Don Jones
Line Up and Wait
My first creative writing in 25 years so be gentle. 
Don
“Warrior two two two November alpha, Albuquerque Center, you are radar contact one zero miles south east of the Las Cruces airport, altitude indicates seven thousand eight hundred, you are cleared to the San Angelo airport as filed, climb and maintain niner thousand” With those words crackling from the radio my latest flying adventure began. I dutifully read back my clearance and settled in for what would be a long, but fulfilling day of flying. Today I was on a mission, not just another hundred dollar hamburger run, I was off on a mission for Angel Flight.
I was to pick up my passenger, who we will just call V, in San Angelo Texas and bring her back to Las Cruces New Mexico. V lives here also, but has been in Houston for the last 40 days undergoing and recovering from surgery. This particular mission had already been cancelled three times before, twice by V’s doctors and once by me, just yesterday.
I awoke yesterday and checked the weather only to find a low pressure system was parked in the Texas Panhandle with a cold front extending through the mid-west into Canada. There was a dry line extending due south from the low with a lot of upper level moisture coming in off of the Gulf of Mexico. All this spelled Thunderstorms. They were lined up like a barricade along the dry line effectively blocking my route to San Angelo. One look at the radar and I picked up the phone and called the pilot of the first leg, Tom who was bringing V to San Angelo and cancelled. We both agreed to try it again the next morning.
The weather this morning is beautiful, as I transition the El Paso Class C airspace, I marvel at the view, one which only a pilot can truly appreciate. Visibility is virtually unlimited and I can easily see White Sands National Monument some 75 miles to the north and well into Mexico to the south. The weather at my destination is not forecast to be like this. The radar is clear, but there is a low scattered layer of clouds which is forecasted to be 4000 scattered at my arrival time, never the less I am prepared for the possibility of the weather not being as forecast.
“Warrior two two two November alpha, Albuquerque center, climb and maintain one zero thousand for the minimum en route altitude along your route of flight” the voice of the controller rings in my ears, and brings me out of my daydream and back to the business at hand. These controllers are sharp folks. He must have been reading my mind. I had already decided to request ten thousand even though it is the wrong altitude for my direction of flight, but will save me some time climbing to eleven thousand. They will sometimes allow this when there is no conflicting traffic, and it seemed I was the only one out here this morning.
As I am approaching Wink Texas which is 144 nautical miles from my destination I begin to see a light scattering of clouds. They are small friendly looking puffy clouds, not at all like the forty thousand foot high monsters which occupied this area so forbiddingly yesterday. They seemed to go on forever, as far as I could see, getting thicker as they disappeared into the horizon. I scramble to get the weather for San Angelo on the radio. ”Wind one seven zero at one four gusting one nine, Visibility one zero, ceiling two thousand three hundred overcast” Argh, so much for forecasts. I realize I am going to have to fly an instrument approach in actual instrument conditions for the first time ever since earning my instrument rating two years ago. Well this is what all that training was about, and as instrument meteorological conditions go this is pretty benign with a nice high ceiling, perfect for a newbie like me.
Fort Worth Center hands me off to San Angelo approach and I check in with the controller. “San Angelo Approach, Warrior two two two November alpha, one zero thousand, information delta”. Approach acknowledges and tells me ”expect the localizer back course for runway 21, descend and maintain eight thousand”. Now I have only flown a back course a few times and do not want to try it on my first real approach in the clouds. I requested the VOR 21 approach and was told to expect that.
“Warrior two two two November alpha, descend and maintain five thousand three hundred, fly heading zero seven zero, vectors VOR two one approach. As I descend the clouds come closer and closer, until I level off at my assigned altitude, which puts me just above the clouds with just an occasional whisp floating by the window. Approach assigns several more vectors and then “Warrior two two two November alpha, fly heading two one zero, descend and maintain four thousand three hundred until established, cleared VOR two one approach. I turned to the heading and began my descent into the clouds, glanced at the CDI to see if the needle was alive which it was, but something was wrong. It was on the wrong side of the scale. Colorful language fills the cockpit when I realize the problem. I had mistakenly set the OBS to the outbound heading instead of the inbound, probably being too used to flying the full procedure rather than radar vectors to the final approach course. I feverishly spin the obs to two four zero and all is right again. I am engulfed in an eerie cocoon, still descending it gets darker as I go. The needle is almost to center now and I roll out on a heading of two four zero degrees. I watch the altimeter unwind, 4800, 4700, 4500, man this is cool, I am an instrument pilot, 4400. “Warrior two two two November alpha, contact tower one one eight point three” I acknowledge and call the tower, tower reports wind at 170 at 17 gusting 21 and asks if I would like to circle to land on runway one eight, which I accept. 4300, poof, I break out of the clouds with the airport right in front of me. How cool is this. All that hard work earning the rating was worth it. It is a feeling I can not explain, similar to my first solo, but somehow more rewarding. I land and taxi up to the FBO where Tom and V are waiting.
I am met by Tom and the line guys for the FBO, I ordered fuel and wandered inside with Tom to meet V. She is a tiny thing, barely 5 feet tall. We chat a moment about her trip up from Houston, and take care of the paperwork. She is anxious to get home so I make the required pit stop, pay the fuel tab, and Tom helps me load her stuff in the airplane. I do a complete pre-flight of the airplane and a passenger brief for V and we load up. A few quick radio calls for clearance and we are cleared to take off on 18. Tower approves turn on course, cleared direct wink and we are headed for the clouds again. Just before entering the clouds I tell V that this part takes a lot of concentration and we need not visit until after we are out of the clouds, she is very understanding and sits quietly until we break out on top. She is having a blast, and thinks it is so cool to fly through the clouds. The view on top is breathtaking, a brightly lit sea of white and perfectly blue sky above, it really is magical. The rest of the flight home is totally un-eventful. We hit a few bumps and a lot of mountain wave nearing the Guadalupe mountains as always, but not all that bad. V tells me she loves the bumps. What an easy passenger, she is actually comfortable enough to take a nap during all the bumps. After leaving El Paso airspace I cancel IFR with the Las Cruces airport in sight. Land on 26 and taxi to Adventure Aviation. V was supposed to have a friend there to pick her up but for some reason she was not there. I put up the airplane and loaded V and her stuff up and took her home. We said our good-byes and the mission was over. What a terrific day, but I am exhausted. Time to take my tired butt home. I can hardly wait for the next mission.
Don
“Warrior two two two November alpha, Albuquerque Center, you are radar contact one zero miles south east of the Las Cruces airport, altitude indicates seven thousand eight hundred, you are cleared to the San Angelo airport as filed, climb and maintain niner thousand” With those words crackling from the radio my latest flying adventure began. I dutifully read back my clearance and settled in for what would be a long, but fulfilling day of flying. Today I was on a mission, not just another hundred dollar hamburger run, I was off on a mission for Angel Flight.
I was to pick up my passenger, who we will just call V, in San Angelo Texas and bring her back to Las Cruces New Mexico. V lives here also, but has been in Houston for the last 40 days undergoing and recovering from surgery. This particular mission had already been cancelled three times before, twice by V’s doctors and once by me, just yesterday.
I awoke yesterday and checked the weather only to find a low pressure system was parked in the Texas Panhandle with a cold front extending through the mid-west into Canada. There was a dry line extending due south from the low with a lot of upper level moisture coming in off of the Gulf of Mexico. All this spelled Thunderstorms. They were lined up like a barricade along the dry line effectively blocking my route to San Angelo. One look at the radar and I picked up the phone and called the pilot of the first leg, Tom who was bringing V to San Angelo and cancelled. We both agreed to try it again the next morning.
The weather this morning is beautiful, as I transition the El Paso Class C airspace, I marvel at the view, one which only a pilot can truly appreciate. Visibility is virtually unlimited and I can easily see White Sands National Monument some 75 miles to the north and well into Mexico to the south. The weather at my destination is not forecast to be like this. The radar is clear, but there is a low scattered layer of clouds which is forecasted to be 4000 scattered at my arrival time, never the less I am prepared for the possibility of the weather not being as forecast.
“Warrior two two two November alpha, Albuquerque center, climb and maintain one zero thousand for the minimum en route altitude along your route of flight” the voice of the controller rings in my ears, and brings me out of my daydream and back to the business at hand. These controllers are sharp folks. He must have been reading my mind. I had already decided to request ten thousand even though it is the wrong altitude for my direction of flight, but will save me some time climbing to eleven thousand. They will sometimes allow this when there is no conflicting traffic, and it seemed I was the only one out here this morning.
As I am approaching Wink Texas which is 144 nautical miles from my destination I begin to see a light scattering of clouds. They are small friendly looking puffy clouds, not at all like the forty thousand foot high monsters which occupied this area so forbiddingly yesterday. They seemed to go on forever, as far as I could see, getting thicker as they disappeared into the horizon. I scramble to get the weather for San Angelo on the radio. ”Wind one seven zero at one four gusting one nine, Visibility one zero, ceiling two thousand three hundred overcast” Argh, so much for forecasts. I realize I am going to have to fly an instrument approach in actual instrument conditions for the first time ever since earning my instrument rating two years ago. Well this is what all that training was about, and as instrument meteorological conditions go this is pretty benign with a nice high ceiling, perfect for a newbie like me.
Fort Worth Center hands me off to San Angelo approach and I check in with the controller. “San Angelo Approach, Warrior two two two November alpha, one zero thousand, information delta”. Approach acknowledges and tells me ”expect the localizer back course for runway 21, descend and maintain eight thousand”. Now I have only flown a back course a few times and do not want to try it on my first real approach in the clouds. I requested the VOR 21 approach and was told to expect that.
“Warrior two two two November alpha, descend and maintain five thousand three hundred, fly heading zero seven zero, vectors VOR two one approach. As I descend the clouds come closer and closer, until I level off at my assigned altitude, which puts me just above the clouds with just an occasional whisp floating by the window. Approach assigns several more vectors and then “Warrior two two two November alpha, fly heading two one zero, descend and maintain four thousand three hundred until established, cleared VOR two one approach. I turned to the heading and began my descent into the clouds, glanced at the CDI to see if the needle was alive which it was, but something was wrong. It was on the wrong side of the scale. Colorful language fills the cockpit when I realize the problem. I had mistakenly set the OBS to the outbound heading instead of the inbound, probably being too used to flying the full procedure rather than radar vectors to the final approach course. I feverishly spin the obs to two four zero and all is right again. I am engulfed in an eerie cocoon, still descending it gets darker as I go. The needle is almost to center now and I roll out on a heading of two four zero degrees. I watch the altimeter unwind, 4800, 4700, 4500, man this is cool, I am an instrument pilot, 4400. “Warrior two two two November alpha, contact tower one one eight point three” I acknowledge and call the tower, tower reports wind at 170 at 17 gusting 21 and asks if I would like to circle to land on runway one eight, which I accept. 4300, poof, I break out of the clouds with the airport right in front of me. How cool is this. All that hard work earning the rating was worth it. It is a feeling I can not explain, similar to my first solo, but somehow more rewarding. I land and taxi up to the FBO where Tom and V are waiting.
I am met by Tom and the line guys for the FBO, I ordered fuel and wandered inside with Tom to meet V. She is a tiny thing, barely 5 feet tall. We chat a moment about her trip up from Houston, and take care of the paperwork. She is anxious to get home so I make the required pit stop, pay the fuel tab, and Tom helps me load her stuff in the airplane. I do a complete pre-flight of the airplane and a passenger brief for V and we load up. A few quick radio calls for clearance and we are cleared to take off on 18. Tower approves turn on course, cleared direct wink and we are headed for the clouds again. Just before entering the clouds I tell V that this part takes a lot of concentration and we need not visit until after we are out of the clouds, she is very understanding and sits quietly until we break out on top. She is having a blast, and thinks it is so cool to fly through the clouds. The view on top is breathtaking, a brightly lit sea of white and perfectly blue sky above, it really is magical. The rest of the flight home is totally un-eventful. We hit a few bumps and a lot of mountain wave nearing the Guadalupe mountains as always, but not all that bad. V tells me she loves the bumps. What an easy passenger, she is actually comfortable enough to take a nap during all the bumps. After leaving El Paso airspace I cancel IFR with the Las Cruces airport in sight. Land on 26 and taxi to Adventure Aviation. V was supposed to have a friend there to pick her up but for some reason she was not there. I put up the airplane and loaded V and her stuff up and took her home. We said our good-byes and the mission was over. What a terrific day, but I am exhausted. Time to take my tired butt home. I can hardly wait for the next mission.
