Flight Training - September/October 2021 - 10

ALWAYS LEARNING BY KOLLIN STAGNITO
ONLINE RESOURCES
Vice President of Publications/Editor
KOLLIN STAGNITO routinely takes
his Cessna 140 on flying adventures
throughout the eastern United States.
kollin.stagnito@aopa.org
* How to obtain flight following
aopa.org/ft/flightfollowing
* How to obtain a weather briefing
aopa.org/ft/flightservice
* Pireps made easy
airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/
pirepsmadeeasy
The briefer said, " there is a line of
impenetrable thunderstorms " blocking my
path over the mountains, and VFR flight
was not recommended. Easy decision.
Tomorrow then, I thought, as I drove the
courtesy car to a comfy hotel room.
The sunset view from my hotel, situated
atop a West Virginia mountain, was
gorgeous. At daybreak the next morning,
however, I was looking down at a cloud
obscuring the entire valley. Today the
weather briefer's warnings mostly entailed
mountain obscuration.
I called Pittsburgh Approach to ask for
FOLLOW ME
The controller's voice was urgent. " Cessna Three-ZeroFour-Seven
November, radar is showing a cell with extreme
precipitation immediately in front of you at your 12 o'clock.
Do you have it in sight? " My heart skipped a beat.
What led to this close encounter with poor weather? One week after moving to
Frederick, Maryland, I crafted an ambitious plan to relocate my Cessna 140 from
Chicago to Frederick in a single day. I took an early morning commercial flight from
Baltimore to O'Hare and was eastbound in my airplane by 9:30 a.m. Central time. Two
three-hour flights would have me touching down in Frederick around 5 p.m. Eastern.
Afternoon summer thunderstorms were my biggest concern, so I planned to use flight
following (more accurately called VFR traffic advisories) to help me avoid adverse
weather over the Appalachian Mountains.
When flying VFR, I typically file flight plans or request flight following only when
the terrain or weather conditions present an increased level of risk. The potential for
storms over the mountains on this day made me want access to the second set of eyes
and real-time weather radar guidance that en route air traffic controllers provide.
I called Cleveland Approach to request flight following to Frederick, but by the
time I reached Pittsburgh, my in-cockpit datalink weather already showed a line
of storms had begun to form over the Appalachians. There appeared to be enough
distance between storm cells to weave a safe route through to my destination, but I
decided to land in Washington, Pennsylvania, call a weather briefer, and make a more
relaxed decision about proceeding. Although I typically get my weather briefings
online, this is another example of when talking to an expert is invaluable.
10
FLIGHT TRAINING SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
flight following as I climbed east through
2,000 feet on my way to 5,500. Pittsburgh
confirmed radar contact and then issued
its startling alert: " Radar is showing a cell
with extreme precipitation immediately in
front of you at your 12 o'clock. Do you have
it in sight? " I was confused by the warning.
" I don't see any rain. It's hazy with about
eight miles of visibility, and cloud bases
appear to be around 5,000 feet, " I said.
" OK, thanks, " replied the controller,
" A thick layer of fog can look like heavy
precipitation on my radar. You're the first
airplane to fly over the area this morning,
so I wasn't sure which I was seeing. "
Although air traffic controllers often
have a better real-time picture of the
weather than most GA pilots (see " Instrument
Tip: Ask for Help, " p. 59), that's not
always the case. Pilot weather reports
(pireps) help ATC-and other pilots-
complete the weather picture. Weather
briefings and flight following are great
tools to help with situational awareness,
but ultimately the weather is what you see
from your cockpit. For me, the inevitable
chess match with weather is part of what
makes being a pilot so interesting.
The briefer's warning of mountain
obscuration had me thinking I may not
be able to see the mountain tops as I flew
toward the rising sun. In fact, it was only
the valley floors that were obscured on this
morning. The air was perfectly smooth,
the view stunningly beautiful, and the final
leg of my flight sublime. FT
http://www.aopa.org/ft/flightfollowing http://www.aopa.org/ft/flightservice http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/pirepsmadeeasy http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/pirepsmadeeasy
Flight Training - September/October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - September/October 2021
