Update on Wednesday's trip

The interesting part of the flight was the demonstration again that
forecasters forecast and the Great Lakes do as they damn well
please... FSS briefers insisted that my route was 10 miles viz and
12,000 foot broken in scattered light rain with conditions improving
by my departure time - I kept peering out the window of my office as
he was saying that and thinking, "jeez, that looks a lot lower than
12,000 and it looks dark to the West"...
Deparitng an hour later, at 5000 I was in a solid layer and was forced
back down to 3,500 under direction of flight rules... Visibility out
over the lake was closer to 3 miles than 10 miles....

Going South across Canadian Lake Erie in zero horizon conditions (the
sky and the water were exactly the same color) was made a bit more
interesting when Detroit ATC controller said they could not get
Cleveland to answer them on the connect line in order to hand me off
for Lake Services... Detroit faded out a bit South of Pelee Island and
I was left on my own in international airspace without ATC contact in
violation of the regs again, sigh... Actually, this happens almost
every time and I have come to expect it... As soon as I re-enter US
airspace I change the squawk code back to 1200 and merrily continue on
my way... There seems to be some hostility between Detroit and
Cleveland controllers...

Going past Cleveland the ceiling was definitely lowering... Dropping
the passenger off, we had a quick coffee and departed for the return
leg... After crossing Dryer VOR a look out at the lake revealed that
the ceiling was now 2,000 foot with a 1,400 foot scattered layer...
Going across 60 miles of water down that low in limited viz is not my
idea of fun...
I elected to avoid the two ATC centers that can't seem to communicate
and we continued VFR flight west towards Toledo and then North to
Saginaw, just missing the Detroit B... Over land I had a scattered
layer at 1,600 and another scattered at 2,200 with rain and an
indefinite ceiling above that.... Comfortable at 1,900 we trundled
along... The only other traffic out was IFR and working ATC (with me
listening) so we had our own private airspace with no bumps and
moderate visibility of 5-7 miles... The good part of all that was the
light drizzle kept the bugs mostly washed off and after landing it
only took 2 minutes to finish wiping a few splotches...

Just another typical day in the Great Lakes weather machine...

denny

It sound like your trip would have been a lot easier IFR- if you have the
rating, why didn't you file?

On Aug 17, 9:21 am, "Viperdoc" wrote:
It sound like your trip would have been a lot easier IFR- if you have the
rating, why didn't you file?

Obviously, once I found the wx was not as predicted it crossed my
mind... Though it may have seemed easier IFR I doubt it would have
been safer... It was forecast for scattered CB - though we never found
any... IFR would have put me inside the layer for 3 solid hours and
embedded CB is one of the tricks that the Great Lakes loves to pull -
don't ask how I learned that, let's just say it was up close and
personal...... If IFR had been the only way to get there I would have
filed...

The other issue is that I have flown these routes routinely for a long
time - a dozen round trips this summer... The terrain is flat... I
have a GPS with obstacle warnings... I was comfortable with the
visibility between layers... Because of the scummy ceilings and
drizzle the only VFR activity I heard was the odd student doing
circuits and bangs at a couple of airports along the way... It really
was a no sweat ride for me... A low time pilot who is unfamiliar with
the lakes might not have agreed... it is all in your comfort level...

denny

I guess I would take a different approach. Over water I would rather be
higher and in the clouds, then down low, since it gives me a little more
time to trouble shoot a problem, even in a twin. With widespread low vis, I
would be looking for the tops rather than the bases. Having onboard radar,
nexrad, and sferics is also an advantage.

I cross Lake Michigan frequently, and have also gone across Erie and Ontario
the long way, and have seen thunderstorms and ice along the way. Somehow I
feel more comfortable IFR, with ATC knowing where I am at all times.

"Denny" wrote:


Just another typical day in the Great Lakes weather machine...

Nice report, Denny.

Sounds like a fun flight doing lots of that pilot s***.


--
Dan
T-182T at BFM