Center_Mid
Well-Known Member
Now I remember why they call it "hard IFR." I flew from Auburn Muni (s50, just outside of Seattle) to McMinnville, Oregon and back over the weekend in a rented C172M /G with no autopilot. I had hoped for a pleasant IFR cross country to keep current and go someplace I'd never been before. I departed at around 12:15 local on an IFR flight plan. Total time in the air was 3.6 hours. Those were the toughest hours I've had in awhile. Truth is, I got used to flying the 2001 172SP at my old flight club, the one with the HSI, leather seats, and the incredible autopilot that made you feel like you were flying something much bigger and fancier. Not no more. This 172M didn't even come with a yoke clip for approach plates. It was three hours of juggling plates and charts, responding to ATC, tuning radios, and trying to keep the shiny side up in the crud. It took 100% of my concentration, skill, and nerve. It was hard IFR.
My route was s50-OLM-V165-UBG-KMMV on the way down. There was a broken/overcast layer between 4,000 feet topping out at 8,000. Naturally, I was given a climb to 5,000 and then 7,000 before finally getting cleared to 8,000 feet about 35 minutes in. Turbulence was light to moderate in the clouds. After the aging 172 gasped its way to 8,000, the view was terrific and the cloud surfing was totally rad, as the youth say. On the descent into McMinnville, ATC dropped me into the clouds at 5,000 and I rode the bronco for another 15 minutes, trying to mentally prep for the Rwy 22 ILS at KMMV. About 20 miles out from KMMV, I heard a King Air and a Citation both cancel IFR and duck below the clouds near Portland and I asked for the same. I had had enough. Once I got below the clouds and canceled IFR, it was "Direct KMMV" on the 430 and visual the rest of the way. I got out of the plane at KMMV drenched in sweat and hungry as hell.
On the way back, the turbulence became moderate everywhere, in clouds and clear air. I opted to fly VFR back to Seattle and was bounced around the entire way home. For some reason, a ton of other people were up flying, crammed onto the same bumpy airways between the same clouds and hilly terrain. The Garmin called out about 5 or 6 traffic advisories of less than 3 miles and 500 feet, including one when I was on a long final on Rwy 34 into Auburn.
I usually come home energized by flying. When I finally got home on Sunday, I was thoroughly exhausted, though in a good way. A tough day flying is always better than a day at the office. Still, it was a firm reminder that single-pilot IFR in a plane without an autopilot isn't child's play.
My route was s50-OLM-V165-UBG-KMMV on the way down. There was a broken/overcast layer between 4,000 feet topping out at 8,000. Naturally, I was given a climb to 5,000 and then 7,000 before finally getting cleared to 8,000 feet about 35 minutes in. Turbulence was light to moderate in the clouds. After the aging 172 gasped its way to 8,000, the view was terrific and the cloud surfing was totally rad, as the youth say. On the descent into McMinnville, ATC dropped me into the clouds at 5,000 and I rode the bronco for another 15 minutes, trying to mentally prep for the Rwy 22 ILS at KMMV. About 20 miles out from KMMV, I heard a King Air and a Citation both cancel IFR and duck below the clouds near Portland and I asked for the same. I had had enough. Once I got below the clouds and canceled IFR, it was "Direct KMMV" on the 430 and visual the rest of the way. I got out of the plane at KMMV drenched in sweat and hungry as hell.
On the way back, the turbulence became moderate everywhere, in clouds and clear air. I opted to fly VFR back to Seattle and was bounced around the entire way home. For some reason, a ton of other people were up flying, crammed onto the same bumpy airways between the same clouds and hilly terrain. The Garmin called out about 5 or 6 traffic advisories of less than 3 miles and 500 feet, including one when I was on a long final on Rwy 34 into Auburn.
I usually come home energized by flying. When I finally got home on Sunday, I was thoroughly exhausted, though in a good way. A tough day flying is always better than a day at the office. Still, it was a firm reminder that single-pilot IFR in a plane without an autopilot isn't child's play.
