Hi everyone,
Well yesterday (Saturday) morning I loaded up the Dakota with Mum, brother and mate from work and we set out early from Wycombe for Perranporth.
Due to the easterly gales, I was unable to consider Mawgan where surface winds were TAF'd at 080/25G38 (I think) so XW factor too great for RWY 13, so decided we'd head for Perranporth where they have a RWY 09 which better oriented and long enough for the Dak.
Other than the high winds (090/40@2000') and XW issues to consider, the wx seemed pretty good. Blue skies and, according to F215, generally 15KM vis. in the region. At the time of departure though it was about 6km, but seemed to be improving...
Made our way down the Vale of the White Horse, working RAF Fairford Radar. Hadn't been down that way before, but I must say the white horses carved in the chalk are a great help when identifying towns on the map! We routed to Bath where we made a few orbits for photos - a great town both on the ground and from the air, despite the worsening visibility.
We then took a service from Bristol LARS and headed south towards Taunton, before turning towards the coast looking for Minehead. By now we were in touch with Exeter Radar. The visibility had continued to deteriorate. When we reached the coast, instead of seeing the pretty coastal scenery I had anticipated for this trip, we had a murky view of the world below and a very rough looking sea.
I had descended to around 3000' for a better view. The plan was to track the coast alongside Exmoor towards Foreland Point (near Lynmouth). Shortly after we'd passed the town of Poorlock, I noticed the tops of what looked like a bit of fluffy Cumulus - the first cloud I had seen all day - maybe 2~3 miles ahead and just slightly below my level. I decided I didn't want to fly over them as I did not want to risk losing sight of the surface.
So I descended and headed between the two "Cu". By the time I was within about a mile (?) of the "clouds" I realised to my horror that they extended all the way down to the surface. I instantly decided that I did not want to be here, so decided to add power and leveled at about 2000' I suppose, and commenced a 180 degree turn. I found myself having to do this by reference to the AI because, although I had glimpses of the ground and sea, by now the "clouds" - which I admit by now I had realised were in fact some sort of sea mist with lumpy tops - had obscured my horizon.
I'd like to pause at this point to pay homage and give thanks both to those that decided to put the basic instrument training into the UK PPL curriculum (which essentially is just to make a level turn through 180 degrees on the AI) and to the instructors at BAFC who taught me - thanks guys, the training works..!
I made the turn alright but was extremely perturbed by the scene I found ahead of me once I was on the reciprocal heading... the mist seemed to have come from nowhere behind me as well. I could see the coast and I could see some blue perhaps a 1000' above ahead of me, so put the Dak into a steep climb and headed for the blue bit, using the AI to maintain wings level until I'd climbed safely over this immediate hurdle.
I had a real sinking feeling and for a moment thought I would lose control - not of the aircraft, but of myself. I though "Jeez, I've read about situations like this...". And I had a horrible feeling for a moment that it might not turn out OK. But this only lasted a moment. I don't think pax in the rear noticed that I was worried - I just explained that I was sorry we might not make it to our planned destination - but my brother next to me understood and was a great help, re-folding the map and helping to find approach plates etc. when needed, so at least I didn't feel totally on my own...
I leveled above the "clouds" (mist) again back at around 3000'. The vis. was still pretty murky, but I had an horizon and climbed a bit higher to 4000'. I found a moment to speak to Exeter Radar and he advised me to contact Cardiff Radar as they were closer and would be able to give me a better service.
I explained to the very nice man at Cardiff (and I might add he was very busy too handling a stream of IFR inbound and departing traffic throughout) that I was having "difficulty maintaining VMC". He was very reassuring, calm and professional. He gave me a squawk code, told me there was no traffic to affect me nearby and that I could climb as high as I liked. I got to around 5000' and decided not to climb further as it was already difficult to see the coast.
I said I would like vectors for an alternate destination. I think if I had felt better within myself I could have diverted inland, away from the coastal weather, and most probably would have been able to reach the planned destination... but I had had a fright and just wanted an easy way out and a safe outcome. Anyway, whichever way I looked appeared hazy and murky and I was also a bit concerned about fuel endurance if I did reach Perranporth and found mist there too...
So, the nice man at Cardiff asked me whether I preferred Bristol or Cardiff. He said Cardiff was closer and only 10 NM away over the water. This sounded OK to me. By now I was back east of Minehead - perhaps abeam Williton - so he told me to turn left onto 360, and a short while after to 020 (to correct for the drift). After a few minutes we could see the Welsh coast - the power station just to the West of the airfield is a great landmark - and soon we were approaching his overhead "not below 4000'".
Nice man had given me the option of approach to land at Cardiff, but I had also been told that conditions were much better further east, and was familiar with Gloucestershire airport - having been there once before - so asked for wx for Staverton, which was reporting 15km vis. and told nice man that I would be happy to track the estuary from the bridges to gloucestershire. I resumed my own navigation by following the coast.
I reported abeam the rugby stadium at Cardiff, and he suggested I follow the M4 from there, which worked out great. By the time we reached the new (more southerly) Severn river crossing, visibility was a bit better, but we were still not able to see as far as the old bridge a couple of miles further north. From here I said goodbye to the very nice man at Cardiff and tracked uneventfully up the estuary to Gloucestershire airport, aside from moderate turbulence as we descended through 3000'.
We landed safely and went into Cheltenham for a fabulous lunch at the Queen's Hotel, which I can heartily recommend, and a walk around this lovely town. This helped me calm down sufficiently and compose myself for the flight home, which turned out to be very pleasant in tyhe late afternoon sun: 25km vis. at FL50, overhead Brize, some orbits of the city of Oxford, which was gleaming in the sun below, and then back home to Wycombe.
The flight and diversion to Gloucestershire had taken 2 hours exactly, brakes off to brakes on. Although it gave me a bit of a fright, I feel it was a really good learning experience - a chance to add a little bit more to the cup of experience before the cup of luck runs out! What have I learned?
1) Turn back early, as soon as possible IMC apears. I think I did, but will be even quicker to elect to orbit and pause for thought when next I am unsure of what exactly lies just ahead;
2) Get an IMC rating - as soon as time and funds permit - as this would obviously make me (and pax!) safer in this kind of situation;
3) Learn more about meteorology. I have gone back to the F215 that I studied that morning before departure... the only hint, in hindsight, was "ISOL SEA / WINDWARD COT SW 3000M MIST" - but then this wasn't the windward coast!? I think I shall drop a line to Irv Lee to see if he can help me unravel the clues in the rest of the forecast material that surely must have been there, but which I did not interpret, which might have led me to expect this.
Any other suggestions appreciated!
I hope others might find this interesting to read - and if you are not from the UK and unfamiliar with the territory described, click on the link below to for a map of the area:
Map