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| TERMINAL AERODROME FORECAST (TAF) : San Antonio TX [KSAT] terminal forecast issued on July 27th - 5am CST (10Z): wind 130 degrees at 5 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, broken clouds at 900 feet, 10:00am CST (1500Z): wind 160 degrees at 10 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, broken clouds at 2,500 feet, 12:00pm CST (1700Z): wind 160 degrees at 10 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 3,000 feet. |
| METAR (Weather Observed) :
San Antonio TX [KSAT] hourly observation on the 27th at 6:53am CST (1153Z), wind 140 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 10 miles, broken cloud layer at 1,100 feet, broken cloud layer at 2,400 feet, temperature 26C (78.8F), dewpoint 24C (75.2F), altimeter 30.18, ILS runway 12R in use |
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Clouds and lots of them. That's what greeted my eyes on the morning of July 27th, 2003. Under most circumstances, the site of such a large collection of low clouds would have likely been a deal breaker. As a private pilot, I am authorized to fly under VFR - visual flight rules - which make certain demands regarding visibility and cloud cover. Put simply, flying under VFR requires having clear sight of the ground when you're flying (because you're...well...flying VISUALLY...). Hard to do when a gang of cumulous and stratus clouds team up to blanket the earth. As my wife and I drove to the airport, I could almost see the puzzled looks of the clouds above, "Just WHAT do you think you're doing?" they asked.
IFR. Instrument Flight Rules. Unlike VFR flight, the pilot flying under IFR is often not grounded by low clouds/visibilities because he/she relies on cockpit instrumentation for aircraft control and navigation. On the morning of July 27th, our flight would be departing under IFR - a training flight as I seek the Instrument Rating...(my next big challenge!). My wife and I met Brad Marcum, my flight instructor, at Piedmont Hawthorne North - home of International Flight Center. Our destination was Hondo Municipal Airport (KHDO). With the preflight completed, we boarded our trusty 'Hawk and welcomed the air conditioning provided by the slipstream of our moving prop. Yes, at 07:30am in the morning it was nearly 80 degrees with enough humidity to make it feel like 90. Just another typical summer morning in South Texas! I called up San Antonio Clearance Delivery on my radio to open our IFR flight plan (previously filed with a FAA flight service station). Challenge #1 would be writing down the clearance provided by air traffic control. A challenge because sometimes they give you a clearance at 70 words per minute and, lacking a typewriter, you try to keep up with your trusty #2 pencil. Suddenly my hand was moving as the clearance came over the radio, "Skyhawk 614SP cleared to San Antonio Intl Airport via radar vectors to Hondo and radar vectors back to San Antonio. Fly runway heading, climb and maintain 4,000 feet. Departure frequency is 125.1, squawk 4756." As I timidly repeated the clearance back to the controller, I was thrilled to get the "read back correct" reply! Moments later we were airborne. The clouds awaited us. Some were a brilliant white, bathed in morning light while others lurked in shadows...dark and brooding. We were soaring with cloud giants. As I closed in on my first cloud - at around 85 miles per hour - I concentrated on my instruments. My friends. My trusted allies. As the first cloud giant opened its gaping jaws to swallow us, my instruments reassured me that all would be fine. And then it happened. White out. Zero visibility for a few seconds...a few slight bumps felt...followed by a wispy transparency ahead as we started to emerge on the other side. The feeling was...well...magical. I just flew through a cloud! And another...and another. Clouds everywhere! Shannon was busy in the back seat, firing off photos and capturing videos with her digital cameras. As we settled in at 4,000 feet we were flying about 200-300 feet above the highest clouds. Most were cumulous clouds...puffy beasts climbing higher into the heavens. A few times we'd pass over thin, almost transparent layers of stratus clouds. The net result was a feeling of being much, much higher. For yours truly, it was a brief moment of en route splendor. There was work to do. A instrument approach to be flown. Soon we were cleared for the Hondo RNAV (GPS) Runway 17L approach. As we descended to capture the initial approach fix, we were once again enveloped in the clouds. A broken layer of cumulous clouds. A moment of visibility followed by white out...then sunshine....and back... I learned the challenges of doing a procedure turn in IMC that day. Maintaining altitude while tracking specific headings and turn rates. All the while communicating intentions on the Hondo radio frequency to alert other traffic of our location. As we headed inbound on a course heading of 172 degrees, we picked up a call from another pilot. The pilot realized we were on an IFR approach to Hondo and asked us where the base of the clouds were (since he was considering a VFR flight to Hondo). We advised the pilot that the bases were about 2,000 feet as we emerged from the clouds above a vast expanse of farmland. Ahead was the welcome site of Hondo's Runway 17L. As I transitioned to a visual approach, we made our landing and taxied up to the Flightline Cafe. It was time to eat some incredible breakfast and celebrate our flight amongst the clouds. This was an incredible flight. A flight with challenge, beauty and a great breakfast to boot! I'm excited about my future IFR flights and the wealth of learning that lies ahead. Thanks to the great crew out at the Flightline Cafe for the superb breakfast, my wife Shannon for the capturing the magic of the flight with photos and video...and of course, to Brad Marcum...my flight instructor - for his wisdom, guidance and patience... |
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