Weather

[Catalo]

Today is day number 4 that I have not been able to do my cross countries because of weather. Tuesday and wednesday it was raining all day and today the whole state is ifr. Anyone else grounded to due to weather and if so how do you not go crazy?

 

[Hobobiker]

I'm right there with ya dealing with PA weather. Joined a club with a great little plane and all I can do is sit in her and make noises and go through checklists. Ugh...

 

[jordane93]

Today is day number 4 that I have not been able to do my cross countries because of weather. Tuesday and wednesday it was raining all day and today the whole state is ifr. Anyone else grounded to due to weather and if so how do you not go crazy?

There is always something you can do. Do some ground school, study the systems for your airplane, armchair fly and do emergency procedures.

 

[eman1200]

I'm right there with ya dealing with PA weather. Joined a club with a great little plane and all I can do is sit in her and make noises and go through checklists. Ugh...

I hope it's airplane noises and not stinky noises

 

[Catalo]

3 hours of ground yesterday. 1.3 in the redbird Tuesday. I'm doing my best.

 

[coloradobluesky]

Go get a hotel room and bum the courtesy car back and forth to the airport so it emulates being stuck somewhere on a long cross country.

 

[Catalo]

Go get a hotel room and bum the courtesy car back and forth to the airport so it emulates being stuck somewhere on a long cross country.

I like that idea. I don't know that the fbo will like it but I'm sure it's a fun way to kill time

 

[oldShar]

Today is day number 4 that I have not been able to do my cross countries because of weather. Tuesday and wednesday it was raining all day and today the whole state is ifr. Anyone else grounded to due to weather and if so how do you not go crazy?

Welcome to Aviation!!!

Situation Normal

(if you have time to wait, go by airplane...)

 

[frfly172]

Time to spare,go by air.

 

[Catalo]

I plan on getting the rest of my ratings soon after my ppl so hopefully this won't happen too much

 

[RussT]

I plan on getting the rest of my ratings soon after my ppl so hopefully this won't happen too much

Actually as soon as your get your Instrument Rating you'll quickly realize that it's not the fix all to your weather problems. It just drops you into a world of complication.

Good luck on your XC. Will this be your solo XC too?

 

[JasonM]

Actually as soon as your get your Instrument Rating you'll quickly realize that it's not the fix all to your weather problems. It just drops you into a world of complication.

This is true.

 

[Badger]

what state are you located in?

 

[Catalo]

what state are you located in?

North illinois. I fly out of kpwk Chicago executive

 

[RalphInCA]

Actually as soon as your get your Instrument Rating you'll quickly realize that it's not the fix all to your weather problems. It just drops you into a world of complication.

Care to elaborate a little on this?

 

[MAKG1]

Care to elaborate a little on this?

Try to plan an IFR trip to northern California in the winter where the freezing level is 4000-6000 and with the usual "locally heavy" winter rain. Getting across any significant terrain can be a challenge. Even if it's just the coast ranges.

An instrument rating is great for punching through the marine layer, but not so good for winter storms.

 

[RussT]

Care to elaborate a little on this?

Sure, I used to think - man the day I have my instrument rating I'll never be stuck on the ground anymore! gazing up at 800ovc knowing there were blue skies above it. While the promise of this motivated me to get thru the IR, reality proved a lot different, and you quickly realize the limitations of piston aircraft without FIKI.

When you start looking at IFR flights with IMC and precipitation, life starts to get a lot more complicated. The weather portion of the Instrument Rating for your private pilot license just barely scratches the surface of what you need to know to safely get from A-B when the weather is not just 1000 & 3.

For example, you'll find yourself quickly realizing:
- The limitations of TAFs
- Cold fronts, warm fronts, troughs all start to have real meaning in IFR flying
- What the hell is Convective Available Potential Energy
- how to use Skew-T diagrams
- Microbursts, convective outflow boundaries, severe turbulence, LLWS, delays in nextrad and ATC radar are no longer imaginary theoretical things and how they all can kick you in the ass if you don't know what to look for.
- Icing - you'll experience it and it will humble you.

Statistically yes having an IR makes you a safer pilot, but you immediately have the legal means to put yourself in situations infinitely more dangerous and complex compared to the day before your check-ride where you were restricted to lala land of nice VFR weather.

 

[jordane93]

Care to elaborate a little on this?

Thunderstorms in the summer, I'm not going even though I'm IFR. Low clouds, low freezing level in the winter I'm not going even if I'm IFR. The IR still has its limitations.

 

[frfly172]

The rating is great ,for light rain with no embedded Tstorms.to get through a layer. And after carefull planning some other times. Small aircraft and ice don't mix.

 

[ChrisK]

The rating is also great for flying from Cleveland to Detroit across Canada without getting denied flight following and having to go around

 

[RalphInCA]

Wow. Thanks guys.

I really was under the impression that "once I got my instrument rating I would never be stuck on the ground again".

As usual, you have given me much to think about.

 

[Zeldman]

I suggest staying home and practice making tricycle motors until better weather appears.

And to add a little insult to your waiting, here in northwest New Mexico it has been bright blue skies and daytime temps in the low 70s.

 

[Catalo]

I suggest staying home and practice making tricycle motors until better weather appears.

And to add a little insult to your waiting, here in northwest New Mexico it has been bright blue skies and daytime temps in the low 70s.

Never under estimate Chicago weather. I could be in 90 degree weather tomorrow. But thanks for the pretty mental picture

 

[olasek]

"once I got my instrument rating I would never be stuck on the ground again".

If you happened to fly some say very capable biz jet, yes, you would rarely have to cancel due to weather. So it isn't just the rating, what aircraft you are flying is a significant factor.

 

[ARFlyer]

I only flew 10 hours the first two weeks of the month. Last week the weather just sucked. Lowish ceilings and constant light rain.

 

[Cykoguy]

I have had my PPL for 10 months and have had four weekend XC trips scrubbed due to weather. All of which were just low clouds and showers, nothing convective. Being instrument rated would certainly have allowed at least 1-2 of those to happen.

We ended up driving all of these trips (plus another long one)...the first one on memorial day weekend we got spun out on I-70. So not only were we not able to fly we had to buy a new car too.

 

[Sweep]

4 days!? Try over 4 weeks!

From the day I actually soloed until my next flight with my instructor was over 4 weeks and I was so bad at my landings he never hopped out to let me do some solo work. It was another week and a half after that before I got to go up up again.

I was keeping track, after I soloed, I had to cancel 13 out of the 15 scheduled flights, mainly because of weather. Once the alternator belt broke on a guy coming back in and he he had to divert to another airport to get it fixed which took the rest of the day and canceled my flight. The other the starter wouldn't engage.

It sucks but no use in getting upset or depressed about it. It's better to be disappointed that you didn't get to go up than to be dead because you did.

 

[ChrisK]

Every planned flight actually flown is a nice surprise I've had to cancel many trips this year for mechanical issues or weather not suited to mission (windy IMC is NOT a good first flight for sight seeing )

 

[champ driver]

Wow. Thanks guys.

I really was under the impression that "once I got my instrument rating I would never be stuck on the ground again".

As usual, you have given me much to think about.

Two things to always worry about are thunderstorms in the summer and icing in the winter. An instrument rating sometimes puts you closer to these conditions which can be more risky. Then there are the mornings when it's below minimums at your destination and you have to wait until the fog burns off, sometimes that takes hours.
When flying small singles and twins many of them don't have the de-icing capability to handle ice or even radar on board. Even if your flying turbine equipment you still have limitations as far as weather. I for one would not take off into a thunderstorm or into freezing rain. Sometimes just a 30 minute delay in T.O. can make all the difference, assuming the CEO is willing and the schedule allows it.

 

[James331]

I've let students fly in rain. As long as the cig and vis are good and looks to stay that way, BFD if it's raining. The plane doesn't know it's raining.


As far as instrument ops, I fly a pressurized turbine that is FIKI and radar equipped, we are NOT certified for anything with freezing in it, freezing rain, freezing drizzle etc, we also choose not to mess with convective activity, we won't penetrate a squall line or non sense like that.

 

[James331]

. I for one would not take off into a thunderstorm or into freezing rain. Sometimes just a 30 minute delay in T.O. can make all the difference, assuming the CEO is willing and the schedule allows it.

I don't fly CEO types, but the CEO is not PIC, nor does he probably have operational control over the flight, if it's freezing rain or there is a thunderstorm over the airport, he can sit his CEO arse down and wait, and I would have zero issue telling him that if I felt pressured to fly when I shouldn't be.

 

[MBDiagMan]

Flying involves a lesson in patience. The lesson MUST take! I would strongly suggest that you either do some ground studying during this time or do some interesting aviation reading in order to keep your head in the game while waiting for weather.

If you don't have some ground lessons to work on, I would recommend the Pulitzer Prize winning "The Spirit of St. Louis" or "Yeager." These are both aged books, but timeless for pilots and easily obtained.