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Post by olderndirt on Jun 10, 2023 13:28:45 GMT -5
Not always a great idea but the customers paid to see 'Denali'.  |
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Post by pivo11 on Jun 10, 2023 17:21:14 GMT -5
Splendid snap! I sure hope there's a hole in those clouds so they can get down.
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Post by olderndirt on Jun 10, 2023 19:52:03 GMT -5
Back in my "immortal" days I had the wife and two kids in the little Clipper, enroute to McGrath from Kenai. As we got close to the pass it looked like that might be chancy so I found a 'sucker' hole and got out on top. As luck would have it tops were above oxygen level so we turned back. The undercast was suddenly solid and the plane was minimum equipment - basic instruments, only thing gyroscopic was the turn needle. No nav radio, just a little whistle stop tune VHF com and of course no transponder. I did have a current sectional and 'Alaska Airman's Guide  . Called Center and they identified me after some turns and got me pointed at Anchorage. Eventually they turned me over to approach. I was on top at 65 so I asked them to vector me over Merrill Field with cloud base at 35. Once there, I slowed, trimmed and descended at 300 fpm (guess) asking the wife to watch my hand on the stick. The motor sounded quieter for that three thousand feet but we broke out wings level and I got to talk to my former cohorts in the tower. Both kids were still reading their comic books. The FAA inspector gave me a "Godamit you should have known better" and he was absolutely correct - don't go up without the means to get down. |
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Post by pivo11 on Jun 11, 2023 1:48:30 GMT -5
Scary. A bit tense at times, I shouldn't wonder.
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. Called Center and they identified me after some turns and got me pointed at Anchorage. Eventually they turned me over to approach. I was on top at 65 so I asked them to vector me over Merrill Field with cloud base at 35. Once there, I slowed, trimmed and descended at 300 fpm (guess) asking the wife to watch my hand on the stick. The motor sounded quieter for that three thousand feet but we broke out wings level and I got to talk to my former cohorts in the tower. Both kids were still reading their comic books. The FAA inspector gave me a "Godamit you should have known better" and he was absolutely correct - don't go up without the means to get down.