn't end up on its back.
 
Clip4 said:
You are lucky the plane didn't end up on its back.
Click to expand...

I agree. This storm was like it just developed right on top of us. I asked for tie downs, but by the time they got them it was too crazy to go out into.

This plane does need a paint job though ha ha. (really bad)
 
Skyrys62 said:
I agree. This storm was like it just developed right on top of us. I asked for tie downs, but by the time they got them it was too crazy to go out into.

This plane does need a paint job though ha ha. (really bad)
Click to expand...

Next time you will take tie downs and use your own WX go/no decision.
 
Not normal, but better education than any video on weather.

On one of my solo XCs, I had to land early on the way back to home base... t-storm blocking the path and the only t-storm for hundreds of miles.

Called CFI and told him I'd landed and he sounded both relieved and proud I made the "nope" call on my own.

Spent the night on a friend's couch and completed the last leg of the XC early the next morning to get the airplane back for another student.
 
When you fly local, the weather is what you see out the window. Once you start venturing further away, you may fly through different types of weather, which requires good analyzing, and depending on your experience level it might be a go or no go. You handled it well.
 
What's that saying? Experience is knowledge that you didn't have right before you needed to have it?

Sometimes you'll make questionable go decisions and have to divert. Sometimes you'll make a no go decision while others fly on.

Sometimes you'll get stuck somewhere because of a stupid pop up shower and you'll end up turning your undies inside out and smelling the plane up with BO because you didn't bring your emergency overnight bag.

The important thing to remember is to learn from all of these experiences so the next encounter is more smooth!

Good luck and keep learning!

TJ


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thanks for sharing and great write up @Skyrys62. helps similar student like me learn (and hopefully remember) from your experience.
 
The important thing is that you exercised good judgement and are here to tell us about it. (many aren't)
And the earlier in training you learn to respect bad weather and make no-go decisions, the easier it will be later.
 
Just remember going forward that you are PIC on the solo trips, not your CFI. So if you feel the weather is iffy and you aren't comfortable with it, it's your call - not his. Even if he says it's fine.

Great decision making overall, though. No, it's not typical, but it certainly adds to our bank of stories to tell over beer.
 
Flight back this morning was gorgeous. Cool, clear, and smooth as silk.

Overall glad it happened just the way it did. Lot's of lessons learned.
Love being amongst the clouds, as long as they're friendlies.
 
You get an A+ for the safe divert. You're instructor maybe should have been a bit more cautious! I'm near St. Louis, so just upstream of your weather. Yesterday was rather interesting as there were no big predictions of storms, yet there they were. When the forecast doesn't match the sky, it's time to get concerned.

As for the full lower Midwest weather lesson, I'm just a pilot, but I'll try. With no solid front or trough driving the storms, all of the energy is just from the summer heat and sunshine. That makes them very difficult to predict. The forecasters are putting in a 15-20% chance of rain because of that. Usually cells are pretty isolated when this is the case, but yesterday was much different!
 
Used to be really typical that I'd see storm clouds ahead and land at my nearest to get a look at the radar. These days, with XM and ADS-B we have a much better weather picture, and can often accurately detour around systems that would stop us dead in the past. Still, you aren't the first pilot to hang it up and go back for the airplane,and you'll not be the last. Beats winding up in a smoking hole. My buddy had to abandon our aircraft in Kentucky due to visibility issues one time. I was happy to drive him back to pick it up. Like I said, beats smoking hole.
 
Skyrys62 said:
Flight back this morning was gorgeous. Cool, clear, and smooth as silk.

Overall glad it happened just the way it did. Lot's of lessons learned.
Love being amongst the clouds, as long as they're friendlies.
Click to expand...

Good job! Was your outbound leg in the afternoon? My area is benign as far as storms until this time of year. We get some really nasty stuff, but usually only from 4pm-10pm. Fly early - fly often;)
 
Yessir....left out about 4pm.
For sheets and geegles, here's a few pics mates.
Could NOT get the Blackhawk video to upload. but...a pickledoo.

Second one is a cloud that didn't look friendly. I call those Cumulo-ominous :) It didn't start any trouble though. (and no those are not UFO's. I don't think)
It's the third one...the innocent looking one that says " you'll love me for the rain on your garden" in the background that unleashed it's bowels upon us. Reminded me of my ex(es)
The fourth one, I put in because it was hilarious to witness. This is the FBO doors after they tried to put them back on. After some bit of swearing, grunting, and growling, the guy says, I'll be right back.
I swear to you it's true. He shows up with that sledge hammer, on a full glass door, and hits it harder than I would ever hit even a steel door if I wanted to break it.
After about 6 whacks, I intervened. Just had to. A slight upward lift on the back side put 'er right in place. I walked off thinking of who all's planes he works on. Not gonna be mine...and also how badass that glass door is to take that. I want my plane made out of it. It's "that guy" proof.
Next, a radar quick pic
And the last one is this morning headed back....didn't want to land.
 

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Skyrys62 said:
I've been out soloing for a while, but took off on my first 'official' solo cross country today. Weather reports were good for the most part, but I could see some stuff building. I commented to my CFI that it looked a little iffy. He said everything is fine.
I took off and about 25 miles out had to detour around some pretty heavy rain.
Get to my destination and landed with probably the second most mechanical turbulence I've ever experienced. Ate up most of a 4000 foot runway and pretty sure I was on the nose wheelbarrowing for a good 200 feet.
Taxied back, took off while cussing the trees.
About the same spot as the last shower, I see storms ahead. Check my phone and my CFI has been trying to contact me to return.
Controller contacts me on the radio and says storms ahead, so I divert and land.
Walk into FBO, get a drink.
A blackhawk helicopter lands which was really cool. Hang out with the crew a little.

A big storm hits that really didn't look bad until it hit the fan. I ask for tie downs but the lightning is so intense no one will go out, not even me. Thank the Lord for the chocks.
The plane dances around like a drunk person trying to stand on a basketball. I cringe for 15 minutes realizing I didn't set the parking brake either. Hold on little buddy!!
The FBO doors blew open and knocked one sideways and jammed it. I had to help bust it loose.
Things calm down, but still windy and rainy as hell.
Wait about 2 hours while trying to get reports from the home drome whether I can depart and head back.
Phone dies.
No charger.
Storms settle down but won't go away enough to get a take off.
Tie the plane down. Pack up.
Just got home a few minutes ago with a ride from my daughter.
Going to go back in the morning and fly the rest of the way back.

Please tell me this is not typical...
Click to expand...

Should've tied down that Black Hawk. ;)
http://wkrg.com/2017/07/26/afternoon-storm-in-gulf-shores-flips-military-chopper/

#blackhawklivesmatter
 
Good job. You used Superior Judgement to avoid demonstrating Superior Skills. That is the best way to gain Experience.

No, not a typical day. It is one that you won't forget though, and I bet you'll carry some form of tiedown straps in your pack from now on.
 
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