I Learned About Flying From That!

Good morning!

When I was in High School (1972-1976, I graduated May 23, 1976, 36 years ago) I used to read one article every month in the FLYING magazine. That one article was "I learned about flying from that".   It was filled with real life stories and experiences of pilots that learned in real life what could have been or was just theory up and until that point in their lives. Some lessons were simple, others were serious big mistakes that caused lots of reflection for the pilots that wrote the articles. 

With that prelude, for fifteen years I have been enjoying the "clear of clouds and clear of obstacles" clearances for rotor-craft.  I remember flying over some ground fog at a KIMO Gathering in Marshall, Michigan in the Summer of 2000 thinking that this was so cool to be "on- top" in a an Ultralight HoneyBee Gyro, a G1.  During the time that I was up on that flight, the fog burned off and I landed in absolutely perfect weather and conditions.  I have never forgot the pictures that are in my mind of the flight that morning.  

This last month in Florida I had another experience that I will never forget. Lindsay and I were heading out of Arcadia, FL and flying up to Wauchula, FL; this was part of  our normal routine.  The ground fog that morning was bad when we started the track off to breakfast and by the time we were at the airport, pre-flighted and ready to go the fog had lifted in Arcadia.  The wind had been blowing from the South West making it idea for clearing the fog along the intended flight path.  Once we got in the aircraft, got buckled in, started and warmed up the engine it was really clear for about as far as we could see.  When we took off and climbed to about 1,500' and got on our North and slightly West heading it looked like a perfect morning to be flying...with one exception. We were flying faster than the fog was moving...meaning that we were catching up with the fog. 

For those of you that have studied weather and in this case fog, you know that when the wind is blowing ground fog it tends to go into a "wave" appearance....looking like waves on the lake. "Usually", in between the waves one can "usually" see the ground and therefore see what is affectionately called home to us earthlings.  As Lindsay and I flew Northwest, we started seeing the waves of fog building up and ahead of us.  For the record, we were clearly "clear of clouds and clear of obstacles" and with the GARMIN 196 on board there was never a time when we did not know exactly where we were at.  When one is on top and above obstacles, it is extremely easy see what is in front of you, in this case it was clear as a bell and the little black line on the GARMIN 196 was leading us right to Wauchula.  Exercising CRM (Crew Resource Management) Lindsay and I came up with the ultimate plan, we would fly to Wauchula take a look down to see if the airport was clear of fog or if it was socked in. "If" it was socked in we were going back South until the weather cleared; clean and clear plan, pure and simple.

As the miles clicked down on the GARMIN the waves got higher and higher.  This proved to be no big deal because we had lots of gas on board and lots of options for Plan B's.  I remember saying to at one point to Lindsay, "we are five miles out".  All I could see was fog unless I looked straight down between the waves of fog. The miles went to four, then to three, then to two, then to one....still no airport in sight.  Then it happened....we were one half (1/2) mile from the airport and there it was! Believe it or not we could see the full runway!  Our timing was perfect!  We crossed mid-field, set up a corkscrew descent for Runway 18 and within about 45 seconds we were on the ground reminiscing on how great the flight was. I will never forget that flight! What a great experience!   

I learned about flying from that!