24 June 2010

WEATHER (OR NOT) TO FLY - BEST LAID PLANS AND ALL THAT....

Well, the weather forecast was looking a tad dodgy for flying later today but it looked good to go early this morning.  Overcast at 6500 feet and similar at Tauranga where I had planned our first stop. I had booked Cessna 172, "WAM" from 1000 for the rest of the day to take oldest daughter out for a flight before she departs these shores on a 3 month OE. 
However, by 0900 the clouds had lowered and it was raining and my heart sank a bit.  It did appear to be clearing and by the time we had driven over to the club and preflighted the weather in the direction we were going looked acceptable, the same only a little windier at Tauranga, and I made the decision to go.  It turned out to be a great flight over.  The Kaimai range was clear enough to get over with plenty of height to spare even though it did not look too inviting to the North and West.  However, with a South-easterly blowing it away from us, it appeared to be favourable for getting back, too.
The approach to Tauranga went really well.  The wind was 120ยบ at 10 knots gusting to 18 so a maximum cross-wind of 12 knots on runway 07 - well within my mental 15 knot limit.  On turning final we were a bit high so I used a side-slip technique rather than crabbing to lose some of that height.  As I got progressively lower I found I was needing less and less rudder so the surface wind was much more benign and a very good (one of my best ever!) cross-wind landing resulted.  Very pleasing and we headed off to the AvGas cafe for a bit of brunch and a look around the Aviation Museum.
How things can change!  We had just started our browse around the museum when I heard that distinctive pitter-pat sound on the roof.  It was raining.  Probably just a shower, I thought but the noise got louder and I went outside to take a look.  Oh dear!  In the 40 minutes or so since we left the plane the weather had really closed in.  Visibility was around 10km at best and the hills to the south completely obscured by cloud with showers all round and more to follow from the East.  OH @#**@!!!  
We decided to complete our tour of the museum and then head over to Bayflight to get a weather update.  I phoned the Aero Club to find the weather back in Hamilton and was told the weather there wasn't too flash, either.  So, trapped in Tauranga by the weather at least for a while.
We had a look around the Military Collection at the Museum next and then went back to the cafe to take stock.  It appeared to be slowly clearing from the East so we headed back to Bayflight to call Hamilton (the cafe was a bit noisy).   The wind was getting up and the very nice people at Bayflight suggested I taxi WAM around to use their tie-downs.  This was gratefully accepted.
I spoke to Ash (instructor) again and he reckoned Hamilton would be clear enough to come back in about half an hour and it was certainly clearing over the hills.  20 minutes later the way across the Kaimais looked clear enough, I confirmed things were OK at Hamilton with Ash, and made the decision to go.  It was now or never I reckoned as there was more rain heading our way.
We got up and were cleared on track to Hamilton at 2500' or below.  The rain was indeed on its way again but I could clearly see a way over the hills where the road from Tauranga to Hamilton crosses and headed that way.  Now, I drive that road fairly often and know the summit is 499 metres (1650').  I was out of the control zone now (when I made my "clear" call to the tower they gave me a favourable weather report for Hamilton - thanks, guys) and at 2700' had ample room to cross. I was just clear of the cloud above but having to negotiate around some lower wisps. which threatened to obscure my vision ahead for a while.  I was making sure I still had an escape route behind or to my left and right back to Tauranga and pressed on carefully.  The way ahead became clear as I manoevred around, I was over the ridge and into the much clearer Waikato very quickly (20-25 knot wind at our backs) and breathed an inward sigh of relief.  All that training had kicked in and I had successfully got us through a "real weather" situation.
The flight back to Hamilton was quick and otherwise uneventful.  Ash had advised tracking a little further South as there was a lot of weather to the North and this turned out to be good advice.  A routine approach, landing and taxi later, we were putting the cover on the plane when more rain hit Hamilton and by the time we left the club the weather was back to "VFR unflyable" again.  I had a peek at the weather radar later and we appeared to have come through a fairly narrow gap between two banks of cloud and rain to get home.
OK, then, lessons previously learned (some in theory) and acted upon:
1) Weather can be very unpredictable and even the best forecasts can be wrong (the bad stuff today was 3-4 hours early!)
2) Get help.  The aviation community are very friendly and helpful - particular thanks to James at Bayflight who gave us a couple of short rides to keep us out of the rain and to Ash for his help and advice.
3) Don't fall victim to get-home-itis.  As we sat in the cafe, we worked out a "get-home" plan which did not involve using the plane (hiring a car, which my daughter could return the next day).
4) Keep your options open.  One of my main tasks when flying towards the ranges was to keep my "escape routes" in view and check they were "clear".

We got home safe and sound but were fortunate there was a clearer weather "hole" to fly through.  If it hadn't been there, lesson 3) above would have been acted on.

Finally, a few pictures:


                         Wispy Cloud - Hamilton side of the Kaimais

              High overcast towards Tauranga as we crossed the ridge

                            At the museum (we recommend a visit)

22 June 2010

A LOT OF WEATHER WE HAVE BEEN HAVING LATELY........

A month since my last post, I see, so time for an update. Thanks to the variable Waikato Winter weather (like, beautiful when I am at work and foggy/wet when I have time to fly) I haven't done very much recently.

So, a bit of a summary:
Along with a lot of other club members I went to the AvKiwi seminar on Mountain Flying on 31st May. Excellent - note to self - must get some training once our instructors are up to speed. More about this on "Flyinkiwi"'s blog (see my followers) which I won't repeat here.

Thursday 3rd June: 
I had booked one of the Alphas to get current again by day (got current by night a couple of weeks before). It turned out to be a regular pea-souper foggy morning which persisted until gone lunchtime but eventually I was able to get up for an hour later in the afternoon. Went South-West initially with cloud hanging around Pirongia below the peaks looking very like some of the scenery shown on the video at the seminar. A timely reminder that although Hamilton is in a river plain the hills are not too far away. I elected to stay well clear!
I did some medium and steep turns to check out my general handling (the little Robin/Alphas are very light on the controls if you are used to a Cherokee or 172) and returned for a few circuits which I seemd to fly pretty accurately with nice, smooth landings. However, the weather up North was closing in (looking like a giant fog bank heading our way obscuring the horizon) so it was time to stop. Well, at least I got up so not a totally frustrating day.

Thursday 10th June:
Another "interesting" day. I had thoughts of a cross-country flight in 172 "WAM" but the weather was looking rather poor to the South and not that great in other directions so I elected to do some circuits only. These all went very well until I heard a Cherokee being told to line up on 36R, having myself been cleared to approach "number 1" for the same runway. As I was only just turning base this was not likely to be a problem.
Or so I thought...... On turning final I could see said Cherokee still holding for the runway and not lined up. The tower called telling the pilot that they had been instructed to line up and now should hold as I was now about a mile out. The pilot misinterpreted this and began to line up. I didn't hear the scream from the tower controller - he didn't have his mike switch on (I just imagined it)!! The next call was to me to redirect to 36L (the smaller parallel strip) but I had already sorted things out in my mind that I was a bit too close to do that and decided a go-around was best; called I was doing so and pushed the throttle forward. The tower then told (rather tersely) the Cherokee pilot to hold on the runway.
No more excitement and, all in all, a tidy set of circuits. Good for the currency factor.

Thursday 17th June:
More thoughts of a cross-country flight and I had booked the Arrow for the morning and prepared a flight plan for Taupo and back. Not to be, once again due to the weather.
Up until just before take-off things looked acceptable, but only just. There was low cloud to the South but further East the conditions looked better and I decided I would get up, ask for a change to a Scott (NE) rather than a Swamp (SE) departure if necessary, have a good look around once out of the zone and then decide whether to carry on or come back.
Well, that decision ended up being made for me. I lined up on 18L just after one of the club Cherokees had taken off. I noticed that said Cherokee (on an IFR flight) had disappeared fairly quickly into the cloud and heard over the radio that a flight in had found significant cloud South of the field down to 600'. Hmm! How far South, though.  The ATIS mentioned "few" at that sort of height.
I took off, instructed to climb to circuit height before turning as there were helicopters operating over Mystery Creek for Fielddays (big Agricultural expo), but as it turned out I didn't make it that far. I no sooner had got the wheels and flaps up, set correct power and pitch and I was almost into the cloud. I levelled off and called the tower that I was 600' indicated, almost in cloud and asked to turn crosswind; that low cloud had certainly closed in!
So, having been cleared, I turned cross wind to find myself in a genuine low-flying situation. OK, slow down, wheels down, call the tower and ask for a circuit at low level to return. Looking around it didn't look too flash and all thought of Taupo had evaporated. The tower suggested a right hand orbit to align for 36 (no wind) which I started but was still unable to see much.  Using both what vision I had and the instruments I came around onto a Northerly heading.  Problem now was I could not clearly see the airfield as visibility was rather poor.  I asked the tower for a vector to intercept the runway centre line which they duly obliged with and as I got nearer the cloud cleared into relatively good visibility.  
I was heading towards the  Mystery Creek car park so still about half a mile or so to the East of where I needed to be.  Having informed the tower of this, they called back suggesting a climb to circuit height onto downwind for 18L which I gladly took, keeping a careful eye on a helicopter descending into Mystery Creek - he was well clear.  Wheels up, back into a climb and then duly completed a circuit to land.  Not my best landing but acceptable and I guess I was a little shaken by the experience.  Down safe and sound, though and pleased that all that training and the wonderful controllers in the tower had helped get me out of a (potentially) sticky situation.
Should I have gone at all?, you may ask.  Good question and, with the retrospectoscope (a wonderful instrument but it doesn't work in reverse!!!), the answer is, "No" but, at the time of take-off the cloud base from the ground looked OK and it was clear enough to go out to the North-East if necessary.  A good lesson in how fast weather conditions can change or can look fairly benign from the ground but very different from only a few hundred feet up.  By the time I had put DQV away in its hanger the sun was starting to come out and it was looking like a nice afternoon!!