Routing and Thunderstorms - Deviations

skidoo

skidoo

Line Up and Wait
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skidoo
I'm looking to fly IFR along the route Pocatello, ID towards Salt Lake, Delta UT, and then on towards Las Vegas to San Diego come Sunday. My most direct routes takes me through the middle of Nevada, MOA, etc... So the above route is the next most direct. But, I am seeing potential thunderstorm activity. I could take a more westerly route as an alternate, but the head winds look to be significantly stronger over there. So, I am wondering if there occurs a thunderstorm developing directly ahead, would ATC tend to allow me to deviate around it if it takes me over a nearby MOA if I am between 12K and 20Kft?

Any other tips for routing or destination KSEE?
 
What are flying? I'm based in Ogden, just north of SLC and fly to Vegas quite a bit. It's rare to see TS activity once you are south of Delta. There is a north-south mountain range and most of the time, the convective weather stays to the east of the range. I suspect if you fly in the morning, you will have no issues on this flight.

But in answer to your question, you will not be allowed to deviate in the restricted areas if they are active. Usually the MOAs are not a problem. Depending on what it looks like, you might be better off flying a VFR transition along I 15 through the SLC Bravo. This keeps you low. My SOP is to fly VFR to Delta and then open an IFR flight plan at Delta down to LAS. In my non-FIKI bird, if I can't make it to Delta VFR, with 13,000 foot MEAs around here icing is a year-round threat.
 
Depends on whether or not the MOA is in use. If it is, they are not going to kick the military out to make room for you. If you get desperate, you can declare an emergency and they'll move other planes as necessary, but if that happens, you may have to explain to the FSDO why you put yourself in a situation where you had to declare an emergency in order to survive. If the situation was not of your own making and not foreseeable, that's not a problem, but if you pressed on into weather such that you gave up all other options besides declaring an emergency, they will not be happy with you.
 
Well I've never been allowed through R4806, and your chances of getting through R6405-6-7 are near nil (dugway).

So it's pretty much victor airways. I'd stay east the way the 1200 UTC prog. looks right now- Provo, Mormon Mesa, before you turn west....
 
It looks like maybe that rare thunderstorm activity in that area on Sunday. I exploring my options should I get near Delta and find too much storm activity from Delta, South, and East of Delta, all the way through Vegas and even heavy rain possible in San Diego, but clear West of Delta down to just north of San Diego.

Sounds like I would have to backtrack, and go way around West. It seems to me that Thunderstorm activity would tend to be widely scattered, and I could ask for deviations around them. But, it also appears that in this area, there is not much room to do so. I'm considering Winnimuca or Reno and then South as an option if the weather looks too thick for the UT route. Any other experienced thoughts or tips?
 
It's not impossible to be vectored through an active MOA while IFR, but don't count on it. Your controller would have to coordinate with the military controllers.
 
The T-Storms don't typically fill in until late afternoon and you should have no problem staying underneath them this time of year. If a cell pops up and starts dumping fly around it. If the weather is crap, the MOAs will be cold as will the Rs. Just keep on flight following and stay VFR, you don't want to be in the clouds in that stuff, stay in the clear, and if the weather makes you need to deviate into a P, so be it, just call and tell them "hey, there's a really bad cell that I need to go N around and it looks like I'm going to get awful close to P whatever to avoid it, you have a better suggestion?" I used to fly all through there a lot and never had an issue, I've even been told to ignore airspace restrictions and find my safest route through the weather; they understand what it's about.
 
Henning said:
The T-Storms don't typically fill in until late afternoon and you should have no problem staying underneath them this time of year. If a cell pops up and starts dumping fly around it. If the weather is crap, the MOAs will be cold as will the Rs. Just keep on flight following and stay VFR, you don't want to be in the clouds in that stuff, stay in the clear, and if the weather makes you need to deviate into a P, so be it, just call and tell them "hey, there's a really bad cell that I need to go N around and it looks like I'm going to get awful close to P whatever to avoid it, you have a better suggestion?" I used to fly all through there a lot and never had an issue, I've even been told to ignore airspace restrictions and find my safest route through the weather; they understand what it's about.
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I suspect they will be "cold" on Sunday anyway.. I'm not counting on it and plan to take a close look at the weather before launching. I plan to launch at sunrise and will be going through that area around or after noon.

I would feel more comfortable flying IFR at 15 to 20Kft in visual conditions and if I see stuff above me, divert around it. Does that sound practical? My passenger doesn't do well in any bumps, so going higher tends to do better for that.
 
skidoo said:
I suspect they will be "cold" on Sunday anyway.. I'm not counting on it and plan to take a close look at the weather before launching. I plan to launch at sunrise and will be going through that area around or after noon.

I would feel more comfortable flying IFR at 15 to 20Kft in visual conditions and if I see stuff above me, divert around it. Does that sound practical? My passenger doesn't do well in any bumps, so going higher tends to do better for that.
Click to expand...

Staying out of bumps crossing the desert in summer? Doesn't sound particularly practical, even airliners don't manage that trick very well.
 
The prog now says, clear skies early in the AM, Tstorms in the afternoon. :)

Leave at daybreak, just in case you have to do it down low....
 
The MOA north of Las Vegas normally is not an issue on weekends.

However, don't expect to get through the Restricted 4808 airspace, ever.

China Lake and Edwards MOAs weekend transition is possible.

Weekend TRW is forecast, that run out tropical storm from the Gulf of Mex is heading across Mexico and into the desert southwest. It's Monsoon season.
 
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