Balindaaaaa - manymak ??
Wet season time is not necessarily IMC time, because Wet season flying is really about marginal VMC circuits, not enroute IMC. (For enroute IMC someone can tell 'The story of KUZ..' <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> ; for enroute VMC nav see 'swivel neck').
Wet season comes down to low level circling approaches, ie., a flat perspective, at non navaid gravel strips that in rain with trees around them, and/or not many visual ref features, give you SFA visual info. You also won't get any more visual info and orientation by staring through a wet side window at a grey slice in the grey trees with maybe a grey road and a couple of grey roofs nearby. People do stare at it though and of course close up the circuit !
Its a lot harder than one at night down south with a navaid and lights for circuit orientation.
Its a true low circling approach which needs really only a fix over the rwy and a compass, and if HA asked for Wet time then he knows thats what he's going to get.
Landing in rain ? Ok, rain. 1 mile on final and its a bit of rain. Easy, just like that day at Dubbo. At 20'/90 kts you have zero vis, as in grey butcher's paper over the windscreen, plus are getting into the big downdraft that came with the rain. Monsoon rain is fire hose grade and a big dump is non flyable in the circuit. Not happy !
Rwy surface. Operating retract aircraft on muddy gravel or gravely mud means crap getting into gear mechanisms and the pilot has to get just as muddy to clean them out every sector, and increased rolling friction plus high temps/humidity equals more TODR. None of which you are going to see so much of even on grass strips down south.
Worst case. Eg. from memory.. YRNG, bulk rain, bulk funeral trips, reduced length SWS, strip torn up by numerous funeral pax trips, strip shredded by Airmed Kingair, strip thoroughly F*(kt by ARO on a grader. Left the gear down and hosed it off later.
Enroute. Wet wx is in clumps not layers (much) so you have more chance of getting around it if visual blw LSALT. Take it from someone that mistook dark blue cloud in rain for dark blue sky in rain, and so flew into it...., on his
3rd Wet season, that visual illusions are there and waiting....(and wasn't that fun..)
Pax. Sitting in the office drinking tea waiting patiently for their chtr ? No, more likely spread all over the 'terminal' with 50% extra people and bags, waiting for Ol Michael to come out (at precisely 4:15pm he said) with the rest of the
chuddarr muni so they can ply. And its going to be two trips not one. Add this to all the above..
Last light. Effectively sooner due general gloom. 20,000' of wet cloud makes a good light sponge.
'Wet season' - a couple of words that mean a lot if you've had the pleasure. Like Balinda said, it means local knowledge but of 'what' as well as of 'where'.
Also, February is usually the worst bit of it and that what he'll be flying in.
Its no big deal if you're sensible. The big plus is no terrain.
Cheers to all nowee wawa's !
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Regards Rene
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