Proud of myself for beating get-there-itis.

Challenged

Challenged

Pattern Altitude
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Challenged
I'm the best man for a wedding in January, so we had a bachelor party this weekend with a group of 8 guys. I asked if the groom would be interested in flying to our destination, and he said that sounded great. So, it ends up being me, the groom and one other guy who fly, and we just meet the rest of the guys at our destination for the weekend.

Well, we have a great weekend, and we go to leave on Sunday morning, but my home airport is showing 700 overcast, and while there is no on-field weather at the airport I am departing from, the closest one is showing 200 feet overcast, and there's pretty heavy fog. From just eyeballing it, it's obvious that we're nowhere near MVFR limits on the field I'm departing from.

The early morning TAF had said it would clear by 9:00 AM, but that comes and goes with no change in the weather. 10:00 AM rolls around and there's still no change in the weather. Everyone is sitting in the lobby waiting for me to give the word, and I have to admit the urge to just go ahead and launch was very strong. I held fast, however, and the sun finally started to poke through and the fog quickly dissipated around 11:00, and the clouds lifted to marginal at the destination airport and we made a bouncy trip back without further issue.

I've had to wait out the weather maybe a couple of times previously, but that was just me, the wife and my dog, and the pressure to come through wasn't nearly as strong as when you have 7 guys sitting there waiting on your decision. Anyhow, for any pilot who has made questionable decisions in the past due to pressures to get to the destination, I definitely saw first-hand how it can be tempting to bend the rules.

FYI: I've got about 12 hours of training left before I can get my "cloud license".
 
Challenged said:
FYI: I've got about 12 hours of training left before I can get my "cloud license".
Click to expand...

Good on ya. Many have broken the rules when close to that point, and then end up in an NTSB report.
 
Good discipline! And even after you get your "cloud buster" rating you will be challenged again to make the right call. Whether it is a thunderstorm or icing or even low weather at your destination and reasonable alternate, you will be again asked to make these kinds of decisions.

After I got my IFR, I set personal minimums for myself, eventually lowering them as I gained experience. Even with experience, there are times I still make a clear "no go" decision based on the equipment I am flying and the factors I will contend with.
 
What airplane do you own that you could get 7 guys waiting on your decision - is there room in the vehicle for the other 4? Inquiring minds want to know ?
 
Good decision. Now, all my IR has done is give me more reasons to drive. :D Yes, I have used it, and yes, I have logged some actual since getting it. But, ice is still a no-go in the light singles I have access to. TS, as well. In this case, you made the right call. Even with an IR I would have delayed take-off due to the weather at your origination point. You have to ask yourself what you would do if an immediate return became necessary. You did well.
 
The airplane was my Sierra. The seven who were waiting included the guys who were nice enough to just hang around, while the three of us who were flying were waiting on the weather.
 
Good call. The bride to be should thank you. :yes:

Set your minimums and stick to them. When passengers are involved be extra careful not to "bend the rules".

I've been stuck for 3 days in MS. Turned into a good time, made some great friends. Those boys know how to tell stories. :lol:
 
Twice I had to rent a car to get home for a deadline.... Once for wx and once for maintenance.

I hotwired a car for either one way drop off or for 2 weeks knowing I will bring it back to pickup the airplane at a later time.

Better to be down here wishing to be up there than to be up there wishing to be down here.
 
Good for you.

There was a crash with 5 souls lost right near my home town, a couple months ago, in a situation similar to this. Guy tried to fly back home from a baseball game at night, into IMC. He was IFR rated, but not current, and lost his Cirrus on what we assume was a too-steep turn near final approach. There wasn't much left of the Cirrus, and the guy had his two kids and their friend in the backseat. (There were 5 people in the 4-pax Cirrus, unfortunately.) There were other factors involved, he was up there on the stressors list, etc. Looking in from the outside, it's clear he could have/should have just waited or rented a car and driven the 2.5 hours from KC to Springfield, MO. Very sad.
 
Congratulations and welcome to an exclusive club of strong decision-makers.

My own most difficult one was deciding to stay in ABQ overnight to wait for storms to pass when my wife had a business meeting first thing the following morning. She ended up on a bus ride that stopped at almost every town from Albuquerque to Denver. After she left, I protected myself mostly by waiting much longer than I needed to - making sure I didn't get home before her!
 
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