Inadvertant IMC

On Sat, 24 May 2008 14:44:54 GMT, "Vaughn Simon"
wrote:


"Stealth Pilot" wrote in message
.. .
Getting caught in cloud isnt incompetence or stupidity it just happens
because of the rapidity with which metrological conditions can change.
it probably takes a tenth of a degree change in temperature to change
cold saturated clear air to opaque cloud. Ive seen a cloud face streak
through saturated air at over 200knots without any perceptible
turbulence or wind.

My favorite "changing weather" story is the time that a ground fog popped up
under me when I hadn't been airborne more than five minutes. Now normally a
ground fog would not be a problem, except that I was in a training glider doing
a student solo, and I suddenly couldn't see the ground under me! Due to the
lack of either an engine or natural lift, waiting it out or flying to a
friendlier airport was out of the question.

As it turned out, an airplane scouted an upwind hole for me. I was able to
spiral down and then barely made the runway from that vantage point.

Yes, weather does sometimes change without notice and can do so faster than
we can escape.

Vaughn

I'll bet that that took a few cups of tea to get the dry feeling out
of the mouth. :-)

this is never something pointed out in the met books. even Buck makes
no mention of this sort of problem, he hints at the variability when
whisps of cloud are around but not the speed that the air can turn
opaque.

Stealth Pilot.

We have learned when the dew point and the temperature are getting
unexpectedly close together, if you're VFR treat the dew point as a
don't point and file IFR now.

On May 25, 9:30 am, Stealth Pilot
wrote:
On Sat, 24 May 2008 14:44:54 GMT, "Vaughn Simon"



wrote:

"Stealth Pilot" wrote in message
.. .
Getting caught in cloud isnt incompetence or stupidity it just happens
because of the rapidity with which metrological conditions can change.
it probably takes a tenth of a degree change in temperature to change
cold saturated clear air to opaque cloud. Ive seen a cloud face streak
through saturated air at over 200knots without any perceptible
turbulence or wind.

My favorite "changing weather" story is the time that a ground fog popped up
under me when I hadn't been airborne more than five minutes. Now normally a
ground fog would not be a problem, except that I was in a training glider doing
a student solo, and I suddenly couldn't see the ground under me! Due to the
lack of either an engine or natural lift, waiting it out or flying to a
friendlier airport was out of the question.

As it turned out, an airplane scouted an upwind hole for me. I was able to
spiral down and then barely made the runway from that vantage point.

Yes, weather does sometimes change without notice and can do so faster than
we can escape.

Vaughn

I'll bet that that took a few cups of tea to get the dry feeling out
of the mouth. :-)

this is never something pointed out in the met books. even Buck makes
no mention of this sort of problem, he hints at the variability when
whisps of cloud are around but not the speed that the air can turn
opaque.

Stealth Pilot.

On Sun, 25 May 2008 06:34:32 -0700 (PDT), Tina
wrote:

We have learned when the dew point and the temperature are getting
unexpectedly close together, if you're VFR treat the dew point as a
don't point and file IFR now.


you carry a psychrometer? amazing. ...unique!