Will Kumley
Line Up and Wait
When you cancel an evening dinner flight with the family due to low ceilings only for the clouds to lift 30 minutes later....
Don't you just hate it
- Thread starter Will Kumley
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benyflyguy
En-Route
Never regret canceling a flight due to weather. Soon as I cancel I don’t even pay attention to the weather. Better to cancel today to be able to fly tomorrow then not cancel and never fly again
smv
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smv
"Hate" it? yah... sorta...
Regret or stew over the decision? Never.
Much like the agreement my old dive buddy and I had, either one of us could call off a dive for any reason whatsoever and the other would never second guess nor try to change their mind. We were quite daring in our dive adventures but there were certain limits we would never exceed.
When i was a low time pilot yearning to get in the air, yes. As a not so low time pilot who works in crash/accident/incident investigation for a living, not in the least bit. Especially if my family is involved.
AU_James
Pre-takeoff checklist
Here in Florida during summer the forecast will always include showers and thunderstorms in the vicinity. The problem is that nobody will ever know if they will actually develop or not and if so, how long and where. I think I've finally gotten my wife to realize that sometimes we may have to actually go to the airport before making a decision on whether or not we can fly.
If nothing else, it lets me have justification to go to the hangar for a beer without actually ending up flying.
If nothing else, it lets me have justification to go to the hangar for a beer without actually ending up flying.
cgrab
Pattern Altitude
The people who were so good at coronavirus modelling have moved into weather forecasting.
I make two plans every evening-one to fly and one not. That way I'm not pressured to take flight.
I make two plans every evening-one to fly and one not. That way I'm not pressured to take flight.
Deelee
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Deelee
Funny, I thought I was the only one who did this... If it is questionable and I am on the fence, sometimes I do this. Done. No questions about the flight now. And I always remember what my first instructor said, "Rather be on the ground wishing you were in the air, than in the air wishing you were on the ground."
Will Kumley
Line Up and Wait
Ha,
Thanks for bringing me back to reality everyone. I will likely stop looking at the weather and skies when I've just decided to cancel a flight. Although, I'll admit it will be a hard habit to break as I am that low time pilot itching to get up in the sky. I've rescheduled for Friday which looks promising but I'm sure mother nature will speed up the approaching cold front and the winds will be all over the place earlier than expected. I hope not, but if I plan for a cancellation now it will be a pleasant surprise when I don't actually have to cancel. Last night the ceilings weren't terrible, but they would have kept me pretty low for the entire flight and from the times I've flown just below the clouds it usually was bumpy and I'm still trying to get the family comfortable with small plane flying.
Thanks for bringing me back to reality everyone. I will likely stop looking at the weather and skies when I've just decided to cancel a flight. Although, I'll admit it will be a hard habit to break as I am that low time pilot itching to get up in the sky. I've rescheduled for Friday which looks promising but I'm sure mother nature will speed up the approaching cold front and the winds will be all over the place earlier than expected. I hope not, but if I plan for a cancellation now it will be a pleasant surprise when I don't actually have to cancel. Last night the ceilings weren't terrible, but they would have kept me pretty low for the entire flight and from the times I've flown just below the clouds it usually was bumpy and I'm still trying to get the family comfortable with small plane flying.
Will Kumley
Line Up and Wait
Oh, I did have a beer as well pretty much as soon as I made the call to cancel. That way I could just look at the beer when the sky improved and remind myself that I wasn't able to fly anyway.
AU_James
Pre-takeoff checklist
There's really nothing wrong with checking out the weather still, even after you made your cancellation decision, just try to ensure your mindset is to try and learn your local weather patterns. "I cancelled when I saw this, and it actually turned out to be that." Write it down if you'd like to maybe help you better understand that what you're looking at when you cancelled is or is not likely to change or be something different.
Also, something I did when I was low(er) time was to go to the airport with three courses of action:
a) I do my cross country or proficiency flight as planned
b) I stay in the pattern to see the weather and to just practice a few landings
c) I compare what I'm seeing on weather products to what the skies look like from the ground and don't fly
This gives your drive to the airport purpose whether you end up flying or not and you won't have an urge to fly just because you made the drive. Option c is a really great way, especially in lower ceiling situations, to read a live METAR or listen to the AWOS and just look up and see what it's describing. I found this helped me roughly judge ceilings, say, when I'm driving home from work, not trying to check foreflight, and I'm trying to figure out if I could change direction and go to the airport instead.
Also, something I did when I was low(er) time was to go to the airport with three courses of action:
a) I do my cross country or proficiency flight as planned
b) I stay in the pattern to see the weather and to just practice a few landings
c) I compare what I'm seeing on weather products to what the skies look like from the ground and don't fly
This gives your drive to the airport purpose whether you end up flying or not and you won't have an urge to fly just because you made the drive. Option c is a really great way, especially in lower ceiling situations, to read a live METAR or listen to the AWOS and just look up and see what it's describing. I found this helped me roughly judge ceilings, say, when I'm driving home from work, not trying to check foreflight, and I'm trying to figure out if I could change direction and go to the airport instead.
chemgeek
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chemgeek
Always better to be on the ground wishing you were flying than the converse. The last time this happened to me, I was stewing over the unexpected excellent weather during a 4 hour drive instead of a 90 minute flight. Then I drove through the 5 miles of hail on the ground. I felt more justified after that!
smv
Pattern Altitude
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smv
Got my PPL on Guam¹. Talk about fickle weather... My CFI insisted we use the GO/CONTINUE method of flight planning. Weather looks bad? Go to the airport anyway... Still looks bad? May as well do a very thorough pre-flight.. etc... This process has 'saved' many flights over the years.
¹ take a look at what is involved in a student solo cross-country flight there... PGUM > PGWT > PGSN > PGUM
Ventucky Red
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Jon
Word!
MIFlyer
Pattern Altitude
I'll be up Friday too!
see you in the sky!
but, to your main point, I am the same as the rest here. If it is at all dodgy, I'll drive to destination or grab a beverage to take the flight off the table
Will Kumley
Line Up and Wait
Man, you’re just east of me. I’ll be over Olympia and Tacoma on a Friday. Probably going to hit up the hub at KTIW for some takeout if all goes as planned.
MIFlyer
Pattern Altitude
Nice,i'm on a boring sortie to get the kids from grandma's so I'll be back and forth to Kelso for a quick turn. if it get off early enough, I might do a little pattern work first.
j1b3h0
Line Up and Wait
I’ve announced over the the airline’s PA “I don’t mind flying in weather that makes me earn my money,...but I don’t care to fly in weather that might prevent me from spending it!”
JOhnH
Touchdown! Greaser!
We are having the opposite problem. My wife is having trouble maintaining her IFR currency. We plan to fly in actual IMC but when we get to the airport the clouds lift and it is VFR again. She hasn't been able to (or cared to) have a licensed pilot go up with her during the lockdown. I go up with her, but without a valid cert (no medical) I can't be a safety pilot and she can only pretend to do IFR approaches. It helps her maintain proficiency, but she can't log it for currency.
Oh, I did have a beer as well pretty much as soon as I made the call to cancel. That way I could just look at the beer when the sky improved and remind myself that I wasn't able to fly anyway.
I use this same technique! It's like training your brain to take the proper attitude towards flight cancellations...
Yep! When I took my cave diving training, that was my instructor's mantra: "Any diver can call off any dive at any time for any reason. No arguments."
There have been times when I've called a cave dive just because of a hinky feeling; couldn't explain it, something just wasn't right. And there have been times when so many things went wrong before the dive - lost in the car trying to find the dive site, regulator o-ring blown during setup, broken fin strap, etc. - that I just decided I was having a bad day and I didn't want to have a bad day inside a cave.
I've tried to carry the same mindset into flying, and I wish CFIs would make a point of teaching it.
Will Kumley
Line Up and Wait
Kelso is a nice little airport. I used it for my long cross country as a student. The CFI that reviewed my plan told me to be vigilant looking for it as many pilots miss it coming from the north and end up at Portland before they realize the mistake. I told him that I used google maps and youtube to get an idea of what to look for before I went to the airport that day. He was a little shocked then when I got back he was happy to hear that that my research paid off. I had no problems finding the airport, got my okay-ish landing in and headed back north towards Bremerton.
Will Kumley
Line Up and Wait
It was a great day to fly today. Kinda busy over Olympia and Tacoma but I couldn’t blame any of the other pilots as it was so nice!
Attachments
MIFlyer
Pattern Altitude
I was going to ask if you got up! I made my flight and knocked a few layers of rust off. I had to make a few laps before picking up my passengers for legal currency, and I needed it from a proficiency standpoint. I gotta get some practice in!
overdrive148
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overdrive148
Never go Beyond Maximum Stupid!
Matt James
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WidgetPilot95
Competed with the flying team at my college. We had to cancel due to weather (IFR conditions with low freezing levels). We couldn't help, but check the weather. Initially, it looked like we could of made the cross country flight NY- OSU, freezing levels were a lot higher than expected based on the forecast. Later, looking at PIREPS severe icing along our route and altitude. We were not only relieved, but it was a big lesson learned for all of us.
smv
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smv
In what kind of competitions does a college flying team compete?
Matt James
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It was with the National Intercollegiate Flying Association. It consisted of a handful of ground/ flying events. Multiple navigation tests, Aircraft Recognition, computer accuracy tests using a CR-6, yes a CR-6, to this day I would feel more comfortable using a CR-6 than an electronic E-6B. The flying events were obviously the most fun; short field and power off spot landings, a cross-country event and a bomb drop event. It was a blast and definitely made me a better pilot. Also, a great way to network in the industry.
smv
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smv
Very cool! Never heard of such a thing in a college setting... Guess I do not get out much.
Matt James
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WidgetPilot95
It's a pretty small community, most of the judges and organizers are past competitors so unless you attended a college with a big aviation program, you wouldn't really be aware of it. And the colleges that won would more or less just get bragging rights for the year. It did get competitive though, imagine all of those A-type personalities competing with each other up close and personal..... you know how we are lol.Very cool! Never heard of such a thing in a college setting... Guess I do not get out much.
Matt James
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WidgetPilot95
That would definitely be an easy event to judge.
Perhaps two classes. One for guns and manual sighting only, WWI style. Then an open class: targeting systems, radars, IRSTs, air-to-air missiles, lasers, jammers, etc.
Matt James
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I can already predict the winner, The Air Force Academy. Those guys would out compete brand new SR-20’s in the navigation event. They used 152’s, No GPS. Definitely, mismatched avionics wise, but boy can they dead reckon.
Will Kumley
Line Up and Wait
Yeah, I'm averaging a flight every two weeks to attempt to stay proficient. But I can tell my landings aren't as smooth as I want. I went up for an hour last Saturday and just beat the crap out of the traffic pattern. Tacoma caught my off guard yesterday with a straight in landing. Small single bounce, in hindsight I should have just asked for a pattern entry. Landing at Bremerton was better but still could use improvement.
Will Kumley
Line Up and Wait
My first solo xc didn't have bad winds but there was a looming layer of clouds approaching my destination. I went for it and while it was successful, I was stressed the whole time. After starting back home I was flying into better skies and my anxiety calmed down.
Will Kumley
Line Up and Wait
On another positive note my wife was much more relaxed on this flight. It was only the second time she’s been up with me after getting my certicate. Hopefully when the state relaxes a little more I can take her on a shopping adventure up to the San Juan islands. I’m sure it’ll be an easy way to persuade her into a longer flight.
woodchucker
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Was stationed on the tender there from 97-98. Island weather is fun. Especially the typhoons. I didn’t get into flying for quite a while after leaving there but I did get into snorkeling. Also got SCUBA certified there, although I had problems clearing and just never dove again after getting the cert.