Best Storm Stories

Bruce Laxalt told me about getting caught under a big towering cumulus. He kept flying faster and faster, but the lift was too strong and just before he went IFR, he pulled the spoilers out! The wings of his ASW-20B bowed like a banana, but stayed on and he didn't go into the clouds. Once clear of the cloud, he tried to close his spoilers, but they wouldn't close! The spoilers had bent back because he deployed them above maneuvering speed. Luckily, Lee Vining Airport was very close and he landed without incident.

Another friend was doing the same thing, but he did get sucked into the CB. He turned loose of the controls and prayed! After about 5 minutes, he flew out the side of the cloud, but the ship didn't feel right. An inch of ice had formed on the wings. The ice not only added considerable weight, but it destroyed the airfoil and he was dropping like a smooth stone! It looked like he was going to land in the sagebrush, but the warmer temperature at lower altitude allowed the ice to melt off and he made it to Hawthorne Airport.