Flight Training - January 2015 - 23

But forecasts still showed the storm
inundating central New Mexico. On top
of it, Jean seemed to be getting the flu.
Between concerns about her health
and poor flying weather, I was a bundle
of nerves.
Still, I preflighted our portable oxygen
system, confirmed rental car availability
at Gallup-halfway in case we couldn't
make Albuquerque-and packed my travel
bag in the event I got stuck somewhere.
Knowing we almost certainly couldn't fly,
I skipped checking weather that evening.
Better to face whatever reality Thursday
morning than worry all night. I awoke
before dawn, and with pounding pulse
queried my smartphone.
"I feel much better today," said Jean,
sleepily. "How's the weather?" Flagstaff
was clear-not too surprising given the
storm's last projected course. Winslow
was also clear. Heh! Gallup and Grants,
New Mexico, featured good visual

conditions under high clouds. And amazingly, so did both Albuquerque airports!
Mountain obscuration was possible
over northern New Mexico, and Odile's
remnants swirled closer than I'd like to
the south. But a 15,000-foot freezing level
meant we could safely file an instrument
flight plan if necessary.
"Call Jana," I said. "We're launching for
Albuquerque!" We soon cruised sparkling
skies cleansed by Odile's rains, savoring
sights of Arizona's Painted Desert and
New Mexico's Zuni Mountains. We'd

just circled Old Acoma "Sky City," a
1,000-year-old mesa-top Native American
pueblo, when Jana excitedly noted a more
relevant landmark.
"Look!" she said, "A tennis court in
the middle of nowhere!" Shortly after
the girls photographed that curiosity, I
dropped them at Albuquerque's Double
Eagle II Airport, then steered happily
homeward under puffy fair-weather
clouds.
Rarely, over decades of piloting, have
I seen a dead-on approaching storm
system deviate far enough overnight
to change a veritable no-go into an
easy VFR flight. Maybe wishful thinking works after all! Now, if the weather
would just oblige for retrieving the players on Sunday.
Greg Brown is an aviation author, photographer,
and former National Flight Instructor of the Year
(www.gregbrownflyingcarpet.com).

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Flight Training - January 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - January 2015
