Short Flight Challenges

The workload on shorter flights is often the most challenging. Add significant weather, and the stress increases substantially. A roundtrip from Dallas, Addison (KADS) to Austin (KAUS) was a great example.

The early February flight with Citation Mustang owner Ladd Sanger started off with a delay due to weather in the Austin area. Embedded cells southwest of the city refused to move as forecast. As I studied the situation, I noticed an urgent PIREP.

“Heavy rain and hail observed during drive to the airport.”

I had never seen a PIREP from a car before. Ladd and I decided it was wiser to wait in the comfort of his hangar than to depart for the forty-two-minute flight and then be forced to hold or divert enroute to Austin. It was our first flight together, and the delay gave us the opportunity to discuss how we would operate as a crew. Finally, the cells moved to the east, and a reasonable plan of attack was developed. As we taxied to runway 34, ground control advised that our takeoff clearance would be delayed for fourteen minutes because Austin was just opening after a ground stop due to the weather.

Even though the bulk of the thunderstorms had moved east of our flight path (shown in the enclosed picture), we needed wing boots to shed ice in the moderate turbulence and seventy-eight-knot headwinds at FL 220.

“Eight Lima Sierra do not exceed 250 knots until further advised for traffic flow into Austin,” came the demand from Houston center. One of the few times I had been asked to slow down enroute in a Mustang. The Garmin GWX 75 radar with turbulence depiction was really handy in verifying what we were seeing on the NEXRAD image. Ladd made a smooth landing on a wet runway, and we taxied into the fine folks at Million Air.

The return to Addison 24 hours later, under broken ceilings and great visibility, proved to be just as challenging.

Addison’s current and forecast weather was:
36010KT 6SM OVC007

But, halfway between Austin and Dallas, things began to deteriorate.

As we checked in with regional approach, we heard, “Southwest 117, I need to change you to the ILS 31 right. The visibility is dropping rapidly at Dallas Love.” That got our attention, and we carefully briefed the ILS 34 approach to Addison. I began monitoring the ATIS continually and advised Ladd of the changes.
32010G22KT 2 1/2SM OVC007

Three minutes later:
34009G15KT 1 3/4SM OVC006

Runway 34 ILS minimums are 250 feet and 3/4-mile visibility and offer no enhanced runway approach lighting as found at nearby Dallas Love.

Cleared for the approach and established on the glide slope, I set the missed approach altitude and verbalized our plan to divert to KDAL if necessary. I raised my seat height and told Ladd I would be “heads out” looking for the runway. One hundred feet above minimums, we were still enveloped in drizzle and clouds.

At fifty feet above minimums, “I have the runway at twelve o’clock,” I declared. Ladd commented that this was the lowest approach he had made at his home airport. It was nice to have two pilots working as a crew on this trip. A little less stress is often best.

Fly safe.