Page 17 - TNT Jan 17

Day 3: Tornados
I wake up at 0600 to TRWs in Chicago and have Hawthorne Aviation put the M2 in the hangar. Larry says we might go to Racine and then to Dayton. I flight plan quickly then wait for hours for further news. Larry calls with an update. We plan for a late afternoon departure to KMGY (Dayton, OH). But trouble is brewing. An unforecast meso-cyclone. I begin a non-stop weather watch using flightplan.com, weathertap.com, and avwxworkshops.com. Each site offers information I need for the big picture. Chicago to Dayton is only a 45-minute flight, but in between lies Indianapolis and several tornados. At 1500 sitting in the pilot lounge, I watch a Starbucks being destroyed on the Weather Channel. Eight tornado warnings are issued for Indiana and Ohio. Lines of huge thunderstorms are developing.
The passengers arrive for our flight.
“Gentlemen, here at Larry King airlines, our No. 1 goal is your safety,” I announced. I print out a color picture of the route and the weather for all to review. Everyone quickly agrees that we need to spend another night in Chicago and try this trip in the morning. The great folks at Hawthorne put the airplane back in the hangar. Phones flying, we cancel hotels, book new ones, change appointments, reschedule rental cars and punt.
Heading home: Working around a broken line of building thunderstorms from Morristown, NJ to Little Rock.
Winner Aviation Inc. Quarter Page
4/C Ad
LEKTRO, Inc. Quarter Page 4/C Ad
January 2017
TWIN & TURBINE • 15