This is it.......

[PiperW]

Wife and I was flying IFR from TJBQ to KFLL spring 2016. I had filed for 10k @ 165k in my PA24 and with my tip tanks, had 116 gal useable. Fairly straight flight once I reached altitude on A555, ForeFlight indicated 5.5 hr trip with 101 gal burn, conservative numbers the fuel burn per past trips.

We had made this trip a number of times and this flight was going as planned. When we reached the Bahamas, the blue sky was changing to a layered light blue and gray covering above and below us, a surreal majestic, peaceful setting of calmness.
I pinged Miami for a weather update knowing they were as blind as I was and received just that, no radar for the area we were in.

I check to make sure wife was buckled, fuel management was up to date, and compass heading was true. About 200nm from KFLL, I was a little nervous but steady as she goes, told the wife we’re going to go on instruments and just like that, we were smothered in whiteness.

About 15 minutes in, to my right, I thought I saw flashes of lightening, not sure but now more alert than ever as we pressed on.

Too be continued....

 

[Hank S]

Turn off your strobes in IMC. The little lightning I've been unfortunate enough to see inside dark gray clouds has had a greenish cast to it, matched the direction shown on my stormscope, and not too close. Took the first opportunity to beg ATC for a climb, since they were holding me down. Popped out on top, clear blue skies. Rest of the trip was uneventful, just how I like them.

Be careful out there!

 

[Zeldman]

Turn off your strobes in IMC.

I was thinking the same thing while reading.

I get worried when I see the flash of lightning and hear/feel the thunder at the same time.

 

[RyanB]

 

[FlySince9]

First time @Ryanb was lost for words....

 

[ktup-flyer]

 

[benyflyguy]

 

[Lachlan]

I think “Too be continued....” means “also” be continued, so any PoA author can jump in and run with it for each new chapter. So, have at it, boys! (Girls are too polite for such nonsense.)

 

[RyanB]

I think “Too be continued....” means “also” be continued, so any PoA author can jump in and run with it for each new chapter. So, have at it, boys! (Girls are too polite for such nonsense.)

Maybe a good time to transition into an episode of ‘As the Propeller Turns’ ?

 

[Lachlan]

Maybe a good time to transition into an episode of ‘As the Propeller Turns’ ?

No, we need real grownup writing, not that junior high lockerroom stuff. Something with substance...

...and immediately after the first flash my worst fears were not only confirmed, but burned into my retinas as another bolt cleaved the sky asunder mere inches in front of our trusty steed's spinner! I was stunned- both literally and figuratively, because only 60 seconds before we were flying along in smooth, clear air. The clinometer clamourously clung to the clumsy clouds as the cleanly cloven climate clearly clued me in to the clammy clamp I had clasped upon the yoke, while clods and clumps clogged my underclothes, ifyaknowwhatI'msayin. This weather seemed to pop up out of nowhere, and it probably would have gotten worse if I hadn't run my checklist at that moment. You know the one I'm talking about: appleflames. I checked my iPad and saw that it was overheating! I turned it off and pulled up ForeFlight on my iPhone and de-selected the radar (composite *AND* lowest tilt) and instead picked "aerial map." Immediately the screen looked clear again, and just like that, the foul weather disappeared. We were back in clear air. Somehow, though, we were out of fuel. Tooooo be continued..... (extra Ohs and FIVE dots this time. The next chapter's gonna be GOOD!)

 

[GeorgeC]

If this is it, please let me know.

 

[PiperW]

If this is it, please let me know.

I will complete the story this weekend but feel free to continue a verison of what could have happen.

The above is funny,

 

[Zeldman]

This is it..!!! It's the big one..!!!

 

[Ravioli]

If this is it, please let me know.

 

[texasag93]

The good stuff before MTV went wall to wall rap.

 

[alfadog]

And then I saw it, on the wing. What was it doing with that straw near my tip tank!!

 

[PiperW]

One should know his audience before posting, my lesson is learned, no matter what I write I will never match the imagination of a commercial pilot.

 

[bflynn]

I dunno. The first thing I thought of was that he didn’t allow enough reserve fuel. If he filed IFR, he needs enough to fly to his alternate and then 45 minutes. He has slightly more than a gallon more than the 45 minutes, so unless the alternate is a mile away, he has missed on fuel.

Hey, it’s POA, what did you want?

 

[SToL]

So what happened?

 

[alfadog]

So what happened?

He found his pencil, took his feet off the rudders, wiggled the ailerons around back-and-forth, hauled back on the yoke, and popped out of the clouds.

 

[SToL]

He found his pencil, took his feet off the rudders, wiggled the ailerons around back-and-forth, hauled back on the yoke, and popped out of the clouds.

LoL.. too funny alfadog! He probably blames flight service too for accepting his flight plan.

It appears the other post has been deleted. I no longer see it. The mods around here are something else. God forbid someone learn something from that guys ****-poor decision making.

 

[PaulS]

He found his pencil, took his feet off the rudders, wiggled the ailerons around back-and-forth, hauled back on the yoke, and popped out of the clouds.

Lol, you beat me to it!

 

[MauleSkinner]

If he filed IFR, he needs enough to fly to his alternate and then 45 minutes.

The type of flight plan doesn’t matter...it’s the flight conditions that determine the reserve requirements.

91.167 Fuel requirements for flight in IFR conditions.
(a) No person may operate a civil aircraft in IFR conditions unless it carries enough fuel (considering weather reports and forecasts and weather conditions) to—

(1) Complete the flight to the first airport of intended landing;

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, fly from that airport to the alternate airport; and

(3) Fly after that for 45 minutes at normal cruising speed or, for helicopters, fly after that for 30 minutes at normal cruising speed.

 

[PiperW]

This really happened, nothing made up and I take full responsibility of this flight of a lifetime......

The flashes became more frequent, and then came the booms and violent shaking of the small aircraft.

I informed Miami I was turning around, I was in a full blown storm.

I immediately made a mistake that nearly ended the flight and our lives, instead of turning the aircraft to the northeast, I turned to the southwest or directly into the direction the storm was coming from. The booms were louder, and the aleirons/rudder was not responding to my movements, the stall light was off and on, I couldn’t keep the wings level. I felt I was losing the plane to the storm and I told my wife to pray. I was thinking this was it, lost at sea. My friends and family would weep for us and my enemies would call me the fool. What a weird think to be going thru my mind.

In a calm but stern voice, my wife of +35 yrs told me to work it.

i manage to get the nose down with wings level and started a deliberate descent from 10k’. I pulled up the nearest runway per my heading on my Garmin 750.....MYCA on Cat island. I informed Miami of my choice.

To be continued..

 

[SToL]

@PiperW

Man, I can't wait another month to hear this!!!!

You're killing us!

 

[Zeldman]

Yeah, I flew through an embedded level 4 in a C-210 once.

It turned me every way it could, but I did keep from going inverted.

I won't be doing that again,, ever.

But I did get those cancelled checks at their destination on time.