On Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 11:37:02 PM UTC-4, Tango Eight wrote:
OP posed a scenario involving IMC in smooth lift at low speed. Now guys are complaining that some of the tips given won't work at redline in rough air.

On Thursday, April 9, 2015 at 12:04:03 AM UTC-4, Darryl Ramm wrote:
so it's not particularly interesting to other folks here, who may be trying to get the topic on a rail relevant to actual problems experienced in real wave flying ...

The Sierra wave scenario is really being closed in IMC near VNE in smooth air (if bombing along you are maybe 10,000'or so higher than the rotor). No turbulence necessary to have a very bad day.

OP here. I'm happy to see discussion of the Sierra Wave scenario, but the scenario I posed is closer to the wave flying that I do in Vermont.

I'm flying in 'baby wave' at 50-60 knots to maintain position in the lift, maybe a little faster if I need to crab north or south to stay above the changing blue hole below. I may fly at Vno when I'm diving through the blue hole. I'm not flying XC and not anywhere near Vne. I can even stay close to the airport. When I'm ready (if ever) for something considerably more difficult, I'll go to the Mount Washington Wave Camp in NH.

It is not the Sierra wave or Mount Washington, but it is still risky. It is often 'wet', the blue holes are smallish, they open, close and move around.. The rotor can become unflyable (while you are still on the ground or above the cloud deck) and one expects rotor in the landing pattern, strong crosswind and sink on final. Landing at 70-80 knots is standard fare.

WRT turbulence in the cloud deck layer, my understanding is that the air in that layer is smooth since the cloud is formed by the laminar flow of air. The cloud forms where it hit the high pressure isobar and dissipates at the low pressure isobar. Basically smooth air, no convection... Am I wrong about this? So assuming not, descending through the cloud deck with a benign spiral seems plausible. Avoiding terrain is a issue and a moving map seems prudent. There is a good possibility of clear air above the valley floor, but the cap cloud likely touches the upwind ridge.

Below the solid cloud deck, there are rotor clouds and turbulence a plenty, and the gamble is that one pops out of the cloud deck between the rotor clouds. When that happens I'll be flying at 50-60 knots unless I get spit out of a rotor cloud and into a spin.