From and old and experenced pilot and CFII... Fly only in weather you KNOW you can safely handle and not in weather you THINK you can safely handle... IF you have any doubts stay on the ground until you get the IFR time and can handle the weather that might once have given you some doubts.... Ron Mashburn

Hi shrink,Do you have at least 1,000 ft ceilings above you (that looks like a broken layer to me) and 3 sm visibility? Even if you do, I wouldn't be up in that lot.Something I haven't brought up in this thread is the windshear yesterday. BJC reported winds 360 at 12, and 4 degrees C (ATIS at 1700 MDT). COS, about 80nm away, reported winds 170 at 10, temps 15 C. There was going to be a big bump yesterday- over the Palmer Divide, I expect- a small range of about 8,000 feet that divides northern and southern CO, and forms a nice weather barrier too.Nice pic, btw :)Bruce.

Thanks Ron,You can give me advice anytime!By the way, my flying "career" is aimed at a CFI, something I would like to do in retirement. I only hope I find students with the passion for aviation that I have!Thanks again,Bruce.

I like the fuel reserve comment, Matt :)"BTW I really like your last quote, "Finally- one seasoned CFI once told me that the personal rules and limitations of flight we have are like plastic- if you ever bend them, they never do quite resume their old shape- and eventually they'll break""You know, I've seen pilots walk right up to a C172 parked adjacent to the one I'm checking out, jump in after releasing the tie-downs, and take off after run-up. So- while I guess these trainers are indeed safe, as they're checked out many times a day, there's still that element of risk. Like the pilot that departed the Boulder airport a few years ago, and hadn't removed the gust-lock (he really checked out the "controls free and correct" part of the run-up!). He ran out of runway eventually, dropped out of sight into a field and finally got the airplane airborne by trimming up elevator, I guess getting that lock free in a panic isn't easy!Bruce.

Reading your post I got curious about what the "real" weather would come up with... It was broken allright, visi was 34+ nm... no wind.I would nevet take off with degrading conditions, as was the case, anyways. Old mountain hiker habit I guess...

Thanks- intersting, isn't it?Bruce.

That mountain hiker comment applies to me too. I've been wandering in the mountains for over 40 years now and was taught by many mountain farmers/guides about the dangers of the mountains, mostly invoked by 'weather'. I would think that 'mountain flying' adds another dimension to the weather issue. Weather in the mountains can change very rapidly from beautiful to extremely nasty. Difficult for pilots (and forecasters) to gauge, really.I'd be with Bruce on the 'over-sensitive' side when it comes to go-no-go decisions. I stayed on my balcony, baking in the sun many times just because the weather forecast wasn't good and I don't like taking chances getting myself into trouble. I have been in really bad weather in the mountains (on the ground !!) and that can be very very scary indeed. In the air that would only be much worse ;-)Better safe than sorry is the expression that comes to mind.Hey, Bruce, if you ever get to be CFI in retirement you might give me a flight lesson in my retirement ! :-) :-) :-outta Francois :-wave[table border=0 cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0][tr][td valign=bottom" align="center]"At home in the wild"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:avsim.com/alaska/alaska_051.htm|Don's Alaskan Bush Charters]"Beavers Lead the Way"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:www.avsim.com/vfr_center/mainpages/vfr_flights_main_page.htm]VFR Flight Center]"Looking Good Outside"[/td][/tr][tr][td valign=top" align="center]http://avsim.com/hangar/air/bfu/logo70.gif[/td][td valign="top" align="left" colspan=2]http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3cdd6a6a60efc7f5.gif[/td][tr][/table]________________________Francois A. "Navman" DumasAssociate Editor &Forums AdministratorAVSIM Online![/bemail: [email protected]________________________

Hi Francois,"Hey, Bruce, if you ever get to be CFI in retirement you might give me a flight lesson in my retirement ! "Yes- that would be a lot of fun!I've enjoyed "discussing" a real world flying situation here with everyone. I must add another illustration of judgement. On my check-ride, which was at a different airport to my home one, I turned up and found ceilings to be 2,500- which is just legal, given a 1,000 AGL flight over densly populated areas (VFR). I called my DE and said I was cancelling. He said "you could try it", and I said "no, not me". His response "I would have failed you on judgement if you did". He offered another plane at his location, and I drove up, where the wx was much better, and I had alraedy made points with the DE as well!! All of these things add up to form the ability to exercise judgment.Bruce.

Talk about Terrible weather... Chicago this weekend was absolutely terrible... I was supposed to fly on Saturday and Sunday (IFR Training). I did end up flying on Saturday... but Sunday was 1/2 mile visibility and 600 feet overcast. I would have still been in the clouds even at the MDA!! :)I could have taken off... but not land at my airport!! You made the right choice... Sometimes VFR not recommended is a cautionary statement... so if you feel comfortable in that weather, its not a problem to go flying... cause I have... having experienced it with my instructor tons of times... In the end, you are the PIC!! :)Mihir