sj
Staff member
Northwest Arkansas
I had scheduled to give a scenic flight for some friends of friends in the C180 this past Saturday morning. I had looked at the TAF the night before and while "doable" it was definitely going to be windy. I woke up feeling fine and drove to the airport early to make a fuel run to another airport a few miles away. Lost in thought on the way to the airport I missed a turn and had to "recalculate" my route. When I got out of the car I noticed it really was windy, but still not that bad. My passenger was an Air Force guy who had bounced around in a lot of different planes over the years. His daughter was a thrill seeker so I suspected they would be just fine.
Pre-flight, etc, was all great and the short takeoff roll confirmed the healthy wind. Only in the air a few minutes I had already hit my head on the roof once from turbulence. Ok, this happens when you are long in the torso.
Next, I listened to the ATIS at the nearby airport I was going to and then called an airport tower twenty miles away to tell them I was coming in and where I was. They were understandably confused because I was calling the wrong tower on the wrong frequency (in my defense 133.3 and 133.0 are pretty close..). Even as they instructed me that ATIS information Bravo could not be current since they don't even have an ATIS, I knew what I had done.
Ok, over on the right frequency I call the tower I am heading for and they say, "17B winds 020 19 gusting 34 would you like runway 3?", "No", I said, "I'd like runway 19 as I am going to the city pumps". "17B, Are you sure you want 19? wind now 020 23 gusting in the 30s". "Oh, sorry", said I, "I meant runway 1".
At this point, the little voice in my head - the one I never used to listen to and rarely heard, said "Ok bucko, that's three or four things in pretty quick succession making giving a ride today a bad idea". The voice was right. I landed, taxied up to the pumps, called the riders and let them know today was really out of the question due to turbulence and was there any chance they could go in the morning?
While it would have been a terrible day to give a ride - as confirmed on the flight back to the home airport and more head strikes - more importantly I had made three (albeit individually very small) goof ups that morning. It felt like the start of a chain, and experience reminded me that often we don't like what is waiting at the end of the chain.
The next morning we were met with some of the smoothest air I have experienced in a long time. It was the kind of flight where there is no sensation that you are moving other than the ground appearing and receding. Absolutely perfect flying and a perfect experience for the passengers.
It was very much worth the wait - on all accounts.
sj
Pre-flight, etc, was all great and the short takeoff roll confirmed the healthy wind. Only in the air a few minutes I had already hit my head on the roof once from turbulence. Ok, this happens when you are long in the torso.
Next, I listened to the ATIS at the nearby airport I was going to and then called an airport tower twenty miles away to tell them I was coming in and where I was. They were understandably confused because I was calling the wrong tower on the wrong frequency (in my defense 133.3 and 133.0 are pretty close..). Even as they instructed me that ATIS information Bravo could not be current since they don't even have an ATIS, I knew what I had done.
Ok, over on the right frequency I call the tower I am heading for and they say, "17B winds 020 19 gusting 34 would you like runway 3?", "No", I said, "I'd like runway 19 as I am going to the city pumps". "17B, Are you sure you want 19? wind now 020 23 gusting in the 30s". "Oh, sorry", said I, "I meant runway 1".
At this point, the little voice in my head - the one I never used to listen to and rarely heard, said "Ok bucko, that's three or four things in pretty quick succession making giving a ride today a bad idea". The voice was right. I landed, taxied up to the pumps, called the riders and let them know today was really out of the question due to turbulence and was there any chance they could go in the morning?
While it would have been a terrible day to give a ride - as confirmed on the flight back to the home airport and more head strikes - more importantly I had made three (albeit individually very small) goof ups that morning. It felt like the start of a chain, and experience reminded me that often we don't like what is waiting at the end of the chain.
The next morning we were met with some of the smoothest air I have experienced in a long time. It was the kind of flight where there is no sensation that you are moving other than the ground appearing and receding. Absolutely perfect flying and a perfect experience for the passengers.
It was very much worth the wait - on all accounts.
sj
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