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| METAR (Weather Observed) :
Hourly observation on the 2nd at 06:53AM, Wind from the Southeast (120) at 5 knots. An overcast cloud layer at 500 feet. Temperature 22. Dewpoint 21. Altimeter 30.08. Remarks: Drizzle with ceilings variable between 500 and 1000 feet. |
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The morning of Sunday, November 2nd was gray and rainy. This would usually be a time of much frowning if high-flying adventure had been the game plan for the day. On this cloudy morning, however, the murky sky was a welcome sight. It was the morning I would conduct my IFR cross-country flight! My anticipation grew as Shannon and I drove to the airport to meet my flight instructor. The thought of earning some quality ACTUAL instrument time (versus donning a "view limiting device" to simulate flying in the clouds on clear days.) was exciting!
We met Brad Marcum, my flight instructor, at the airport and after a thorough preflight asked San Antonio Clearance Delivery for our IFR clearance (I had filed the flightplan at home using my computer about an hour earlier). The controller readback our clearance, "Cessna 614SP is cleared to the Gillespie County Airport via the Bowie Three Departure Lejon Transition, radar vectors to San Angelo, then radar vectors to Fredericksburg, fly runway heading, climb and maintain 4000..." It was a scramble but I was able to copy the clearance and read it back without errors. Whew! We taxied to Runway 12R for takeoff and were airborne right at 0730. We departed just as drizzle began to fall. Less than a minute after takeoff, we were enveloped by the broken layer of clouds that hung over the airport. Moments before I lost sight of the world around me, I had already brought my eyes inside the cockpit to get my mind set on scanning the flight instruments. This is something you learn to do quickly during your training. I think the first time I encountered instrument conditions, I stared at the cloud just before entering it. Not the best thing to do on takeoff since the sudden sensation of speed as you close on the cloud deck and the subsequent loss of all visibility can be a recipe for spacial disorientation. Per the departure procedure, we headed direct to the San Antonio VOR and upon crossing it dialed in the 301 radial. This would put us on a course to the LEJON intersection. Growing up on the south side of San Antonio, I wanted to call that "Le hon"...the controller called it LEGION...ah well...semantics! It wasn't long before we were at 4,000 feet. We were in another world. We had left dark rain clouds behind us and entered a realm of multiple cloud layers and cloud types. Shannon was taking pictures like mad in the back seat and captured some amazing cloudscapes. I, on the other hand, was busy with my instrument scan. Brad suddenly saw an amazing sight - a small, round rainbow had formed just below us - my guess is the moisture in the air, sunlight breaking through some of the upper cloud layers and the reflection of our airplane were working together to create this amazing phenomena. Shannon captured an image but it was difficult to see from her vantage point. About that time Brad saw our shadow racing up to greet us as we passed over clouds of varying heights. Again...I scanned the instruments...unable to partake in all the fun! At 4,000 we would enter large pockets of visual conditions. During one of these, it happened. I looked forward and saw a line of ragged, gray clouds ahead. Why were we turning? That's the strong feeling I was starting to get. I scanned the attitude indicator..."No sir, straight and level", it said. I scanned the other instruments and they agreed with the attitude indicator. Wow. Logic versus feeling. It was happening. Soon the feeling had subsided but it was my first true introduction to spatial disorientation...and it reaffirmed why learning to fly by reference to instruments was so important to me and the safety of my future flying adventures. To learn to trust logic and data over feeling. Soon we were listening to the weather at San Angelo - information LIMA reported Wind 170@05, 8SM visibility with light rain, scattered clouds at 1,700 feet, a broken layer at 2,300 feet and an overcast layer at 3,000. Houston Center passed us off to San Angelo Tower as we transitioned into the RNAV (GPS) Rwy 3 approach. This approach worked well, with one big exception. I had a brain murmer and as I began the descent from the final approach fix I read the altimeter wrong...and leveled off nearly a 1,000 feet higher than the MDA (minimum descent altitude). I discovered this before the missed approach point, with Brad's nudging, but it was certain that if we had intended to land at San Angelo that it would not have been THIS approach! We did not intend to land, so upon reaching the missed approach point followed ATC instruction and headed 130 degrees with a climb to 5,000.... it was time to head to Fredericksburg...where breakfast at the Airport Diner was sounding better by the minute! Again we were enveloped by clouds for most of the trip. Brad covered up my attitude indicator and directional gyro to give me some practice flying partial panel. Time to keep those wings level with the aid of the turn coordinator! As we neared Fredericksburg we found an ATIS report that offered better visibility but some gusty winds. The Fredericksburg AWOS reported winds 170@9 with gusts to 14, scattered clouds at 1,400 feet, scattered clouds at 1,800 feet and scattered clouds at 3,000. Wow...it was actually VFR by the book! I executed the VOR/DME approach and got some great pointers from Brad on keeping us smack dab on the centerline for every landing. Breakfast at the Airport Diner was superb. Shannon and I were convinced that the Hangar Hotel was going to be next on our list of fun trips (it was - we stayed there a few months later - look for more info soon!). It's an amazing place! We departed Fredericksburg, VFR and worked our way through the scattered cloud decks until we picked up our IFR clearance in the air. Just 20-30 minutes later we were sliding down the ILS for Runway 12R with a smooth landing and the end of an amazing IFR adventure!! The flight ended with 2.5 hours of actual instrument time, and an hour of simulated instrument time - total flight time working out right at 4.0 hours even.
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