Moonlite Flight With Snow Covered Ground

Geico266

Geico266

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Jun 15, 2008
Messages
19,136
Location
Husker Nation, NE
Display Name
Geico
Home Airfield
KCEK
Flew an hour down to KC to watch my grandson play in this last Bball game of the season. Nothing like watching 1st graders play sports, I love it! . :lol:

On the way down I had a 60 mph tail wind at 9,500 msl so ground speed was 260 mph. Nice! :yes:

I was going to spend the night but the forecast was for light snow and ice in the early am and stiff winds so I decided to head home after the game. Full moon, snow on the ground, I launched around 2100 from East KC and headed back home. There was a little frost forming on the wings, but nothing the 260 HP engine couldn't over come. :eek: ;)

The view was surreal. With the snow cover and the full moon light you could see roads, driveways, and details not normally seen at night. I could see farm fields where the snow had melted or blown off the terraces making crazy mosaic patterns that were mesmerizing to look at. I stayed at 4,500 coming back to stay out of the high head winds. At that altitude I picked up the airport white beacon 60 miles away. The visibility was simply amazing.

I love flying at night. So pretty in the winter.

Don't forget with your PPL you can fly at night. With all of this snow on the ground it might be a great opportunity to brush up on your night landings and experience the wonders of winter flying at night.
 
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I gotta fly at night more, I do it so infrequently these days that when I go, I'm scared to get too far away from the patch.
 
bartmc said:
I gotta fly at night more, I do it so infrequently these days that when I go, I'm scared to get too far away from the patch.
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Sometimes you just gotta break out of the old pattern. (pun intended) Fear has a weird way of closing in what we do. We are too afraid sometimes to just go have fun, to boldly go where we have never gone before! :lol: Flying should always be fun.

Seriously, last night was really something special. Crisp, clear, moon lite night, with snow on the ground. A flight I will remember the rest of my life.
 
Night flights - Awesome. (Smooth air, good vis, pretty lights, etc)
Winter flights - Awesome. (Smooth air, insanely good vis, amazing performance)
Night flights in the winter, especially with snow and full moon: Amazing! Anyone that hasn't done it is really missing out.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Night flights in the winter, especially with snow and full moon: Amazing! Anyone that hasn't done it is really missing out.
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Ya shoulda been along last Saturday at 4:30 a.m. over the eastern plains of Colorado - 500 fpm up and down drafts and 20 degree wing rocks. Not smooth and not much fun. The up-n-down drafts really surprised me 'cause I was at least 30 miles from the mountains. It may have been Pike's Peak that was messing with me 'cause I was pretty much due east of the Springs.
 
I agree. The first go round of snow around Christmas here, we got a late start. Took off around 8 PM from Dallas to Tulsa. Full Moon and Snow covered ground.

Wish I had a fast enough lens to capture it.

This winter was great for me. I got my PPL in Oct and then the days started getting shorter. Could only fly after 5. Scared the hell out of me for the first few hours. Now I have more night hours than day hours (post PPL) and I love it.

I am surprised how little it bothers me knowing full well if the engine were to quit I'd be dodging power lines to try and land on a highway.


Night before Last:


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Like night flying winter or summer. Winter seems to have better vis and smoother air.
 
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