Flying in bad weather, tips and techniques for safety

[captchopper]

I have been searching idea, tips and personal experiences to learn from while encountering bad weather. I know the safest way to fly in bad wx is not to fly, but there are situations we sometime get into.
Can we all share our own techniques of Weather Avoidance, both VFR and IFR.

[spinwing]

Mmmm ....

Might I suggest its not so much about Weather avoidance but ground avoidance as the real issue ....

.... best thing to keep in mind ... when there's doubt DON'T!


:=

[SASless]

VMC Flying (....can be less than VFR)

Being a dedicated life long Rudscunner.....

Never....never....never...make a weather check flight! (Either it is good enough or it isn't....make that decision with a good cup of Tea in your hand!)

If the other pilot asks you what you think of the weather....it is not a question but rather a declarative statement that ends in a question mark.

Never lose sight of the ground....when your Vis first hits your minimums...LAND!

If the weather is worse than forecast or is deteriorating....LAND.

Every flight can be refused....and once refused...stays refused...the more the customer, Ops, Chief Pilot, Boss insists you fly....meet that with increased responses! Far better to be fired than go in weather you know you should not be going in.

Kill yourself in bad weather....count on being buried in pretty weather!

Bad weather, bad terrain, night.....pick one only!

Ceiling is a luxury....Vis is a necessity!

Fog Kills!

Wires Kill!

Going too fast to stop or avoid hard bits.....Kills!

Follow a known route....at night....one with lots of ground lights.

If there is a halo around street lights....No Flying! (That is the start of FOG! FOG KILLS!)

Flying under bridges can be done.....but mind the Wine bottles from overhead. Explain hitting a wine bottle or bag of trash to the CAA/FAA.

Flying under Wires can be done...try explaining that to the CAA/FAA.

Hover Mosey works...but always have a place to land before moseying on to the next spot.

Going under a layer keeps you from going up....going over a layer keeps you from getting down.

You meet the nicest people when you land out in a field.

Single engine...no autopilot...single pilot...VFR Machine...not current and proficient on instrument flying....trip planned as a VMC flight....then all of the rules apply.

There is no such thing as inadvertent IMC.....just a Dumbass violating the rules and good commonsense.

[lelebebbel]

You know you're in trouble when you find your self slowing down and descending to stay clear of the soup.

Set yourself a minimum for height and speed, as soon as you see yourself descending and/or slowing down below these limits - LAND (or turn around if applicable).

That could be 1000ft AGL, 80kts or 300ft AGL 50kts or whatever, obviously depending on what you are flying over, and at what time of the day.

As with all "personal minimums", the trick is to actually stick to them when it happens, even if you are just 3 miles from your destination. Never change the rules in flight.

[biggles99]

Also as one who has flown in a lot of interesting weather, I concur with Sasless -- he's spot on.

and to his advice I'd add the following:

There is no such thing as bad weather, there is just bad judgement.

What is OK for one pilot will kill another, and if you want to get better (whilst staying alive) always take the opportunity to fly with a more experienced pilot whenever possible.

NEVER be afraid to land, but make sure you take the time to check out the intended landing site. Remember if you are in a situation where you have to land, you will already be near your personal limitations. That's when you forget to look for wires, sloping ground, cows, and other stuff that will hurt.

DOn't forget about turbulence -- I crossed the Alps a lot in R22s and on one trip we had to make 3 atttempts (over 2 days) before I could find a slot in the weather due both to rain/cloud and strong winds. Gusting winds and a difference of 40 kts between ground speed and airspeed isn't much fun in the mountains.

SO don't be afraid to fail -- I for one have lost several friends to Get-There-Itis. It just ain't worth it.

Big Ls.

[rick1128]

Always keep an eye on your back door. If the weather is starting to close in in front of you, it is most likely closing in behind you.

My personal limits change depending on the terrain and how well I know it. The rougher it is and/or the less I know it, the higher my weather minimums are.

[paco]

My limit is speed-based - if I don't like what I see at 60 knots, that's the time to stop. Then you are well above any minimum IFR speeds and your stability does not reduce.

A tip I learned in Canada - if you have to turn round, find a reference, come to the hover, do a spot turn and carry on. No banking at low level!

Phil

[griffothefog]

Having done a few scud runs in my time in foggy Cornwall and wet Ireland, if you don't have the capability to pump up through it when you have reached your grovel limits ( twin, auto pilot and airport ILS to recover to), just land and have a fag... no drama and you live to fight another day... it's a no brainer :ugh:

Stay out of the poo and in the blue :ok:

GTF.

[Attila]

Never fly in the same cockpit as someone braver than yourself!

[louisnewmark]

Always, always have a plan. Assuming that an IF abort is not possible due to terrain, lack of IF currency/qualification, icing etc, then your options will basically include any of the following: be slow down, go down, turn round, land. Which action or combination you choose will be dictated by experience, helicopter capabilities, role, Ops Manual limits and actual weather encountered. The best time to make the decision is before you reach your own personal limits, which you will only get to know through experience, but if you start to feel nervous then I suggest that you should take that as an indication that you've reached that limit and should make your decision.

Louis

[Fly_For_Fun]

A limit is a limit not a target.

Never run out of talent in the search of experience.

Being on the ground wishing you were in the air is far better than being in the air wishing you were on the ground.

[EBCAU]

All of the above, with an emphasis on speed control. Slow down well before getting into the murk. When you have slowed down enough, then slow some more. Fog or cloud will take a lunge at you at the last second it seems. Not good to suddenly have the collective down, RPM wanting to overspeed, and banking, just as you lose most of your visual references.

[delta3]

"All of the above, with an emphasis on speed control."

Totally agree.

The French 30 second rule also helps to quantify.
A minimum vis of 800m (our official VMC minimum), means max speed of 51kts.

d3

[captchopper]

strong wind from your right, wx's probably gonna get better.
strong wind from left, u r entering a low pressure with possible bad wx.

[John R81]

I was told the "set rule and stick to it" version.

Mine: 60kt & 500 ft AGL.

Tyro, so low hours and so far only landed once in a field - met a very nice farmer who came to check all was OK. Only 2 mile from destination, short wait and cloud lifted enough to complete.

[timex]

If the weather is getting to your limits try to "handrail" known easilly followed features, roads,rail coast etc.

Also try to keep an eye on your compass in case you need to do a 180 (set the bug).

Best of all turn away early.........

[No-ID]

strong wind from your right, wx's probably gonna get better.
strong wind from left, u r entering a low pressure with possible bad wx.

I don't get this rule:
You are flying from South to North and a wind from your right should indicate better weather. But what if you would be flying from North to South, then it's a wind from the left and it might get worse :confused:

What am I doing wrong?

[John R81]

based on the observation that wind moves anti-clockwise around a low-pressure cell and clockwise around a high-pressure cell.

However you fly towards a low-pressure cell you are flying through an anti-clockwise wind and the wind will be on your left.

[captchopper]

@ No-ID: John is absolutely correct, I would just like to add, this is only in Northern Hemisphere. It would be opposite in the Southern Hemisphere. This is simply defined in the famous Buy's Ballot Law.

[Soave_Pilot]

And... if it's bowing from your right in the northern hemisphere or left in the southern hemisphere technically you would be flying away from the bad weather.... but it's not always the case.:cool:

[Saint Evil]

always have a plan B and always have an escape.

:D:D

[Ready2Fly]

My CPL(H) training was in winter time and therefore i had a good portion of bad weather back then and lots of opportunities to fly in them.

One of the exercises was to fly just below the ceiling where the blades are already in the clouds (and i mean only the blades - a B206 in this case). This was not to educate this type of flying but merely to add it to your portfolio of tools you have at hand when being confronted with such a situation.

Whenever you have a clearly defined ceiling it is not a problem as vis is usually high then just below the ceiling. The problem starts with a warm front closing in and everything just gets grey around you.

As mentioned a couple of times: Always have a plan B and know where to go just in case. And if it stars to worsen beyond your personal limit, just put it down in a field. That's why we fly helicopters.

I'd be rather willing to sort out/explain why i did land where i did than becoming a part of the statistics.

[[email protected]]

Ready to fly - bumbling along in the cloud base is dangerous for many reasons: you are very difficult to see from other aircraft who might be in the area, it only takes a slight updraught and you are IIMC, your only escape route is down since a 180 turn runs more risk of IIMC and if anyone is letting down through the bad weather, you won't see them and vice versa until the very last second.

[Staticdroop]

If in doubt you've already hit your limit. Land, shut down get out and have a fag find the farmer and ask "do you mind if i leave this here old boy" and you'll probably get offered a bed for the night ready to try again the next day.:ok:

[SilsoeSid]

There are a few things of concern here, however the one for me that sticks out most is;

If the weather is getting to your limits try to "handrail" known easilly followed features, roads,rail coast etc.

Think about it...:eek:

[Private Parts]

Two rules that have stood me in good stead for a number of years:

1. Always make sure that you can either stop or turn around easily in the distance that you can see in front of you.

2. When flying close to a non stratiform cloudbase, if the cloud a distance away appears to move further down the windshield as you get closer, you are going to go into it. Unless you are equipped, trained, prepared and allowed to go into said cloud - refer to rule 1.

[212man]

Top tip - don't fly into the ground (unintentionally.) Everything else is decoration.....