sixpacker
Pre-takeoff checklist
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2014
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Sixpacker
A couple of weeks ago I made plans to pick up a friend at 10 AM at another airport nearby (about 35 miles away) and to then fly elsewhere. I checked the weather and the pickup airport was VFR and the final destination about 150 nm distance was IFR so I filed an IFR plan from the pickup airport. I headed off to my hangar with the intention to do the short hop VFR.
It was perfectly unlimited ceilings at my home airport. I pulled my plane out, did the preflight, started it up and taxied to the runway. I usually recheck the weather at the destination on my iPad just before leaving but didn't this time since as mentioned I had blue skies with not a cloud visible. I took off and turned towards the pickup airport. Crapdammit, almost immediately I could see clouds in the direction of the pickup airport and they looked REALLY low like fog. I dialed up the ATIS frequency and there was a special METAR saying mist and 200 foot ceilings. I kicked myself for not rechecking the weather before I took off. This stuff had really just rolled in and was unexpected (it was not in the TAF either). I quickly pulled up my iPad and checked the approaches. It had an ILS with a 250 foot minimum. Hmmm... I had lots of fuel so I thought, heck let me try get in since I was picking up a friend there and there was beautiful clear weather behind me if it didn't work out. I was not on FF so I called up the appropriate approach frequency (this pickup airport is under a class B shelf). I explained that I was VFR intending to get into this airport that was now IFR and asked for a pop up clearance. The controller gave me a squawk and then told me I was radar contact then immediately gave me a new squawk. He didn't ask for any other information and cleared me to that pickup airport via vectors and asked what approach I wanted. I was surprised he was able to get me into the system so quickly and didn't ask for SOB or fuel or equipment etc. He only had my tail number. I later realized he must have just used my filed IFR plan from that airport.
He vectored me to the ILS and asked how I wanted to terminate it. I said I was going to land this mofo (Q1: is it acceptable to ask for an approach when you know the weather is below the minimum? I assumed yes as long as I go missed at the appropriate time. ???) I got established and was told to switch to tower. The tower controller immediately asked if I had the weather and did I realize the ceiling was at 200 ft? (The tone in his voice was surprised). I said yes but I'm going to try anyway. I descended down the glide slope and it was hard IMC no hint of the base anywhere close when I got to my minimum. So I went missed and told the tower and he said "duh!" Then told me to follow the published missed and gave me a different departure frequency to call. I then flew back to my home airport uneventfully. I called up my friend and we decided to postpone until the next day. When I checked on flightaware later, it showed that small flight path I had taken into the pickup airport, the missed approach and then my trip back to my home airport but all the rest of the details were for the trip that I had filed. In fact, flightaware actually showed me as still being in the air with my "approximate position" almost halfway to the filed destination airport I didn't even start to fly towards.
So my second question is, did the approach controller just bring up my other IFR flight plan and activate it? Is this why I was given a second squawk? If I had landed would the tower just have suspended it then reactivated it when I left again? I know these are probably unimportant behind-the-scenes type details but I'm just curious about how the system works.
It was perfectly unlimited ceilings at my home airport. I pulled my plane out, did the preflight, started it up and taxied to the runway. I usually recheck the weather at the destination on my iPad just before leaving but didn't this time since as mentioned I had blue skies with not a cloud visible. I took off and turned towards the pickup airport. Crapdammit, almost immediately I could see clouds in the direction of the pickup airport and they looked REALLY low like fog. I dialed up the ATIS frequency and there was a special METAR saying mist and 200 foot ceilings. I kicked myself for not rechecking the weather before I took off. This stuff had really just rolled in and was unexpected (it was not in the TAF either). I quickly pulled up my iPad and checked the approaches. It had an ILS with a 250 foot minimum. Hmmm... I had lots of fuel so I thought, heck let me try get in since I was picking up a friend there and there was beautiful clear weather behind me if it didn't work out. I was not on FF so I called up the appropriate approach frequency (this pickup airport is under a class B shelf). I explained that I was VFR intending to get into this airport that was now IFR and asked for a pop up clearance. The controller gave me a squawk and then told me I was radar contact then immediately gave me a new squawk. He didn't ask for any other information and cleared me to that pickup airport via vectors and asked what approach I wanted. I was surprised he was able to get me into the system so quickly and didn't ask for SOB or fuel or equipment etc. He only had my tail number. I later realized he must have just used my filed IFR plan from that airport.
He vectored me to the ILS and asked how I wanted to terminate it. I said I was going to land this mofo (Q1: is it acceptable to ask for an approach when you know the weather is below the minimum? I assumed yes as long as I go missed at the appropriate time. ???) I got established and was told to switch to tower. The tower controller immediately asked if I had the weather and did I realize the ceiling was at 200 ft? (The tone in his voice was surprised). I said yes but I'm going to try anyway. I descended down the glide slope and it was hard IMC no hint of the base anywhere close when I got to my minimum. So I went missed and told the tower and he said "duh!" Then told me to follow the published missed and gave me a different departure frequency to call. I then flew back to my home airport uneventfully. I called up my friend and we decided to postpone until the next day. When I checked on flightaware later, it showed that small flight path I had taken into the pickup airport, the missed approach and then my trip back to my home airport but all the rest of the details were for the trip that I had filed. In fact, flightaware actually showed me as still being in the air with my "approximate position" almost halfway to the filed destination airport I didn't even start to fly towards.
So my second question is, did the approach controller just bring up my other IFR flight plan and activate it? Is this why I was given a second squawk? If I had landed would the tower just have suspended it then reactivated it when I left again? I know these are probably unimportant behind-the-scenes type details but I'm just curious about how the system works.
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