Go-NoGo weather II
- Thread starter skidoo
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flyingcheesehead
Taxi to Parking
What exactly is "this weather condition"? I see some clouds. They look kind of low-ish, but I can't really tell. I also see mountains. What are the winds aloft? I can't get a very good 3-D picture of what shape the clouds are, where they're going, whether they look thick or not, etc.
You also haven't specified any parameters such as what kind of airplane, how it's equipped, or anything about the pilot - Ratings, experience (both total and recent) and proficiency in the type of conditions present.
Really, the picture does not give me nearly enough information to even start speculating - And that's a pretty low threshold.
skidoo
Line Up and Wait
The highest mountain peaks are near 10K ft. Field elevation is 3K. I estimate the cloud ceilings to be 12K or more. So, they are not really low. Aircraft=182, G1000. Also, the local flight would be just in the wide valley area. I'll have more to the story after I get some feedback on what others see.
chucky
Line Up and Wait
Those are some really neat shapes in the clouds - I'd guess from mountain waves. Will that cause turbulence lower down? I guess that means you're on the leeward side of those mountains, but I don't really know what that means for a local flight. I've never seen anything bigger than the Catskills from my cockpit, so I have no idea what the issues are here, but that's a pretty cool picture.
tonycondon
Gastons CRO (Chief Dinner Reservation Officer)
what were the winds aloft? looks to me like a thin high layer with divots in it probably caused by wave coming off the mountains. i'm guessing from the picture the winds at ridge top height were blowing from the mountain towards the airport.
skidoo
Line Up and Wait
The clouds seemed to move relatively slow and the winds at the field were quite calm. Didn't know actual winds aloft.
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe
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tonycondon
Gastons CRO (Chief Dinner Reservation Officer)
most of the wave induced clouds i've seen don't really move at all.
gismo
Touchdown! Greaser!
Yep. The form on the upwind side and dissipate on the downwind side due to the rising/descending air. IME, waves aren't directly related to turbulence in that the air can be pretty smooth in a wave, but the same wind that causes the waves is likely to be creating some bumpy conditions somewhere nearby.
tonycondon
Gastons CRO (Chief Dinner Reservation Officer)
yea the books say that the actual wave is silky smooth. the rotor underneath the peaks though, not so much.
flyingcheesehead
Taxi to Parking
Yes, those clouds look "funny" and might indicate that there's some interesting things happening due to the mountains. My other weather question should be, "was there an AIRMET for turbulence, and do you normally see airmets for turbulence in that area when it's caused by the mountains?"
The other thing to consider in this case is the pax. Normally I try to only take new pax flying on days with little or no turbulence. However, the "really eager" pax that may want to become pilots, I'll take when there's slightly more because I figure that they'll be more OK with it than your average first-time nervous flyer.
LOTS to consider, obviously.
The other thing to consider in this case is the pax. Normally I try to only take new pax flying on days with little or no turbulence. However, the "really eager" pax that may want to become pilots, I'll take when there's slightly more because I figure that they'll be more OK with it than your average first-time nervous flyer.
LOTS to consider, obviously.
cessna182b
Line Up and Wait
The clouds look somewhat like lenticulars. There will likely be severe turbulence on the lee side of the mountains. I'd stay on the ground - especially with the situation of having a first-timer as a passenger.
Dave
skidoo
Line Up and Wait
OK, Here is the rest of the story...
It was about 10 am and the clouds were plenty high, look strange, but not too bad. The mountains are to the West. So, we started up and I taxied out to the run up area. At this point, I noticed lightning strikes just North. Checking the XM-Weather, it also showed strikes about 5 to 8 miles to the North, strikes about 5 to 10 miles to the West/SouthWest (towards the mountains in the picture), and some strikes just to the East. We were essentially surrounded by thunderstorms.
So, I told my passenger that we were Not going now. I taxied back to the hangar. I took him out later that afternoon after the storminess passed.
It was about 10 am and the clouds were plenty high, look strange, but not too bad. The mountains are to the West. So, we started up and I taxied out to the run up area. At this point, I noticed lightning strikes just North. Checking the XM-Weather, it also showed strikes about 5 to 8 miles to the North, strikes about 5 to 10 miles to the West/SouthWest (towards the mountains in the picture), and some strikes just to the East. We were essentially surrounded by thunderstorms.
So, I told my passenger that we were Not going now. I taxied back to the hangar. I took him out later that afternoon after the storminess passed.
Let'sgoflying!
Touchdown! Greaser!
We are looking at a static glimpse of maybe 5 degrees of horizon, it is really hard to tell whatcha got from a photo. I can get no feel for the vertical development of those clouds.
