Posting this is 100% the right thing to do (and very well done). The culture of sharing our mistakes is the only way we’re all going to get better and help improve everyone’s decision making.
Oh man, the dreaded "I'm not happy" comments from the wife. I've been there and that just adds to the anxiety! However, dealing with passengers and their comfort is all part of the pilot package. I have been there (not quite as boxed in) but where I could see the writing on the wall that a alternate landing was going to happen. Any time I get to looking left, right, bouncing, leaning, finger tapping, finger pinching on the ipad screen, face scratching, yoke re-gripping, frantic state (just as you appear to be), I know it's time to drop down, land and wipe the sweat from my brow. Good job working your way around the storms and making ok of the situation. This is summer time flying and a great opportunity to adjust your planning logic just as you have noted.
Such a hard thing to hear from you wife. I'm not happy. ouch! So hard to hear that and then to have to deal with what's in front of him. Great piloting, and you they were safe the entire time with the pilot they had. Great job dealing with all those stressors.
Dude. Impressive flying. You can see how hard you are working in the cockpit. Thank you for posting this. I'm instrument rated, but fly mostly west coast, so we don't see this kind of weather too often. I learned a LOT from this video. I fly with my 5 year old son and wife, and it was easy to put myself in your shoes. Seriously, thank you for sharing.
Thank you for the kind comments. I caught a lot of flack for posting this initially but it was pilots like you that I wanted to help prevent this from happening to.
Thank you for your courage and honesty in putting this out there so we can all learn. I could ‘feel’ the adrenaline and anxiety and I definitely learned much from your great post-flight analysis and debrief. Thank you for making me a better pilot.
Additionally...you are in great company with all of us forced to make real-time decisions as our environment changes. This video by Josh makes me appreciate your handle of the situation even more. ruclips.net/video/On2xPQjgq6Y/видео.html
You made a mistake. You recognized it as a mistake. You analyzed your mistake and recognized where and how you went wrong and determined to not repeat that kind of mistake. Further, you had the courage to share your learning experience with your fellow pilots. All are hallmarks of a great pilot with a serious and professional attitude toward his craft. Worthy of a "I Learned About Flying From That" feature article in "Flying" magazine. You are to be commended, sir. Thank you from your flying community.
I’ve had a lot of unsavory comments on the ifr Facebook page but this is what I was hoping for- to provide some discussion and learning so that others don’t get themselves into this situation. If we discourage from putting this out there then the rest of us won’t be able to learn from others.
@@5holeaviation, you borrowed from the bucket of luck, and made a positive deposit in the experience/wisdom bucket. No shame in that. Keep flying and keep posting.
There’s not an instrument pilot out here who hasn’t made a mistake. Bravo to you for sharing with us. Thankful you n your family landed safely. Excellent training video !
Another factor to consider, and this would be an added safety factor, is the physical and mental comfort of your passengers. Even if you know you could make it through iffy conditions, the cloudiness and turbulence could be upsetting and another reason to divert. I know it's not always that simple but something to consider.
wow you can just see and feel how nervous he is. The back and fourth and constant hand moves shows you that mind is telling him, Bad Choice. Great learning video thanks for posting.
As a new 200 hour pilot who just moved from easy weather southern California to Texas your video helped me a lot. Navigating summer weather is something I am working hard to better understand and increase my knowledge in flying in such fluid weather now. Still have a lot to learn and get more comfortable but the one thing I have gotten loud and clear from your video, when in doubt land.
"I'm not happy!!??" WTF? Did you buy her a bus ticket for the trip back? Great video. I was in P'cola twice as a student Naval Aviator and then shore duty and man oh man the clouds can tower down there. Did you wife enjoy the bus ride home?
Thanks for this. Great learning opportunity for anyone watching. In the video, you beat yourself up to a fault...to the contrary, while you may have done better to deviate west, that's hard to know in the moment, and I thought you did a really nice job assessing, maneuvering, telling ATC what you needed to do, and generally trying to keep everyone safe. On top of that, w/ the stress of the situation, the pressure from the Mrs. and having the fam aboard, and a crosswind landing, you still greased it in. Nice!
Really appreciate you posting this and I 100% see why you would hesitate. That's some precious cargo brother and I wouldn't want to run the risk of having to ever experience it again either! Way too close for my comfort with those pax, in that airplane. Having said all of that, I wish all of us could swallow our pride and put every experience like this on air for everyone to see, trolls and criticism be damned. No weekend plans are worth losing the reason those weekends are so precious in the first place. You should edit this thing down some and send it to as many aviation channels as possible. It really needs to go viral because whether you like it or not, this is the type of flight experience that could very well prevent the loss of life someday. Hopefully, after being online for more than 2 years now, it already has. Well done my friend and I'm glad to have found your channel.
Thanks for the video. Got pretty intense there for a bit. I think having another pilot onboard would’ve eased the stress. Instead you have your family in the back, and I can tell you it’s always a lot more stressful in those cases. Glad you all made it and most of all glad that you learned a lesson. Thank for you posting this, you’re a standup guy.
I like the turn to the wife part “Destin’s straight ahead”, kind of that relief feeling of ok we survived and the high stress level is back to comfortable again. I bet you were exhausted after you got on the ground at DTS.
Living in North Florida, this felt like a very familiar situation. The Panhandle in summer is such a thunderstorm magnet. As you did, I used to stay up in the 8000-10000 foot altitude range, which often works to get over the altocumulus buildups. But it is useless for true thunderheads and probably exposes you to more turbulence if you have to fly through a building cumulus cloud. A guy at the hangar I share is an old F18 pilot who now flies a Cirrus. He told me that in Florida in the summer, he doesn't try to fly high. If the ceilings are 3-4000, he stays low so he can see the precipitation and avoid it. Flying under yellow clouds might get you a little wet, and your speed won't be optimal, but there is rarely much turbulence and visibility usually remains VFR. I have tried it and it usually works. I have had one or two flights where the ceilings got too low and I had to either land or ask for IFR clearance. But it seems to work the majority of the time. Even better, as you said, is be done flying in Florida by noon. But even that's not foolproof. Still better than dealing with icing in the winter.
Man this is awesome! I guess it’s always better to deviate upwind but that’s IFR flying right their. Here in Alaska I can’t go into a cloud without picking up light to moderate ice. I hate giving my passengers a rough ride, I hope yours weren’t too spooked!
Nice job Sir. Great video and great flying. You seem to have a great nerve and demeanor for handling the stresses that weather can throw our way. Thank you for sharing. 🐦🐦😎😎
Just came across your video. THANKS FOR SHARING SO OTHERS COULD LEARN FROM THIS RATHER THAN AN NTSB REPORT! I live 15 miles west of Pensacola for 30 years now. I've personally witnessed, (from the ground), these afternoon thunderstorms change in a matter of minutes. My feelings are when it comes to these buildups 5 minutes is the same as 50 minutes. So often pilots grossly underestimate these storms. When I fly, I try to ALWAYS without fail have an out. Being VFR only... as soon as my "out" window becomes questionable I land. Never want to get that boxed in feeling you were getting close to by going to the east. So happy it worked out for you and your beautiful family.
I love videos like this. Every single one of us makes mistakes in our airplanes, I have made countless. Letting pride get in the way of learning can get anyone into an accident or even killed. I appreciate you posting this.
Thank you for sharing. Had a bit of a similar experience coming back from Shreveport to Kansas City. I can see in your body language that you’re apprehensive and it reminds me of how I felt on that flight. You sharing this has made aviation safer, no doubt. Great job posting this!
RESPECT for the honesty. Very helpful for all of us. THANK YOU. Key take away is, once one starts to nervously wiggle in the left seat, it is time for plan B. That's probably the only clear signal and it is personalized for each.
Thanks for posting and sharing the experience! Your body language was intense and told the story, too close for comfort. I learned a lot from your video and presentation!
I live on the Gulf Coast so I know how it goes in the afternoon...my 172D is at 2R5 in Mobile County. Leaving after lunch made the trip iffy for sure. Glad you and your family made it ok.
Great video. I few days after your flight I flew my Cherokee from NY to Sarasota on a 1100 mile solo cross country. In northern Florida I faced the same weather. 270 degree of build up and convective cells. In fact, I had the same awesome controller from Jacksonville response. I made a decision to fly VFR that day using advisories. My rationale was I wanted to see and avoid and use my broad discretion powers with VFR rules. I did not want to end up I a bad situation in IMC. I was squeezing between build ups and dodging cells. It was crazy but I always had an out. What I was seeing out the window was not 100% what ADSB saying. However, foreflight was an invaluable tool. Thanks again for putting your flight out there. Real life flying with real life decision making.
As with many others I appreciate your willingness to put this out there. Going back and contrasting the ADSB picture with the real time (or as least closed to real time) internet picture was eye opening, to say the least. The decision to go east of the buildup, while not optimal for east bound WX, in and of itself was not unreasonable since you thought you could see clear air to the east. The issue I saw was that you then seem to intend to cut back SW through what appeared to be a gap between the WX to your west and the WX over the coast. Gaps have a way of filling up, unfortunately. Not trying to Monday morning quarterback your decisions, just pointing out what a fellow IFR pilot saw from the comfort of his office (vice your real time having to make decisions.) I once tried the same thing and wound up having to spiral down to an airport just in time to wait out the storm. One tactic I've learned when there are lots of scattered TS with lots of IFR traffic requesting deviations is to convert to VFR with flight following. You have to work harder at avoiding clouds but you have a lot more freedom to make deviations. However, I suspect unlike the DC area where I fly, ATC is somewhat more accommodating with deviations down on the Gulf Coast so this may not be as useful for you. Bernie
That cut back Southwest was a last ditch effort as I was sort of trapped at that point. I could see a lighter area so I took a chance although not one I would want to take again. In my experience with Jacksonville and eglin approach they are very accommodating and pretty much have let me pick my own route as long as it isn’t conflicting. I suspect they have had many weather related accidents or near so and want to do everything they can to help the flight be completed safely.
Hope you're still alive. It's nice to see a healthy respect for the WX, even if its after the event. As a 35 year airline pilot, I'm sometimes shocked by what some guys do. Not something that you want to press your luck with...especially with anyone else on board.
For some reason, some pilots are just adamant about not going around weather. I fought that battle many times. I think it is really stupid. I guess they got away with it too many times.
Thanks for sharing and the detailed analysis to make us all better pilots. I think anyone based in the Southeast this time of of the year can empathize with you.
Yeah thanks for posting this experience. Good you were able to stay visual. In reality, the weather was not to be flown through without on board radar. Good that you were able to deviate as needed. Glad you came out well with the little girl please don’t do that again.
At 11:20 that view was what my flight was like yesterday from middle Georgia to Tampa. I was flying a Grumman with my wife and daughter too and I was intimidated and zigzagging all the way down. Learned my lesson and had my own never again. Wish that I watched this video before I left!
Yep, sometimes it creeps up on you. On the way to OSH in 1981 my buddy John and I were embedded and being vectored "around" the convective activity when we found ourselves in severe turbulence followed by a 1500ft/min descent. We reported this and they cleared us down as necessary. We popped out the side of a cloud into hazy but clear air. It leaves an impression. There were moments when our camping equipment was hitting the ceiling. The heavy stuff was strapped down. Thanks for publishing your account. .... still learning here.
I sympathize with you on this delicate topic. In the past, when I planed Holiday travel trips my wife would get exited and just about promises to her family that we will be there as an absolute. It took me a while to program her to not think it is for certain as anything can happen and I look for a reason to not fly as to the opposing. I had to cancel many trips due to weather. I remember before my instrument certificate things seemed so much simpler. If it was cloudy and/or questionable you simply don't go, end of story! But after earning my instrument certificate the go/no go decision has become much more complex and a delicate balance as I am sure you know. Thanks for sharing and glad you are all safe!
I debated whether or not to put this out there. I’m certainly not proud of my decision making. However I felt that it was important for others to see these conditions in flight versus the radar picture and hopefully that will allow them to make better choices.
@@5holeaviation I appreciate you posting this. While I wouldn't have chosen to move forward through the weather, I appreciate you sharing the sight picture and what you were seeing. We are always learning and it this case, it appears you learned what you wont do the next time.
I agree...I went into instrument training thinking it would make go / no go decisions easier but in fact it is the opposite when there is any appreciable weather. You are training to operate within what equates to a thinner enevelope for plane, pilot, and environment. CAVU is easy and then anything from there is when the real work begins.
Great Video! That was very close, you just made it by 5 to 10 minutes. A situation you never want to be in specially with the family. Thank you for the video.
I did that approach as an Army flight student in an H-model Huey... we came in at 10,000' ,where we experienced light icing...and dove n drove for the approach. It gets crowded down there with Civvie and Air Force traffic.
I used to fly and as bad as I hate to admit I got trapped into this gotta-get-home -ittis from a short cross-country flight (100 miles) and yes I live on the coast (Galveston area) and one of these storms started building up and had me completely locked in going back to my home base. I landed that plan and was borderline shaking and so frightened it was difficult for me to want to even continue flying. It scared me so bad I wanted to stop flying unless I became instrumented rated. I am like you it was a mistake that I promised I would never allow happening to me again. Thanks for publishing your video -- these types of videos help pilots to really understand, sense, and feel the reality and gravity of getting into these situations. Thank you!
Excellent video.. very informative and educational. Every GA pilot should watch a video like this to learn the "do's and don'ts" of flying. As a former Navy aviator, we would cross the Pacific often and have to navigate between large tropical systems in our P-3 Orions. The service ceiling on a fully loaded P-3 is only FL 210 and increases to FL270 as we loose weight. Still, that isn't near enough altitude to cross the largest cells. I remember punching holes through a few big ones and getting rocked in the process. No Bueno! In retrospect, I would have tried to deviate to the west of those cells since that line of storms were moving from west to east fairly rapidly. It probably would have added some additional time to your flight, but, based on the data you presented, it looked like the better alternative. Of course, landing and waiting it out, as you had mentioned, would have been the best choice overall. Glad to see you and your family made it safely. Fly safe and fly often!
Thank you. For larger systems I was used to flying around the back side. But at the time was new to coastal weather and didn’t expect how rapidly these would build. I thought I would have plenty of time and space to dodge between. By the time I realized how bad it was I was surrounded 270deg. I should have turned around. In the subsequent years I’ve learned a bit more about these storms right along this area and when/where they tend to develop. They can be navigated around but as you said may have to divert a hundred miles or so around them.
Thank you for sharing. This will serve as very good example how things can ugly very quickly. A perfect time to remember the old adage "a superior pilot is one who uses his superior judgement to avoid situations which require the use of his superior skill" fly safe my friend.
It takes courage to share this with the world... I hope other pilots will learn from it... I'm only a FS2020 pilot :) but this was very interesting to watch... thank you for that!
"You okay?" To wife.... The "I'm not happy!" That definitely explains how she felt! 😂😂 I suppose the other option when you started to realize you weren't going to avoid it was to go as far east as possible, or land till it passed? It's crazy how fast they built up!
I remember once in route from Ocala to Pompano Beach. Had a very similar situation. Very much underestimated the vertical speed of a valley in from of us. By the time that we realized that our little Cessna 172 was not up to the job of climbing far enough nor fast enough to clear the valley. Very scary, now closed up behind us. We made it scrapping through wow, never again. Once is enough. And yes, it is so easy to underestimate the speed that these “moving mountains” build up. Thanks so much for posting this!
Flew from DTS to EFD just outside of Houston. Was turning left and right avoiding storms for 4 hours. I definitely recommend not only doing the ForeFlight briefing but call the wx briefer because they can give much more detail. On flight radar really helps as well
The comments from the ever-supporting wife of, "I'm not happy" are so very helpful and useful in the intense moments of his trying to pilot through this storm.
Good job man you kept it together. I remember my dad getting us into a similar situation when we were flying a warrior to visit the grandparents one weekend when I was a kid. When your wife says "I'm not happy" lmao. Thanks for posting, good video.
Great video, it took guts to show and then admit the judgement calls. It speaks to your character and helps us all. Two years ago a good friend was coming over a mountain range blown over dozens of times. But he was in a hurry to get home. The clouds lowered and lowered so did he and he decided according to ATC not to file IFR. He was so low that he flew right over the top of some hunters. They found the wreckage three days later. We all need these stories to keep us safe. Thank you for sharing. Frazer N34490
Thank you so much for posting this! It's great for ADM. I'm getting back into flying after a year away (I still work in Aviation, however). I'm in the process of buying a PA32 and I enjoy watching your videos and experiences!
A little late but I just found this video today. First mistake was flying in this weather for no good reason. Second mistake was having the family with you. Third mistake was staying too high. I think you did a very good job of flying through some tough weather. I flew everything from C150 to Cessna Citations with most of my time in King Airs and scared myself more time than I care to admit. Instrument flying in an IFR equipped airplane and competent Instrument pilot is and will be possible. You picked your way through the hazardous weather like most pro pilots do every day. Flying at lower altitudes allow you to see (if VFR) your way to close airports to set down safely to wait the storms out. Good job!
Understand why you were reluctant to post the video but this is well done and will only prove to be a great learning tool for other instrument pilots...would venture to say that this type of video will at some point save a pilot some potential serious trouble! Thanks again for posting and love the comment from your wife...I have heard that myself a time or two!
Great video I could feel your stress watching you, as a low time pilot this video convinced me to continue to land at Defuniak Springs instead of Destin, again learned a lot from video
Well done in posting this. I have flown in ITCZ conditions with HS748 freighters in central Africa in such turbulence that your eyeball shake in their sockets so bad you can hardly see the panel! Thats a 42000 pound freighter! Its never fun...even with a working radar! there are also very few nice ATC guys around to give you suggested steers...as well as very few alternate airports...! So well done once again for picking up on your faults...makes you a far better pilot...every time!
Great video I've been understanding dopler radars since i was a 5th grader back in 95. I just fell in love with meteorology since then. At work one day we had a hail storm warning and our leadership wanted us to hide and take shelter, well I took out my cell phone and saw the radar and told all my co workers it ain't going to hail that storm just passed us to the east. All my co workers were stunned I knew how to read doplar radar. To bad I can't use this skill in aviation.
Posting this is 100% the right thing to do (and very well done). The culture of sharing our mistakes is the only way we’re all going to get better and help improve everyone’s decision making.
Oh man, the dreaded "I'm not happy" comments from the wife. I've been there and that just adds to the anxiety! However, dealing with passengers and their comfort is all part of the pilot package. I have been there (not quite as boxed in) but where I could see the writing on the wall that a alternate landing was going to happen. Any time I get to looking left, right, bouncing, leaning, finger tapping, finger pinching on the ipad screen, face scratching, yoke re-gripping, frantic state (just as you appear to be), I know it's time to drop down, land and wipe the sweat from my brow.
Good job working your way around the storms and making ok of the situation. This is summer time flying and a great opportunity to adjust your planning logic just as you have noted.
lol, turbulence can be scary for the non-pilots
Such a hard thing to hear from you wife. I'm not happy. ouch! So hard to hear that and then to have to deal with what's in front of him. Great piloting, and you they were safe the entire time with the pilot they had. Great job dealing with all those stressors.
Dude. Impressive flying. You can see how hard you are working in the cockpit. Thank you for posting this. I'm instrument rated, but fly mostly west coast, so we don't see this kind of weather too often. I learned a LOT from this video. I fly with my 5 year old son and wife, and it was easy to put myself in your shoes. Seriously, thank you for sharing.
Thank you for the kind comments. I caught a lot of flack for posting this initially but it was pilots like you that I wanted to help prevent this from happening to.
Thank you for your courage and honesty in putting this out there so we can all learn. I could ‘feel’ the adrenaline and anxiety and I definitely learned much from your great post-flight analysis and debrief. Thank you for making me a better pilot.
Additionally...you are in great company with all of us forced to make real-time decisions as our environment changes. This video by Josh makes me appreciate your handle of the situation even more.
ruclips.net/video/On2xPQjgq6Y/видео.html
You made a mistake. You recognized it as a mistake. You analyzed your mistake and recognized where and how you went wrong and determined to not repeat that kind of mistake. Further, you had the courage to share your learning experience with your fellow pilots. All are hallmarks of a great pilot with a serious and professional attitude toward his craft. Worthy of a "I Learned About Flying From That" feature article in "Flying" magazine. You are to be commended, sir. Thank you from your flying community.
as a student instrument pilot I learn so much from these videos. I greatly appreciate your humility, thank you so much!
Very much appreciate the honest assessment and thorough post-analysis on the weather you were facing. We are always learning. Thx. Wayne
I’ve had a lot of unsavory comments on the ifr Facebook page but this is what I was hoping for- to provide some discussion and learning so that others don’t get themselves into this situation. If we discourage from putting this out there then the rest of us won’t be able to learn from others.
@@5holeaviation, you borrowed from the bucket of luck, and made a positive deposit in the experience/wisdom bucket. No shame in that. Keep flying and keep posting.
Flying around Florida I encounter this kind of weather all the time. Your video was helpful and informative. Thanks for sharing.
Omg thank you so much for putting in the work recreate the radar! I’ve always wanted to see that. Great quality content
One day, voice ATC is going to be a museum stuff. What an old fashioned thing.
There’s not an instrument pilot out here who hasn’t made a mistake. Bravo to you for sharing with us. Thankful you n your family landed safely. Excellent training video !
I too have heard the ‘ I am not happy’ chant.
Thanks you for your honest presentation!
Thank you so very much, from Bedfordshire UK
Wife "not happy" two words you don't want to hear when flying, nice video, thanks for sharing.
Even when your *not* flying.
Thanks for posting. Great safety lesson. Remember though, ADSB does NOT show build ups. It shows precipitation. Two entirely different things.
Well done. We stay humble. We learn.
Another factor to consider, and this would be an added safety factor, is the physical and mental comfort of your passengers. Even if you know you could make it through iffy conditions, the cloudiness and turbulence could be upsetting and another reason to divert. I know it's not always that simple but something to consider.
wow you can just see and feel how nervous he is. The back and fourth and constant hand moves shows you that mind is telling him, Bad Choice. Great learning video thanks for posting.
I think it is absolutely awesome that you posted this video. This is how we learn from each other and all become better pilots. Thank you.
As a new 200 hour pilot who just moved from easy weather southern California to Texas your video helped me a lot. Navigating summer weather is something I am working hard to better understand and increase my knowledge in flying in such fluid weather now. Still have a lot to learn and get more comfortable but the one thing I have gotten loud and clear from your video, when in doubt land.
I'm not sure which was more scary. The buildups, or your wife's words "I'm not happy". Thanks for sharing.
The wife saying that adds soooo much stress. He's doing his best. Definitely a learning experience that I've taken into my toolbox of learning.
"I'm not happy!!??" WTF? Did you buy her a bus ticket for the trip back? Great video. I was in P'cola twice as a student Naval Aviator and then shore duty and man oh man the clouds can tower down there. Did you wife enjoy the bus ride home?
Thanks for this. Great learning opportunity for anyone watching. In the video, you beat yourself up to a fault...to the contrary, while you may have done better to deviate west, that's hard to know in the moment, and I thought you did a really nice job assessing, maneuvering, telling ATC what you needed to do, and generally trying to keep everyone safe. On top of that, w/ the stress of the situation, the pressure from the Mrs. and having the fam aboard, and a crosswind landing, you still greased it in. Nice!
Really appreciate you posting this and I 100% see why you would hesitate. That's some precious cargo brother and I wouldn't want to run the risk of having to ever experience it again either! Way too close for my comfort with those pax, in that airplane. Having said all of that, I wish all of us could swallow our pride and put every experience like this on air for everyone to see, trolls and criticism be damned. No weekend plans are worth losing the reason those weekends are so precious in the first place. You should edit this thing down some and send it to as many aviation channels as possible. It really needs to go viral because whether you like it or not, this is the type of flight experience that could very well prevent the loss of life someday. Hopefully, after being online for more than 2 years now, it already has. Well done my friend and I'm glad to have found your channel.
Thank you for posting this video. As a student pilot, these experiences resonate for how I need to conduct myself in aviation.
Thanks for the video. Got pretty intense there for a bit. I think having another pilot onboard would’ve eased the stress. Instead you have your family in the back, and I can tell you it’s always a lot more stressful in those cases. Glad you all made it and most of all glad that you learned a lesson. Thank for you posting this, you’re a standup guy.
I like the turn to the wife part “Destin’s straight ahead”, kind of that relief feeling of ok we survived and the high stress level is back to comfortable again. I bet you were exhausted after you got on the ground at DTS.
I feel like I've been watching this for 2 hours. Very interesting stuff! Glad you got your kiddos down safely
Living in North Florida, this felt like a very familiar situation. The Panhandle in summer is such a thunderstorm magnet. As you did, I used to stay up in the 8000-10000 foot altitude range, which often works to get over the altocumulus buildups. But it is useless for true thunderheads and probably exposes you to more turbulence if you have to fly through a building cumulus cloud. A guy at the hangar I share is an old F18 pilot who now flies a Cirrus. He told me that in Florida in the summer, he doesn't try to fly high. If the ceilings are 3-4000, he stays low so he can see the precipitation and avoid it. Flying under yellow clouds might get you a little wet, and your speed won't be optimal, but there is rarely much turbulence and visibility usually remains VFR. I have tried it and it usually works. I have had one or two flights where the ceilings got too low and I had to either land or ask for IFR clearance. But it seems to work the majority of the time. Even better, as you said, is be done flying in Florida by noon. But even that's not foolproof. Still better than dealing with icing in the winter.
Man this is awesome! I guess it’s always better to deviate upwind but that’s IFR flying right their. Here in Alaska I can’t go into a cloud without picking up light to moderate ice. I hate giving my passengers a rough ride, I hope yours weren’t too spooked!
Wife and daughter got spooked for a while but have gotten them back flying more recently. Definitely a good learning opportunity
Fantastic flying brother
Nice job Sir. Great video and great flying. You seem to have a great nerve and demeanor for handling the stresses that weather can throw our way. Thank you for sharing. 🐦🐦😎😎
Just came across your video. THANKS FOR SHARING SO OTHERS COULD LEARN FROM THIS RATHER THAN AN NTSB REPORT! I live 15 miles west of Pensacola for 30 years now. I've personally witnessed, (from the ground), these afternoon thunderstorms change in a matter of minutes. My feelings are when it comes to these buildups 5 minutes is the same as 50 minutes. So often pilots grossly underestimate these storms. When I fly, I try to ALWAYS without fail have an out. Being VFR only... as soon as my "out" window becomes questionable I land. Never want to get that boxed in feeling you were getting close to by going to the east. So happy it worked out for you and your beautiful family.
I love videos like this. Every single one of us makes mistakes in our airplanes, I have made countless. Letting pride get in the way of learning can get anyone into an accident or even killed. I appreciate you posting this.
Thank you for sharing. Had a bit of a similar experience coming back from Shreveport to Kansas City. I can see in your body language that you’re apprehensive and it reminds me of how I felt on that flight. You sharing this has made aviation safer, no doubt. Great job posting this!
RESPECT for the honesty. Very helpful for all of us. THANK YOU.
Key take away is, once one starts to nervously wiggle in the left seat, it is time for plan B. That's probably the only clear signal and it is personalized for each.
Thanks for posting and sharing the experience! Your body language was intense and told the story, too close for comfort. I learned a lot from your video and presentation!
Soo nice to see someone else with the same mistakes and show how you handled it. Flown my wife and kids to Destin a few times this summer.
Glad you all are safe. We all make mistakes. Stay safe & keep flying good.
Vfr pilot in Australia here, I was getting sweaty palms just watching this, good job mate.
I live on the Gulf Coast so I know how it goes in the afternoon...my 172D is at 2R5 in Mobile County. Leaving after lunch made the trip iffy for sure. Glad you and your family made it ok.
Great video. I few days after your flight I flew my Cherokee from NY to Sarasota on a 1100 mile solo cross country. In northern Florida I faced the same weather. 270 degree of build up and convective cells. In fact, I had the same awesome controller from Jacksonville response. I made a decision to fly VFR that day using advisories. My rationale was I wanted to see and avoid and use my broad discretion powers with VFR rules. I did not want to end up I a bad situation in IMC. I was squeezing between build ups and dodging cells. It was crazy but I always had an out. What I was seeing out the window was not 100% what ADSB saying. However, foreflight was an invaluable tool. Thanks again for putting your flight out there. Real life flying with real life decision making.
What an excellent video, thanks for sharing.
As with many others I appreciate your willingness to put this out there. Going back and contrasting the ADSB picture with the real time (or as least closed to real time) internet picture was eye opening, to say the least. The decision to go east of the buildup, while not optimal for east bound WX, in and of itself was not unreasonable since you thought you could see clear air to the east. The issue I saw was that you then seem to intend to cut back SW through what appeared to be a gap between the WX to your west and the WX over the coast. Gaps have a way of filling up, unfortunately. Not trying to Monday morning quarterback your decisions, just pointing out what a fellow IFR pilot saw from the comfort of his office (vice your real time having to make decisions.) I once tried the same thing and wound up having to spiral down to an airport just in time to wait out the storm. One tactic I've learned when there are lots of scattered TS with lots of IFR traffic requesting deviations is to convert to VFR with flight following. You have to work harder at avoiding clouds but you have a lot more freedom to make deviations. However, I suspect unlike the DC area where I fly, ATC is somewhat more accommodating with deviations down on the Gulf Coast so this may not be as useful for you. Bernie
That cut back Southwest was a last ditch effort as I was sort of trapped at that point. I could see a lighter area so I took a chance although not one I would want to take again. In my experience with Jacksonville and eglin approach they are very accommodating and pretty much have let me pick my own route as long as it isn’t conflicting. I suspect they have had many weather related accidents or near so and want to do everything they can to help the flight be completed safely.
Thankyou for sharing Sir, wishing you many more safe & happy flights…….nice landing btw 👍
Hope you're still alive. It's nice to see a healthy respect for the WX, even if its after the event. As a 35 year airline pilot, I'm sometimes shocked by what some guys do. Not something that you want to press your luck with...especially with anyone else on board.
For some reason, some pilots are just adamant about not going around weather. I fought that battle many times. I think it is really stupid. I guess they got away with it too many times.
Nice video! Thanks for letting us tag along! I used to fly a lot out of Eglin and Destin. Nice to see the area again!
Great educational film, thank you so much for posting. Love your channel ❤️
The best lessons ive learned in my aviation career have been mistakes or on the scariest/sketchiest flights
Thanks for sharing and the detailed analysis to make us all better pilots. I think anyone based in the Southeast this time of of the year can empathize with you.
Yeah thanks for posting this experience. Good you were able to stay visual. In reality, the weather was not to be flown through without on board radar. Good that you were able to deviate as needed. Glad you came out well with the little girl please don’t do that again.
At 11:20 that view was what my flight was like yesterday from middle Georgia to Tampa. I was flying a Grumman with my wife and daughter too and I was intimidated and zigzagging all the way down. Learned my lesson and had my own never again. Wish that I watched this video before I left!
You know you shouldn’t be in the air when it feels that good to be on the ground. Good job .
Yep, sometimes it creeps up on you. On the way to OSH in 1981 my buddy John and I were embedded and being vectored "around" the convective activity when we found ourselves in severe turbulence followed by a 1500ft/min descent. We reported this and they cleared us down as necessary. We popped out the side of a cloud into hazy but clear air. It leaves an impression. There were moments when our camping equipment was hitting the ceiling. The heavy stuff was strapped down. Thanks for publishing your account. .... still learning here.
Wow. My experience wasn’t nearly that bad.
Don't beat yourself up. And thank you for sharing. Glad you guys are okay.
Great lesson/reminder for all of us. Thank you for posting!
I sympathize with you on this delicate topic. In the past, when I planed Holiday travel trips my wife would get exited and just about promises to her family that we will be there as an absolute. It took me a while to program her to not think it is for certain as anything can happen and I look for a reason to not fly as to the opposing. I had to cancel many trips due to weather. I remember before my instrument certificate things seemed so much simpler. If it was cloudy and/or questionable you simply don't go, end of story! But after earning my instrument certificate the go/no go decision has become much more complex and a delicate balance as I am sure you know. Thanks for sharing and glad you are all safe!
I debated whether or not to put this out there. I’m certainly not proud of my decision making. However I felt that it was important for others to see these conditions in flight versus the radar picture and hopefully that will allow them to make better choices.
@@5holeaviation I appreciate you posting this. While I wouldn't have chosen to move forward through the weather, I appreciate you sharing the sight picture and what you were seeing. We are always learning and it this case, it appears you learned what you wont do the next time.
I agree...I went into instrument training thinking it would make go / no go decisions easier but in fact it is the opposite when there is any appreciable weather. You are training to operate within what equates to a thinner enevelope for plane, pilot, and environment. CAVU is easy and then anything from there is when the real work begins.
@@bkyzer As I like to say " with an instrument certificate comes greater responsibility"!
Great Video! That was very close, you just made it by 5 to 10 minutes. A situation you never want to be in specially with the family. Thank you for the video.
Thank you, for sharing this experience.
I did that approach as an Army flight student in an H-model Huey... we came in at 10,000' ,where we experienced light icing...and dove n drove for the approach. It gets crowded down there with Civvie and Air Force traffic.
Very nice post. Thank you.
Great vid. Thank you for sharing.
Very helpful, thanks for sharing this.
Thanks for the educational video. Good notes for future reference.
I used to fly and as bad as I hate to admit I got trapped into this gotta-get-home -ittis from a short cross-country flight (100 miles) and yes I live on the coast (Galveston area) and one of these storms started building up and had me completely locked in going back to my home base. I landed that plan and was borderline shaking and so frightened it was difficult for me to want to even continue flying. It scared me so bad I wanted to stop flying unless I became instrumented rated. I am like you it was a mistake that I promised I would never allow happening to me again. Thanks for publishing your video -- these types of videos help pilots to really understand, sense, and feel the reality and gravity of getting into these situations. Thank you!
Excellent video.. very informative and educational. Every GA pilot should watch a video like this to learn the "do's and don'ts" of flying. As a former Navy aviator, we would cross the Pacific often and have to navigate between large tropical systems in our P-3 Orions. The service ceiling on a fully loaded P-3 is only FL 210 and increases to FL270 as we loose weight. Still, that isn't near enough altitude to cross the largest cells. I remember punching holes through a few big ones and getting rocked in the process. No Bueno!
In retrospect, I would have tried to deviate to the west of those cells since that line of storms were moving from west to east fairly rapidly. It probably would have added some additional time to your flight, but, based on the data you presented, it looked like the better alternative. Of course, landing and waiting it out, as you had mentioned, would have been the best choice overall. Glad to see you and your family made it safely.
Fly safe and fly often!
Thank you. For larger systems I was used to flying around the back side. But at the time was new to coastal weather and didn’t expect how rapidly these would build. I thought I would have plenty of time and space to dodge between. By the time I realized how bad it was I was surrounded 270deg. I should have turned around. In the subsequent years I’ve learned a bit more about these storms right along this area and when/where they tend to develop. They can be navigated around but as you said may have to divert a hundred miles or so around them.
Thank you for sharing. This will serve as very good example how things can ugly very quickly. A perfect time to remember the old adage "a superior pilot is one who uses his superior judgement to avoid situations which require the use of his superior skill" fly safe my friend.
It takes courage to share this with the world... I hope other pilots will learn from it... I'm only a FS2020 pilot :) but this was very interesting to watch... thank you for that!
Awesome video. Wish I’ve seen this two weeks ago on my trip to Tuskegee. I was definitely in the same situation picking my way through the clouds.
Thank you for sharing this experience with us all. ALL pilots benefit from these critical decision making experiences. Happy Flying!!
Fantastic work mate… love your video will be following you for sure.
Great video and thank you for sharing!!
Your wife is much nicer than mine. I would have had to beep out half the video. Good job keeping your cool and getting through it.
Glad you put this up! People say I'm a weather nut and worry too much about it. They should watch this.
"You okay?" To wife.... The "I'm not happy!" That definitely explains how she felt! 😂😂
I suppose the other option when you started to realize you weren't going to avoid it was to go as far east as possible, or land till it passed?
It's crazy how fast they built up!
I remember once in route from Ocala to Pompano Beach. Had a very similar situation. Very much underestimated the vertical speed of a valley in from of us. By the time that we realized that our little Cessna 172 was not up to the job of climbing far enough nor fast enough to clear the valley. Very scary, now closed up behind us. We made it scrapping through wow, never again. Once is enough. And yes, it is so easy to underestimate the speed that these “moving mountains” build up. Thanks so much for posting this!
Flew from DTS to EFD just outside of Houston. Was turning left and right avoiding storms for 4 hours. I definitely recommend not only doing the ForeFlight briefing but call the wx briefer because they can give much more detail. On flight radar really helps as well
Thank you for sharing this truly helps all of us.
I did learn from your trip. Thanks
Excellent video. Very helpful and informative. Thanks.
Wow, thanks for sharing!
The comments from the ever-supporting wife of, "I'm not happy" are so very helpful and useful in the intense moments of his trying to pilot through this storm.
Excellent. Thank you for sharing. Could save lives.
Wow, you were lucky. Thanks for posting, valuable information for sure.
Good job man you kept it together. I remember my dad getting us into a similar situation when we were flying a warrior to visit the grandparents one weekend when I was a kid. When your wife says "I'm not happy" lmao. Thanks for posting, good video.
That's a terrible feeling!
Really appreciate you posting this video. Flying is a forever learning journey. Appreciate you sharing your lessons learned.
Great video, it took guts to show and then admit the judgement calls. It speaks to your character and helps us all. Two years ago a good friend was coming over a mountain range blown over dozens of times. But he was in a hurry to get home. The clouds lowered and lowered so did he and he decided according to ATC not to file IFR. He was so low that he flew right over the top of some hunters. They found the wreckage three days later. We all need these stories to keep us safe. Thank you for sharing.
Frazer
N34490
Ps he was in his beloved Cherokee 6
Thank you so much for posting this! It's great for ADM. I'm getting back into flying after a year away (I still work in Aviation, however). I'm in the process of buying a PA32 and I enjoy watching your videos and experiences!
A little late but I just found this video today. First mistake was flying in this weather for no good reason. Second mistake was having the family with you. Third mistake was staying too high. I think you did a very good job of flying through some tough weather. I flew everything from C150 to Cessna Citations with most of my time in King Airs and scared myself more time than I care to admit. Instrument flying in an IFR equipped airplane and competent Instrument pilot is and will be possible. You picked your way through the hazardous weather like most pro pilots do every day. Flying at lower altitudes allow you to see (if VFR) your way to close airports to set down safely to wait the storms out. Good job!
Understand why you were reluctant to post the video but this is well done and will only prove to be a great learning tool for other instrument pilots...would venture to say that this type of video will at some point save a pilot some potential serious trouble! Thanks again for posting and love the comment from your wife...I have heard that myself a time or two!
I just sent this to my son who is finishing up his PP. Thanks for sharing.
Thankyou for posting
Thank you for posting this. Very well done.
Bet that smooth landing felt good! Nice work.
as i'm not pilot by myself, what i like in aviation is people's honesty and self-criticism abilities.
Great video I could feel your stress watching you, as a low time pilot this video convinced me to continue to land at Defuniak Springs instead of Destin, again learned a lot from video
Well done in posting this. I have flown in ITCZ conditions with HS748 freighters in central Africa in such turbulence that your eyeball shake in their sockets so bad you can hardly see the panel! Thats a 42000 pound freighter! Its never fun...even with a working radar! there are also very few nice ATC guys around to give you suggested steers...as well as very few alternate airports...! So well done once again for picking up on your faults...makes you a far better pilot...every time!
Great video I've been understanding dopler radars since i was a 5th grader back in 95. I just fell in love with meteorology since then. At work one day we had a hail storm warning and our leadership wanted us to hide and take shelter, well I took out my cell phone and saw the radar and told all my co workers it ain't going to hail that storm just passed us to the east. All my co workers were stunned I knew how to read doplar radar. To bad I can't use this skill in aviation.
Super educational. Thanks!
Thank you for posting, nice job.