Like all good things, vacations must come to an end. Last year we had to skirt a Tropical Storm Cindy to go on vacation and this year Hurricane Micheal to get home. Hopefully this will not be a continuing vacation pattern.
Michael made Landfall Wednesday as a strong Hurricane. By Thursday morning the remnants were still pretty impressive. This obviously meant we weren't flying through. Now the weather picture was a bit more complicated than the hurricane. We had a front moving through from the West as well, this is what was helping Move Michael along.
This was the same front that we raced against at the start of our trip. It had eventually caught us and passed. This left us on the back side but also brought low clouds and rain Thursday morning. Our plan was patience. Every minute we delayed the front and Michael would move further past us bringing better weather.
I had been concerned that we would need to wait until 2PM but late Wednesday I guessed we could go at 11 AM. We awoke to gray, rainy weather and our only real rush was to return our rental car by 10:30 so as to avoid an extra day charge.
With the car returned, I did an especially slow pre flight and loaded the luggage. We settled our bill and then dallied a bit watching the news coverage of the storm. By then the sky was starting to show cracks of blue and the en route reports were looking good. I had decided earlier in the morning to forgo the straight line home. It would have taken us East of Atlanta and through the tail end of the rain.
By going around the West Side of Atlanta we added a few miles and 15 minutes but it kept us in the clear. The ride home was surprisingly good given a very unstable atmosphere. The jets above were all reporting terrible rides from the low 20s to mid 30s. More than one captain asked for a better altitude only to be told by the controllers that they could have what they like but that none were good.
We were down at 7 and 8 thousand which was a sweet spot. The weather was clear above us and just a thin layer below. Off to our left we could see the storm in the distance. Down below by the surface it was bumpy with wind shear again which we experience while doing a quick fuel stop around Atlanta.
In the end it took us 3:16 minutes of engine time to get home plus 15 minutes to pump gas. Theoretically we could have done it in 2:45 direct line but we lost 15 minutes waiting to get our IFR release from Kentucky. This would have impacted the direct line time as well. We were out in the less traveled area which means that Center does not has as good radar down low.
When you depart, they need to protect a large area of airspace so that you can join the system without bumping int anyone else. Right as we called to go another plane had just departed nearby and there was a medivac departure that takes priority. We sat idling for quite a while waiting our turn.
All was well as we had a smooth ride home and even enjoyed some good tailwinds on the back side of the low. Yup 206 knots was not too shabby, even if we only had it for a short time.
Michael made Landfall Wednesday as a strong Hurricane. By Thursday morning the remnants were still pretty impressive. This obviously meant we weren't flying through. Now the weather picture was a bit more complicated than the hurricane. We had a front moving through from the West as well, this is what was helping Move Michael along.
This was the same front that we raced against at the start of our trip. It had eventually caught us and passed. This left us on the back side but also brought low clouds and rain Thursday morning. Our plan was patience. Every minute we delayed the front and Michael would move further past us bringing better weather.
I had been concerned that we would need to wait until 2PM but late Wednesday I guessed we could go at 11 AM. We awoke to gray, rainy weather and our only real rush was to return our rental car by 10:30 so as to avoid an extra day charge.
With the car returned, I did an especially slow pre flight and loaded the luggage. We settled our bill and then dallied a bit watching the news coverage of the storm. By then the sky was starting to show cracks of blue and the en route reports were looking good. I had decided earlier in the morning to forgo the straight line home. It would have taken us East of Atlanta and through the tail end of the rain.
By going around the West Side of Atlanta we added a few miles and 15 minutes but it kept us in the clear. The ride home was surprisingly good given a very unstable atmosphere. The jets above were all reporting terrible rides from the low 20s to mid 30s. More than one captain asked for a better altitude only to be told by the controllers that they could have what they like but that none were good.
We were down at 7 and 8 thousand which was a sweet spot. The weather was clear above us and just a thin layer below. Off to our left we could see the storm in the distance. Down below by the surface it was bumpy with wind shear again which we experience while doing a quick fuel stop around Atlanta.
In the end it took us 3:16 minutes of engine time to get home plus 15 minutes to pump gas. Theoretically we could have done it in 2:45 direct line but we lost 15 minutes waiting to get our IFR release from Kentucky. This would have impacted the direct line time as well. We were out in the less traveled area which means that Center does not has as good radar down low.
When you depart, they need to protect a large area of airspace so that you can join the system without bumping int anyone else. Right as we called to go another plane had just departed nearby and there was a medivac departure that takes priority. We sat idling for quite a while waiting our turn.
All was well as we had a smooth ride home and even enjoyed some good tailwinds on the back side of the low. Yup 206 knots was not too shabby, even if we only had it for a short time.
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