Cloud Chasing

My morning started out like this. Fog, a great threat to my flight which relies on VISUAL clues to accomplish maneuvers. It was moving easterly very slowly and then overtook my current position, my house. Feeling somewhat disgruntled at the situation, I continued on to work facing the inevitable, no flight.






It looks like smoke really, and I don't despise fog or any low cloud for that matter, it just ruins everything I ever try to do...




As it turns out, conditions permitted flight through these low clouds. Generally for our little carousel planes, flight into clouds usually is impossible due to the height of the clouds (and the lack of performance of our plane to go that high), or the fact that the low clouds are either associated with thunderstorms (summertime no-no), or icing (wintertime disaster). Occasionally, the planets align and fog is brought in with warmer temperatures, thin layers, and little icing. Horrible for visual flight, but perfect for instrument. You have to meet certain restrictions to LEGALLY fly into clouds and actually log it, kind of like chasing a unicorn, very coveted time for little pilots like we. Anywho, we did what we had to do, got a clearance and off into the great beyond we go! (I don't really like to use exclamation marks, this may be the only one, so enjoy it, gots to be proper sometime.)


This may be a long story, it was exciting and many picture were involved, enjoy.


This is how empty my paper started...

...and this is how full it became. When on with a controlling center, you have to abide by all of the rules and regulations and be in constant contact with people, a lot is being said, advised, amended, and informed to us, this paper has very little to do with that, ha ha. I was just a ghost writer on this trip. Most of what you see was time, position, and conditions of our flight. Decode it, I dare you.

Popping into the layer, enjoying the ride, taking in the scenery.

The other side of life, the escape, the getaway. I've seen those mountain tops hundreds of times, changing with the seasons, but seeing it on the other side of life, truly amazing. We only had about a 500ft layer, no ice, no turbulence, perfection.

We did end up getting some ice on the tires and struts around ten thousand feet in a thick cloud, was a bit bumpy but that's to be expected. 10 minutes in cloud will sometimes make you forget any training you ever had, it's funny really...

Many photos and a missed approach later, we come on in, clouds lifting, blue sky dominating, and our roller coaster coming to an end. It was a great morning to say the least.