A student pilot describes his first flight in windy weather with patchy rain. What does he learn?

With his PPL test just a week away, Tim Orlando-Reep and his instructor agreed it was time to take the plane up in marginal weather.

“Learning to fly in less-than-ideal conditions – when it’s not just calm, fair and everything’s rosy – is an important part of the syllabus,” Tim says.

“It’s good to familiarise yourself with imperfect conditions such as turbulence, to get used to how it feels.”

As Tim drove to Te Kowhai aerodrome outside Hamilton that morning, patchy showers were flurrying through.

“I really wanted to get up, but looking at the forecast on PreFlight, I expected us not to get off the ground.”

Tim’s instructor, Bill Henwood of Classic Cubs Flight Training, says there needs to be value for the student’s learning, from flying in marginal weather. The student’s decision-making process on whether to fly is a core part of that.

“You’re trying to help the student develop judgement about these conditions and whether it’s suitable for them to fly. It’s hard for them to judge that until they’ve experienced flying in less-than-perfect conditions. They must consider the legal limits, the comfort limits, and the aircraft limits. It’s a balancing act.”

Perfectly imperfect flying conditions

Towards lunchtime, the front passed through Te Kowhai. With the sky clearing but the wind increasing, the conditions were perfect for an imperfect flying experience.

“I asked Bill if he was happy to fly,” Tim says. “I added that, if I was by myself, with my limited experience, I would wait.

“Bill talked through what to look for in marginal conditions and how, using his experience, he was satisfied we would be safe to get airborne and assess the situation from 1000ft. Bill’s got better judgement on how fast weather travels, so he put my concerns at ease. Before we took off, we decided that staying in the circuit would give us the option and time to return to base if we felt we needed to.”

After their run-ups, Tim and Bill were poised to take off. “On one side, visibility was closed out with heavy cloud,” Tim says. “On the other side there was an area of fine weather, and I could see the top of the ridgeline.

“We took off and stayed in the circuit, within a nautical mile of the aerodrome, for one lap. We had height of 1100ft, and I could then see that the showers were localised. I could see behind and around them and see them coming across the landscape. I was able to judge whether they were moving fast or slow.”

Airborne view shows more options

“Higher up, you get a better idea of how big these showers are,” Tim says, “and we had an escape plan – we could head north, south, or east and wait there for 10 minutes until a shower passed. When you’re airborne in these conditions, you’re able to see options you can’t see when you’re on the ground.”

Tim and Bill headed west along the ranges, staying at a height sufficient to avoid the worst of the turbulence. Tim practised steep turns and stalls and, once they reached the windward side of the ranges, he said it was informative to understand the effect of turbulence on those manoeuvres.

“I realised there’s a heavy mental workload in marginal conditions. It was good to have some exposure to it with Bill beside me because, as a qualified pilot, you won’t always fly in fair weather.”

What Tim learned

After a few laps in the circuit, Tim and Bill returned to the aerodrome to debrief the lesson.

“By being exposed to marginal weather, I’ll have more confidence if I end up in that situation,” Tim says. “It’s important not to panic, and by experiencing less-than-ideal weather as a student, I’ve learned to think more clearly and make better decisions.

“I don’t think the experience will make me overconfident in terms of choosing to fly in marginal weather, though. It’s not comfortable flying in those conditions, and as a freshly trained pilot there’s still a lot of caution there. My biggest takeaway from this experience is if you’re unsure, don’t go.”

A mainlander’s perspective

Nelson-based ATPL and A-category instructor, Mark Woodhouse, and his students are no strangers to the vagaries of marginal weather. Anyone who flies in the South Island knows that the far-reaching influence of the Southern Alps, and the effects of northerly and southerly cold fronts, can rapidly create dramatic and hazardous flying conditions.

But, Mark says, even a minor change in the weather can present a challenge.

“All it needs is light rain on the windscreen, and it can seriously change a pilot’s visibility and awareness.”

Mark says it’s vital the instructor has the right attitude towards flying in marginal weather.

“They must be confident the conditions are within their own capability. They should then consider each student individually and look for opportunities to guide them through their first one or two marginal weather flights. Start with conditions where there’s the odd patch of drizzle around – that’s still a heck of a challenge for a new student.”

The flip side of this, he says, is when flight instructors take students up in only good weather, because they’re targeting a performance level within the available flying hours. The problem with that is the student then has no learning to fall back on when they hit bad weather later.

“I celebrate opportunities to take a student up in marginal weather, even for just one circuit,” Mark says.

“It’s a chance to say to a student, ‘you don’t want to be here – this is hard’.”

Mark firmly rejects the suggestion that taking students flying in marginal weather makes them prone to taking risks with the weather in future.

“A pilot whose attitude leads them to fly in conditions beyond their limitations will find a way to get into trouble – whether it’s bad weather, low fuel, flying too close to the end of the day, and so on.

“In my early days as a student pilot, one of my flying instructors passed a comment that resonated with me and has stayed with me – ‘It’s okay to give it away’.

“Based on that tip, I’ve decided not to fly, or to divert, many times over the years.

“The first time it happens, it’s hard to make that admission to yourself. But it gets easier. Instructors should look for opportunities to guide their student through their first couple of diverts. Then the student has that experience to fall back on.”

Advice to other students

“With your instructor, it’s a great time to practise staying calm under pressure,” Tim says.

“The more you practise flying in different weather conditions, the more comfortable and skilled you’ll become.”

Footnote

Main photo iStock.com/Jim Glab