Looking for the pot of gold
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2002
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
Posts: 7,177
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From: Nanaimo (CAC8)
Looking for the pot of gold
During a weather-induced delay* in towing on Saturday, a friend took this picture of me, waiting patiently. I can conclusively state that there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I had a good look around the cockpit. A logbook, checklists, a fire extinguisher, spare headsets, some water ballast, a first aid kit and some pens that mostly don’t work, but no gold!
* Specifically a dry microburst from a TCu with virga:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microburst
* Specifically a dry microburst from a TCu with virga:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microburst
Last edited by India Four Two; 7th May 2018 at 19:25.
Joined: Mar 2005
Aviation Qualifications: Military
Posts: 6,563
Likes: 953
From: Aus
Right there you have all the gold that any man or woman needs. Green field, aeroplane, no ATC (assumption), blue sky, puffy clouds, and freedom of living in a nation which permits you to do as you wish (within reason). The rainbow points to all those elements, need new glasses IFT. 
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2002
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
Posts: 7,177
Likes: 297
From: Nanaimo (CAC8)
megan,
Yes, no ATC, just traffic announcements on the glider frequency. Our flights are capped at 8000' (4300' AGL) by part of the Calgary Terminal Area.
How did you know I need new glasses?
A colleague who flew the next day, said he found the gold in the baggage compartment. I'm a bit suspicious, as he hasn't resigned from the tow-pilot roster! 
Apart from producing a spectacular picture, the microburst was very interesting. We went from a few knots headwind to a 20 knot tailwind in less than ten minutes, combined with a rapid decrease in temperature. As the system moved past the the airfield, the wind moved around to a crosswind and then a quartering headwind, which gradually died away. We were flying again in less than half an hour, but of course all the lift had been killed by the cold air and the remaining flights were just sled rides.
I've experienced several wet microbursts associated with Cbs, that have heavy rain along with the strong winds, but this is the first time I had experienced a dry microburst. There was a lot of virga but only a few drops of rain reached the ground.
Yes, no ATC, just traffic announcements on the glider frequency. Our flights are capped at 8000' (4300' AGL) by part of the Calgary Terminal Area.
How did you know I need new glasses?
A colleague who flew the next day, said he found the gold in the baggage compartment. I'm a bit suspicious, as he hasn't resigned from the tow-pilot roster! Apart from producing a spectacular picture, the microburst was very interesting. We went from a few knots headwind to a 20 knot tailwind in less than ten minutes, combined with a rapid decrease in temperature. As the system moved past the the airfield, the wind moved around to a crosswind and then a quartering headwind, which gradually died away. We were flying again in less than half an hour, but of course all the lift had been killed by the cold air and the remaining flights were just sled rides.
I've experienced several wet microbursts associated with Cbs, that have heavy rain along with the strong winds, but this is the first time I had experienced a dry microburst. There was a lot of virga but only a few drops of rain reached the ground.
