Oh, right, that's for you, gentle reader. (Anybody remember who used to call people "gentle reader"?)
Today's trip was in doubt from the get-go, due to 70% chance of rain and storms that they were forecasting last night. So the go/no-go decision had to be made at 6:30 this morning as it was too soon to call the night before. First looking at radar this morning didn't look all that good, but it was all just rain, no storms, and there was no good reason not to go unless you just don't like to get wet. It was supposed to be 1200', maybe 800' ovcst in Waukegan, 2 miles and light rain, no biggie.
As I'm writing this, it's 100' vertical visibility, 1/4 mile, fog and rain here at Waukegan. No, of course it wasn't like that when I landed--I'm brave, not stupid. ;) But it was an approach to true minimums, that's for sure. I had lights at 200', didn't have the runway until 100'. Since the weather was supposed to be decent, and D had been doing such a good job flying from the right seat, I moved him over to the left seat today for the first time. While we were still out over Lake Michigan, weather there was reporting high ceilings, like 7000 scattered, with 2 miles and light rain. No sweat! Next report was "few at 200'". No sweat. Then as we were being vectored for the GPS approach in, ATC called up a Citation in front of us and said "Wx reporting now 200 ovcst and 1 1/4 miles. You want the ILS?" He said yes. They started him on the ILS, asked us what we wanted, we chose the ILS as the GPS approach wouldn't get us low enough, and that meant a tailwind approach, just about 10 knots. D as a new instrument pilot who had never flown an approach in anything faster than a C-172RG was kept hopping talking to Chicago approach in their busy Class B airspace and the tower, and trying to nail this approach which was now certainly the real deal. Tower came on and told us that the Citation was reporting 200' and a mile when he broke out. I had to help a couple of crucial times, but D did really well for being thrown into the pot like that. If you think it's tricky shooting an approach to minimums, or if you don't think so, try sitting there talking someone else who is slightly shaky on it through it... The last ten seconds went like "IgotLights, getovertotheright, eeeasy, notthatsteep, nose down, Runway, power out, FLARE!" ;)
Within 10 minutes of us landing I called up their weather and it said 1/4 mile, fog, and 100' vertical visibility, where it has stayed ever since. Another few minutes on that approach and we'd have had to go missed and go home. Which, of course, I had plenty of gas to do. We were the last plane to get in before the field was closed for arrivals for the next three hours. Some folks say they'd rather be lucky than good, and I always say I'd rather be both, but today's meeting would not have happened had we 1) left at 9 a.m. like originally planned (we left at 8:30), and 2) not gotten lucky on headwinds, on routing, on weather cells to not have to deviate around, on traffic and on timing. It's good to be lucky. :) (Although, since it wasn't supposed to be anywhere close to that low in the first place, perhaps there was a little unlucky in there to balance it out?)
On an ironic note, as I was waiting on D to arrive this morning, I pulled out an old Bonanza magazine and opened it to a random page, and it was talking about how in that author's opinion, pilots shouldn't fly single pilot IFR in a single and especially not in a twin, because of how much there is to keep up with. He guesses that we may have rules some day limiting people's right to fly single pilot IFR. He's right--there's a lot to keep up with, particularly if something goes wrong. I can see where the day will come that I wouldn't feel like I could safely keep up with it all. That day isn't today, but when it comes, I'll take care of it. Just as you, Mr. Bonanza author, chose your own comfort level; so you can worry about you, and I'll worry about me, capice? ;)
When it came time to leave, it was raining pretty hard there, there was rain all along the route of flight, lots of little cells of some heavier stuff, and we were departing at the same time as a bunch of O'Hare traffic. It was turbulent, and D kept saying "Brown is down, brown is down" as he wrestled with it. We got tossed around, kept low forever, routed the usual dumb changes for traffic and airspace, hit an updraft that shot us up over our altitude, we even picked up a little ice at one point, and I was constantly going back and forth from the NEXRAD to the onboard radar to keep us out of what we didn't need to be in. Our approach back into Kokomo, they cut us in fairly tight on it to keep us out of a heavy cell near the airport. By the time we landed, we both felt beat up by the whole day. I guess flights like today are payback for the nice relaxing ones...you know, so you appreciate the easy ones more, or to keep you on your toes, or to make you earn your paycheck, or something. I don't know about D, but I feel that pilots are vastly under-paid some days. ;)
I got the plane fueled up and put away just in time to go pick up Kaylee at the bus stop. She got in the car, looked at me and said "Mommy, nice hair. You're all straggly." I'd been rained on, three times actually, tossed around an airplane for a couple hours, and my day started at 6 a.m. So yeah, this is what that looks like--isn't it attractive? ;) In the meantime, it's Friday, and I'm home now and relaxing and nothing on the agenda for tomorrow, so it's time to kick back!
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