Great Lakes Meet Up 1/18 or 1/19

gprellwitz said:
Yeah, I've taken to looking at the new aviation winter dashboard: http://aviationweather.gov/decisionsupport/winterdashboard
Unfortunately, it doesn't report for KIND.
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Yes it does, Grant - Just go to where it says "KORD" and click the little triangle to the left of it - It expands out to show KIND and a bunch of other mid-size airports in the region.

It appears to be more airline-related, though, I'm not sure how relevant it really is to us little guys. "This dashboard provides a decision support tool to alert operational meteorologists and air traffic managers to potential winter weather impacts at major airports." Winter weather impacts the major airports far worse than it does us, IME.
 
Just select 'Great Lakes' as region.
I believe that there is also a way to select individual stations and to create your own dashboard.

Tapatalk + Nexus 4
 
I thought about flying last Sunday, but winds were gusting pretty hard, my airplane just underwent maintenance (by my own hand no less) and I haven't flown since early November. Three things made for an automatic scrub.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Yes it does, Grant - Just go to where it says "KORD" and click the little triangle to the left of it - It expands out to show KIND and a bunch of other mid-size airports in the region.

It appears to be more airline-related, though, I'm not sure how relevant it really is to us little guys. "This dashboard provides a decision support tool to alert operational meteorologists and air traffic managers to potential winter weather impacts at major airports." Winter weather impacts the major airports far worse than it does us, IME.
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Thanks, I missed that. Things I like about this are that you can graphically compare multiple models, you can see how the forecast has changed over time, and you can easily see out a couple of days. It's one more tool in the belt that can help form a first impression.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Yes it does, Grant - Just go to where it says "KORD" and click the little triangle to the left of it - It expands out to show KIND and a bunch of other mid-size airports in the region.

It appears to be more airline-related, though, I'm not sure how relevant it really is to us little guys. "This dashboard provides a decision support tool to alert operational meteorologists and air traffic managers to potential winter weather impacts at major airports." Winter weather impacts the major airports far worse than it does us, IME.
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I'm not sure I agree with that. Winter weather that impacts the major airports usually means at best MVFR visibility or ceilings, or both -- in other words, conditions where I'd want to file. Which is usually a bad idea because unless it's VERY cold, there's also a good chance of getting iced up.

There are always exceptions -- like today, where despite marginal and even IFR conditions, the CIP consistently showed a low probability of icing here in Michigan. But so far this winter, most of the time, even in pretty cold temps, winter weather has meant icing airmets and lots of confirmatory pireps from the big iron.
 
Alright, so it's Thursday already. Obviously, weather may be a factor. But if we have it this weekend, who is in? I can't do Saturday, but could Sunday.
 
Martina and I would be in on Sunday, I however have to admit that the weather forecast raises my concerns.

Tapatalk + Nexus 4
 
I could maybe do Sunday if I got someone to fill in for me on the hike. But the weather isn't going to cooperate. There is already a strong model consensus for another clipper coming through on Sunday. Will probably have to cancel the hike too. :(
 
azure said:
I'm not sure I agree with that. Winter weather that impacts the major airports usually means at best MVFR visibility or ceilings, or both -- in other words, conditions where I'd want to file. Which is usually a bad idea because unless it's VERY cold, there's also a good chance of getting iced up.
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However, something like a layer at 3,000-5,000 feet with a ton of ice in it doesn't really affect them much at all (They can get vectored in, under the layer and still do visual approaches) but it can really mess us up.

Also, you can easily have snow and good vis - In fact, last night I had 40+ mile vis and could still see a bit of snow in the landing light beams on my way home, and on the way out I was in the clear until the last 5 minutes, when it dropped to ~5 miles vis in snow. I say this to point out that if O'Hare or another of the major airports listed in that report has <=5 mile vis in snow for any length of time, the accumulation means that they'll be landing a lot less airplanes per hour due to plowing, and that can mess them up for days. So, they'd show an impact, when our airports are cleaned up and ready to go... Not to mention, we don't need nearly the kind of traction they do on the runways for landing. I've landed on runways I'd probably have trouble walking on - Fly the plane all the way to the chocks, and it's not a big deal, unless of course you're approaching at 150+ knots in a 100,000+ lb airplane.

Finally - Snow does not mean ice. Dry snow will not adhere to the plane. It's really cool to flip on the landing lights in the wing and be able to actually see the boundary layer, though! :yes:
 
flyingcheesehead said:
However, something like a layer at 3,000-5,000 feet with a ton of ice in it doesn't really affect them much at all (They can get vectored in, under the layer and still do visual approaches) but it can really mess us up.
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Quite true. :yes:

Also, you can easily have snow and good vis - In fact, last night I had 40+ mile vis and could still see a bit of snow in the landing light beams on my way home, and on the way out I was in the clear until the last 5 minutes, when it dropped to ~5 miles vis in snow. I say this to point out that if O'Hare or another of the major airports listed in that report has <=5 mile vis in snow for any length of time, the accumulation means that they'll be landing a lot less airplanes per hour due to plowing, and that can mess them up for days. So, they'd show an impact, when our airports are cleaned up and ready to go... Not to mention, we don't need nearly the kind of traction they do on the runways for landing. I've landed on runways I'd probably have trouble walking on - Fly the plane all the way to the chocks, and it's not a big deal, unless of course you're approaching at 150+ knots in a 100,000+ lb airplane.
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Yup. The runway at my home field has a thin patch of ice over most of the eastern half of its length. There is a NOTAM on the AWOS for "marginal" braking action -- but I can land and slow to taxi speed by the time I reach the opposite end without even applying the brakes.

Finally - Snow does not mean ice. Dry snow will not adhere to the plane. It's really cool to flip on the landing lights in the wing and be able to actually see the boundary layer, though! :yes:
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I never said it did. It's not the snow that ices you up, it's the supercooled liquid water in the clouds that are producing the snow, and there is often plenty of it. That's why I mentioned the PIREPs that have been reported during snow events this winter at the altitudes we fly at, even at fairly cold temps.
 
Maybe people aren't getting too excited because the weather looks to be crap, but it seems turnout for this Sunday is likely to be minimal even if the weather were to be okay.
 
Hmm. Crosswind would have been sporty today, but doable. Tomorrow is going to be a cloudy, snowy, icky mess.
 
Today would have been a no-go too, from here. The winds would have called it for me, I just don't consider flying in that stuff fun. But worse, ceilings have been MVFR with IFR vis at times due to snow. A day to file. But kinna do either, the clouds are full of ice Captain. :(

I'm about ready to call my mechanic and tell him to pickle my engine until about end of April...
 
Next weekend.

Hopefully I can sneak out if the weather decides to cooperate for a change.
 
I could maybe make it next weekend. This snow/cold/winter crap is horrible
 
Next weekend it would have to be Sunday. I am singing at a memorial service Saturday for a dear old friend that passed in December.
 
Was clear skies here all day. So much for forecasts.
 
Wasn't clear here. It would clear up and I would think I might be able to go fly then 20 minutes later vis would be down to less than a half mile with blowing snow.

I love winter, but I am ready for warmer temps.
 
Kinda sucks here, e-mail from our Airport Manager today:

Due to blowing snow and ice conditions yesterday and overnight, runway 2/20 will remain closed until at least noon today. The runway broom has been unable to remove the packed snow and ice and conditions are unsafe. We do expect to see some melting this afternoon and will do our best to return the runway to service. I will provide you with another update as conditions improve.
 
The winds on the surface are pretty minor compared to:

Here = 39kts@3,000'
EVV = 45kts@3,000'
IND = 48kts@3,000'

Not this kid.

I should be available next Sunday...not sure about Saturday. Of course, the downside of Sunday is that it's Superbowl Sunday. Not that I care but others surely might.
 
tmyers said:
Kinda sucks here, e-mail from our Airport Manager today:

Due to blowing snow and ice conditions yesterday and overnight, runway 2/20 will remain closed until at least noon today. The runway broom has been unable to remove the packed snow and ice and conditions are unsafe. We do expect to see some melting this afternoon and will do our best to return the runway to service. I will provide you with another update as conditions improve.
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Your Airport Manager sends you emails about runway closures? I'm impressed. :yes:
 
And next Sunday I won't be able to do it - have a dog flight on Saturday.
 
timwinters said:
[...] Of course, the downside of Sunday is that it's Superbowl Sunday. Not that I care but others surely might.
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True. Even though we are not interested in the Superbowl, we accepted the invitation to a Superbowl party on Sunday night. :(
 
The weather for Sunday looks promising. If it holds up, and the meeting takes place on Sunday, we would come. We would have to leave at around 1:30 EST (12:30 CST), though...
 
Sunday may be hard for us. We are having people over for the Super Bowl, and we will have preparations to do. We will have to see. I will try to get as much done on Saturday as possible.
 
Sunday would work for us, my dog flight got canceled on Saturday. So if we do Sunday, let us know.
 
I will be making up an exam over the weekend. If I finish early, maybe... but it depends on whether the hangar is accessible, and whether they've fixed my hangar leak (I doubt it) or I can get all the snow and ice cleaned off my tail.

Hangar accessibility is going to be a big one. I gave up driving out in snowstorms on treacherous roads to clear the ramp, only to find that the plow guys now put back whatever I remove, and then pack it down with their tires so that it requires urea to get off, which won't work in the frigid temps we've been having.
 
The forecast for Indianapolis and the larger citities further north still looks good for Sunday. It seems as if it will be a pretty sunny day...

Assuming that we will meet on Sunday, I would however like to suggest, that we meet at 11 am EST, and have lunch at around 11:45. This would allow folks like myself to participate in the meeting and to go to a superbowl party in the evening, without the need to hurry too much.
 
I'd have no objection to that time, but we also aren't going to a SuperBowl party so it doesn't matter.
 
I might be able to make it for Sunday, just have to see if a rental is available and if the weather will hold out.
 
I might be up for Sunday, but not feeling warm and fuzzy about 11:00.
 
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