GreatLakesFlying
Pre-takeoff checklist
Last week I flew with a friend who's a helicopter pilot, from 06C to 05C for lunch. There is a very good Mexican restaurant (Mi Tierra) at 05C and it's a short flight from the home airport. The route is quite scenic, just south of Chicago's skyline.
05C doesn't have an AWOS station, so after lunch, I checked the METAR from KGYY, about 5 NM north of 05C. At the time it was showing SCT040, and winds from the west. I planned to clear the pattern in a left climbing turn to 3200, fly over KGYY's Delta that ends at 3100, contact Chicago Approach for flight following, track the shore, then turn west from downtown Chicago and follow I-290 to the home airport (or, as known locally, the "Eisenhower Transition").
In the climb-out and as we were heading into KGYY's Delta, we encountered clouds at 3300. So I reduced power and entered a left descending turn to 2500 to avoid busting the Delta space in front of me. Then I contacted KGYY for a transition through their airspace to stay clear of the clouds. At the time of that maneuver, there was only one other aircraft practicing in the pattern at 05C and we were separated, vertically, by about 1000 ft. No other traffic was present on 05C's CTAF. KGYY approved our transition and we continued our flight to 06C.
My question to the forum is basically simple: how would you have handled the unexpected encounter with the clouds, less than 1.5 NM away from the lateral limits of a Delta airspace? Did I place too much faith at the METAR showing SCT040?
With less than 1.5 NM from the Delta, I did not have time to call the tower and establish 2-way communications. The best way to buy myself some time was the descending left turn: it kept me away from the Delta, it brought me 500' below the clouds, and it bought me time to contact the tower. I felt safe circling close to 05C because the traffic I was aware off, was 1000 below, in a left pattern. Should I have gone around the Delta space instead circling outside it waiting for approval to transition it?
The images below show the situation I describe. Your feedback will be appreciated.
05C doesn't have an AWOS station, so after lunch, I checked the METAR from KGYY, about 5 NM north of 05C. At the time it was showing SCT040, and winds from the west. I planned to clear the pattern in a left climbing turn to 3200, fly over KGYY's Delta that ends at 3100, contact Chicago Approach for flight following, track the shore, then turn west from downtown Chicago and follow I-290 to the home airport (or, as known locally, the "Eisenhower Transition").
In the climb-out and as we were heading into KGYY's Delta, we encountered clouds at 3300. So I reduced power and entered a left descending turn to 2500 to avoid busting the Delta space in front of me. Then I contacted KGYY for a transition through their airspace to stay clear of the clouds. At the time of that maneuver, there was only one other aircraft practicing in the pattern at 05C and we were separated, vertically, by about 1000 ft. No other traffic was present on 05C's CTAF. KGYY approved our transition and we continued our flight to 06C.
My question to the forum is basically simple: how would you have handled the unexpected encounter with the clouds, less than 1.5 NM away from the lateral limits of a Delta airspace? Did I place too much faith at the METAR showing SCT040?
With less than 1.5 NM from the Delta, I did not have time to call the tower and establish 2-way communications. The best way to buy myself some time was the descending left turn: it kept me away from the Delta, it brought me 500' below the clouds, and it bought me time to contact the tower. I felt safe circling close to 05C because the traffic I was aware off, was 1000 below, in a left pattern. Should I have gone around the Delta space instead circling outside it waiting for approval to transition it?
The images below show the situation I describe. Your feedback will be appreciated.
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