GreatLakesFlying
Pre-takeoff checklist
As far as basic ADM goes, deciding not to fly today was straightforward. Conditions were MVFR at departure, destination, and en route. But why was it such a difficult decision to make?
With Thanksgiving around the corner and being in charge for 2 deep fryers tomorrow, I wanted some me-time today. The early forecast yesterday looked promising for a morning flight to KMSN, breakfast at the JetRoom, and back to 06C by 10 AM. I even had the opening lines for my flight video: the busiest day for air travel, just got busier at KMSN ...
So I called the FBO, they said no problem, we can have the DA40 ready for you at 6 AM.
Then, yesterday evening the new TAFs didn't look as promising as their cousins earlier in the day. I did a preliminary briefing for the outbound (06C-FARMM-KMSN) before I got to bed, and it didn't look good: LLWS just south of my departure, though technically not affecting my route; moderate icing as low as 2000 at the edge of my route, and increased cloud coverage.
I went to bed wanting to fly, wanting to brag that I made it to a Class-C the day before Thanksgiving (big deal, right?). Got up at 5 AM, did another briefing and it was OVC030 all over the place. Left a voicemail at the FBO to thank them and let them know that it's a no-go, and went to the gym (only to find out that they don't open before 6 AM).
In hindsight, making the right decision to call off the flight was easy: OVC030 and Zulu AIRMETS, we are done. But it was not that easy. Even this morning, I was trying to read between the lines of the TAFs: they were showing MVFR and I was trying to see if there is a trend later in the day lifting those ceilings to OVC050 or something.
The stupid-me was trying to overtake the responsible-me. I felt bad for the FBO lineman who had to pull the airplane out of the hangar at an ungodly hour. I really wanted that me-time at a diner, in an airport, on the busiest travel day of the year. I wanted to try the new headset. I really wanted to do a 360 on departure and see the sunrise over the skyline and the lake. I could have convinced myself to fly 1000-1500 AGL all the way there. And maybe I could have made it.
Why am I sharing this here? I made the same decision that any responsible pilot would have made, so what's the big deal? I am right in the middle of the Killing Zone: about 200 hours total, ~100 after PPL. And I was so tempted to go to the airport this morning. Well, by sharing this story with you, I feel like reinforcing my good decision making.
Now on to the important business of tomorrow: as God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fry.
With Thanksgiving around the corner and being in charge for 2 deep fryers tomorrow, I wanted some me-time today. The early forecast yesterday looked promising for a morning flight to KMSN, breakfast at the JetRoom, and back to 06C by 10 AM. I even had the opening lines for my flight video: the busiest day for air travel, just got busier at KMSN ...
So I called the FBO, they said no problem, we can have the DA40 ready for you at 6 AM.
Then, yesterday evening the new TAFs didn't look as promising as their cousins earlier in the day. I did a preliminary briefing for the outbound (06C-FARMM-KMSN) before I got to bed, and it didn't look good: LLWS just south of my departure, though technically not affecting my route; moderate icing as low as 2000 at the edge of my route, and increased cloud coverage.
I went to bed wanting to fly, wanting to brag that I made it to a Class-C the day before Thanksgiving (big deal, right?). Got up at 5 AM, did another briefing and it was OVC030 all over the place. Left a voicemail at the FBO to thank them and let them know that it's a no-go, and went to the gym (only to find out that they don't open before 6 AM).
In hindsight, making the right decision to call off the flight was easy: OVC030 and Zulu AIRMETS, we are done. But it was not that easy. Even this morning, I was trying to read between the lines of the TAFs: they were showing MVFR and I was trying to see if there is a trend later in the day lifting those ceilings to OVC050 or something.
The stupid-me was trying to overtake the responsible-me. I felt bad for the FBO lineman who had to pull the airplane out of the hangar at an ungodly hour. I really wanted that me-time at a diner, in an airport, on the busiest travel day of the year. I wanted to try the new headset. I really wanted to do a 360 on departure and see the sunrise over the skyline and the lake. I could have convinced myself to fly 1000-1500 AGL all the way there. And maybe I could have made it.
Why am I sharing this here? I made the same decision that any responsible pilot would have made, so what's the big deal? I am right in the middle of the Killing Zone: about 200 hours total, ~100 after PPL. And I was so tempted to go to the airport this morning. Well, by sharing this story with you, I feel like reinforcing my good decision making.
Now on to the important business of tomorrow: as God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fry.
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) it's easy to make the decision to not fly these days. It's not a decision I like making, but Mother Nature made it for me, and that's what I get. Probably won't be in the air again til April, at least in my own airplane. Maybe I'll rent something at the paved country strip 40 miles away after the New Year...