Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.")

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network.

Aero-Tips 09.30.06

I remember my very first flight in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). I was ferrying a Cessna 172 from my then-home-'drome of Sedalia, MO, a short distance up the road to Boonville. I still had my temporary IFR rating in my wallet and I'd never flown in the clouds while working toward my instrument rating (a story for another day).

I flew "direct" outbound from the Sedalia NDB inbound to the Boonville NDB in those late '80s, pre-IFR LORAN/GPS days. Lining up with the final approach course into Boonville after completing a procedure turn, my descent took me out of the bases of the clouds while I was about 800 feet above ground level (AGL). Through the nearly forgotten magic of ADF the wet runway was right where it was supposed to be, out in front of the Skyhawk.

Unfortunately, so was another Cessna. Its pilot, flying a little lower than me, was also inbound to Boonville's lone runway. He wasn't talking to anybody, nor was he required to be -- below 700 feet AGL he was in uncontrolled airspace, where all he had to do to be legal under Visual Flight rules was to maintain one mile visibility and clear of the clouds. He met those criteria.

I was inbound on the approach and expected to maintain a constant heading and altitude until in position to land. I was too low to reach the controller on radio to cancel my clearance (I'd have to cancel IFR by telephone after landing). But I couldn't stay on the inbound course without conflicting with the VFR Cessna. And he was ahead on final approach, with the right-of-way. I eventually swung wide and entered an upwind leg, then flew a full pattern at circling minimums while the other guy landed and taxied clear. Everybody was legal and no one got hurt.

Aero-tip of the day: Watch out when descending out of the clouds on a marginally VFR day. There may well be VFR airplanes operating legally in poor conditions very close to the ground-requiring you to maneuver to follow them in. Do what you need to do to be safe.

FMI: Aero-Tips