Storms Can Be Nice

N5294W - C172R - 1.7 hours

Short final on last year's flight

There are very few things in the world that I would prefer to do more than flying, so when it comes to what I do on my birthday, an airplane is likely involved at some point.  Last year, my friend Jason and I flew down to Bridgewater (VBW) and ended up catching a glimpse of a B-17.  This year, I took the day off from work in order to relax and fly.  My friend Ashley managed to leave work a little early as well so that we could fly and be back in time for a dinner out with some more of our friends.  Unfortunately, the weather didn't have the same plans.  Fortunately, a little patience, good company, and a nice pilot lounge ended up working out.


After we arrived at Leesburg (JYO), we grabbed the keys for the plane and walked out to preflight.  One of the instructors had just gotten back in and gave us a weather update that there were storms over the ridge heading towards us.  Ashley and I had been checking the weather all morning, mostly because the ceilings had been so low the last couple days, but I was definitely aware that the weekend's second front was passing through.

We continued on to the plane to check it while watching the weather.  The guy said there was a storm, and I believed him, but a lot can be said for actually seeing the weather.  I figured we could at least get our stuff situated in the plane while keeping an eye on the sky.  Unfortunately, as can be seen in aviation lore and AOPA magazines all over the place, pilots make bonehead moves and press on despite weather issues.  Because I kept walking towards the plane after the instructor had warned me of the storm, I'm guessing he got the feeling I was going to try to beat it, so he walked out, iPad in hand, to show me the latest radar images (the center + is IAD, with JYO's + slightly northwest of it):

What he hadn't seen was the fact that I did actually check the weather, and that the radar loop was still running on my phone, so his concern was understandable.  It's nice to see that we'll look out for each other, but there's a sad side to that coin as well: despite all of our training and warnings of "get-there-itis," pilots still give other pilots reason to express their words of caution.  I told him my plan was to preflight, watch the weather, and set things up so that as soon as the front passed, we could go.  That seemed to restore some of his faith in me, and before he walked back inside we talked some about his iPad's ForeFlight setup.

After we had set up out headsets, my camera, and everything else, the wind picked up and the the rain arrived.  Ashley and I retreated to the pilot lounge and watched TV while the storm blew over.  I also kept an eye on the weather using ForeFlight's radar overlay and looking out the window.  As soon as it passed, though, we walked back out to the plane to give it one more look and set off towards Charlottesville (CHO).

The departure was standard, and as soon as I could, I put the blinders on to log some simulated instrument time.  Over Upperville (2VG2), I called Potomac to get flight following, and give Ashley a feel for who to call and when.  Before I put the blinders on, I got to see some of the coolest clouds I've seen to date in the low areas and valleys.  They're not as obvious in the picture here, but you can see them in the video.  Ashley took this picture about half way down to CHO, and you can see the clouds almost seem to be resting right on top of the trees.  Storms can be violent, but the clouds and smooth air that were left behind were really nice.

As soon as I got handed off to CHOWE (the radar controller serving CHO), I asked for a practice ILS approach to Runway 3.  It had been immediately rejected, but I thought I heard "roger" so I waited to hear back.  A new controller stepped in soon after, and after I reported to him that I had the weather information at CHO, I asked again about the approach.  This controller came back with a slightly longer answer of "Not approved - can't do opposite direction anymore after DCA screwed it up the other week" (referring to the incident at DCA on 31 July).  Since I couldn't try the ILS to Runway 3, I asked for the RNAV GPS Y to Runway 21, which was approved.  You can see the tail end of the approach here in the video:

[Video was here until Contour closed down for a bit, and the video was lost.]
The whole approach can be seen in the time lapse video at the end of the post.

After landing and shutting down, I brought Ashley to Timberwood for what was originally going to be dessert or something light, but the delay put us more in the dinner mood, so we got burgers instead.  After dinner and the drive back, we were back up in the air to head home.

The flight back was pretty peaceful, and I got more simulated instrument time.  Since it was getting dark, and not being able to see terrain is unsettling, I took the blinders off to have extra eyes looking to make sure we were headed in the right direction.  Adding to the tense setting, I managed to forget to stop by the rest room before departing CHO.  Luckily it wasn't bumpy.  You know the rest.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.7 - 65.1 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.9 - 7.5 (of 40)