Sorry - long day out there in
good weather
I'd just like to dicuss this a little more.
mmmm k. I like discussing things.
The problem I see is that is just that, he did not really have the proper equipment.
Dual GPS, dual VOR, dual Radios, AP and pitot heat
What more could a guy want? he he he. I know what you're getting at - I didn't have boots, weeping wings or the like.
Moxie literally put his life in the hands of the that tempeture inversion. That is a lot of trust in what normally ends up being an inacturate forcast at best.
He is where you and I are going to diverge. Yes, I put some faith in the forecasts, but more of it was based in the nowcasts of PIREPs seeing temp inversions all along the surrounding areas, including from the direction the weather was coming.
With the weather being right at mins a missed approach is not really that hard to imagine...all that planning goes out the window. Your hole is gone.
And
that is why a few pilots screw the pooch. They have no exit strategy. And they probably don't have a backup to the back up. My planning was not just for the first leg of a one leg trip. It also included other possible scenerios, including severe clear icing.
Again, it just seems like an aweful amount of risk to take, just to get the airplane home for the weekend push.
There was risk, calculated risk. But at no time will I let pressure or other factors outweigh safety.
Now Moxie, please don't take this the wrong way. I still respect you and do not think you are idiot, I just feel you may have made a poor decision on this flight.
Maybe, maybe not. Got a bag of luck and a bag of experience. I filled up one a little and used a little. Like you I am cautious, believe it or not. I am the biggest pilot wus on the planet.
Obviously some risk has to be acceptable, how much is up to each pilot to decide.
And for the record - please do not infer I am at all criticizing a conservative attitude - far, far from it. I've had to cancel a 135 freight flight before due to weather despite our "reputation."
I third the sentiment. I will never criticize a pilot for a conservative attitude.
Oh yeah, finally - don't take the above information as a defensive stance. I want to give you the info you might be looking for Alex as to why I was okay with going. Would I do it all the time? Hell no. Conditions probably wouldn't be right anyway. But the stars were aligned and who knows - someone else might read this thread and say to them selves, " Self, This might be an example of someone who did something once successfully, then did it again and again because nothing ever happened. Then, it happened."
I think the difference between me and the above thought is that every day, every flight needs to be treated as unique. And just because it was successful this time doesn't mean it would be in the future if the proper precautions are not taken.