VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR
THE
BY DOUG STEWART
Playing the weather game Last month I wrote about my departure from AirVenture 2006 and mentioned the fact that many pilots were rushing to depart between two weather systems. A strong front had swept across OSH from the northwest with a squall line containing some severe thunderstorms that created havoc in its path. A second squall line was following about 80 miles behind the first line, so many pilots were eager to depart between the two lines of weather. I suppose many of those pilots might have been departing to the west, southwest, or south and would soon be far away from the problematic weather. But I was headed eastbound. It wouldn’t take too terribly long until I would catch up to the weather that was leading me on my way back home. What would I do then, and what was my rush to depart Wittman Field? To answer the latter question first, I did have a client scheduled at my home airport for the following day. The client knew that our appointment was dependent upon my ability to get home from OSH, and we both understood the challenges the weather can create for pilots undertaking long crosscountry flights in the summertime, especially when the Great Lakes are involved. My client understood that I endeavor not to fall prey to external pressures when flying and that the appointment might very well get cancelled. If I waited until the second line of weather had passed through and gotten far enough ahead of me to allow a departure, it would delay me too much, meaning that I most likely would not make it home that day. But if I departed between the two systems and played my
cards correctly, there was no reason I couldn’t make it safely home before the day was done. Part of playing my cards correctly was knowing that I had an ace up my sleeve in the form of all the weather information that was available to me in my Garmin 396 portable GPS and XM Weather receiver. It was the proper use of this equipment that would aid me as I caught up to the weather and picked a route around it. In the not too distant past, the best that any of us flying general aviation aircraft had for weather avoidance equipment was “thirdworld radar” (our two eyeballs looking out the windshield) and an ADF to act as a Stone Age stormscope. A handful of folks did have liveweather radar on board, and some of those folks even knew how to use that equipment. That, along with some approach and center controllers who had the knowledge, equipment, and willingness to help, was about the best that we could do in avoiding any serious en-route weather. But those days are history. Now I know that those of us who belong to the Vintage Aircraft Association are steeped in the history of flight. We hearken to a day and age when there was less technology in the world of aviation. We would prefer to hone our stick and rudder skills rather than our buttonology skills. But I must say, if I am going to be taking any kind of a long cross-country flight (read more than 300 miles), whether in my Super Cruiser, or some other vintage aircraft I might be ferrying for a client, or IFR in my Cardinal or my boss’ Navajo, I sure do like to have my XM weather receiver along with me on the flight. So now, as I departed Oshkosh headed toward the serious
In the not too distant past, the best that any of us flying general aviation aircraft had for weather avoidance equpment was “third world radar” (our two eyeballs looking out the windshield) and an ADF to act as a Stone Age stormscope.
32 OCTOBER 2006