Flight Training - April 2014 - 27

I considered shooting the ILS, but didn't
relish climbing into potentially ice-laden
clouds-doing so would consume valuable
time and the weather might get worse
before we got back. Nope, we'd best return
to Sedona. Before I could turn, Flagstaff's
runway dimly filled our windshield.
"You're cleared to land, Runway 21," said
the control tower. "Winds are 210 degrees
at 14 knots, gusting to 20." Flight visibility
was obviously nowhere near the reported
nine miles. I could barely see the approach
end of Runway 21, and momentarily considered requesting a closer dogleg base to
Runway 3. But for the whopping tailwind,
that'd be far preferable to losing sight of
the field on downwind. The tower controller must have read my mind.
"Visibility looks as good or better at the
northeast end of the runway," he casually remarked, so I joined the downwind
for Runway 21. To ensure keeping the
runway in sight I flew abnormally close

INSTRUMENT PILOTS LEARN THAT FLYING A
TIGHT CIRCLING APPROACH IN LOW VISIBILITY
RADICALLY SKEWS NORMAL VISUAL AND
PROCEDURAL CUES.
and turned base hardly beyond the end.
That took planning and concentration.
Instrument pilots learn that flying a tight
circling approach in low visibility radically
skews normal visual and procedural cues.
Accordingly, I conserved airspeed and
altitude through my base and final turns.
Jean let out a "Yippee" as we landed
at home. I thanked the controller for
his contagious calmness and invaluable
pattern-visibility call. Then we heard him
tell the approaching airplane behind us,
"We're changing the recorded weather to
three miles visibility," before switching
frequencies.
"That was exciting!" said Jean, and
asked for my thought process through

our final moments of flight. Although I'd
handled the situation safely, answers were
hard to come by. Yes, there'd been caution
signs, but I thought I'd addressed them
effectively.
The weather had been benign until we
entered the traffic pattern. Had I committed too quickly to land? Would turning
around have been safer? Despite seemingly
careful and conservative planning, unexpected last-second decisions had left little
room for error. How cautious we pilots
must be. And how fickle is snow!
Greg Brown is an aviation author, photographer,
and former National Flight Instructor of the Year.
(www.gregbrownflyingcarpet.com).

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Flight Training - April 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - April 2014
