Flight Training - August 2024 - 6

ALWAYS LEARNING BY SARAH DEENER
" Nuffing makes any sense, "
said Editor SARAH DEENER's
son when she explained the
concept of a connecting
flight to him. Same, buddy.
sarah.deener@aopa.org
as we bounced through stronger than
forecast headwinds, occasionally
checking for updated METARs at the
destination on the Garmin GTN 750.
When we picked up the automated
surface observing system and heard
" gusting 26 knots, " I set up for Moraine
Airpark 5 nautical miles to the north.
At Moraine, we met the airport cats
and a local CFI schooled us on the world's
first seaplane base, located just on the
other side of the levee from the runway.
Our hosts picked us up at the air park,
and Stagnito made it into Dayton-Wright
Brothers shortly afterward.
The next morning dawned cool and
BEST-LAID PLANS
As general aviation aircraft go, the Wright B Flyer is not known
for its maneuverability. So, when we planned an air-to-air photo
shoot of a Wright B Flyer lookalike for a story in AOPA Pilot, it
came with some limits: one hour maximum flying time, calm air,
banks 15 degrees or less, crosswinds no more than 10 knots.
As the visit to Dayton, Ohio, approached, gusty forecasts whittled our weather
window down until only a few hours looked promising for the photo flight. We'd need
the platform aircraft and crew positioned and ready Saturday morning at daybreak.
AOPA Senior Photographer David Tulis and I planned to fly from Frederick, Maryland,
to Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport (MGY) Friday morning in a Cessna 182 to interview
the volunteers of Wright " B " Flyer Inc. AOPA Editor in Chief Kollin Stagnito would
meet us there in his Cessna 170, fly lead for the formation flight in the morning, and
continue on to Erie, Pennsylvania, while Tulis and I conducted more interviews.
The evening before our planned departure, I scoured the forecasts for clues to
whether the trip could proceed. The terminal aerodrome forecasts (TAFs) called for
gusts to 25 knots directly across the airport's one runway Friday and winds about 10
knots early Saturday. And now, a rogue model output statistics (MOS) update called for
marginal VFR to IFR Saturday afternoon and evening, in conflict with the TAFs.
The trip was a classic example of the utility of general aviation: a mid-range flight to
a non-airline-hub destination on a timeline that needed to be flexible. But now I faced
the ambiguity that came with that flexibility. A dozen possible outcomes branched out
before us: a better than forecast, smooth-sailing trip; a diversion to nearby Moraine Air
Park (I73), whose runway was better aligned with the wind; a smooth flight to Dayton
only to face an unforecast windy Saturday morning and a last-minute scrubbed photo
flight. And MOS forecasts are typically less reliable than TAFs, but what if this one was
right and the cold front would blow in early, squeezing our return trip? All I could do
was sleep well and check again in the morning.
The TAFs stuck to their story the next day, and the MOS changed its projection to
clear skies through Saturday evening. Tulis was a helpful co-pilot and good company
6
FLIGHT TRAINING AUGUST 2024
still. After a successful photo mission,
Stagnito, Tulis, and I each had time to
experience a flight in the open-air biplane.
When Tulis and I departed that afternoon,
a few raindrops flecked the windshield as
we climbed away from the airport.
Back in Frederick, I loaded my bags
into the car and sank into the driver's
seat. I was tired. Beyond two early
mornings and busy days, I felt the mental
fatigue of planning and reevaluating and
adjusting course. So much had changed
from the original plan: dates, destination,
even the AOPA staff who were able to
come on the flight. Yet in the end the
important parts all worked out.
Scheduled airline service ostensibly
delegates the mental load of travel to
the pilots up front. But it doesn't take
away the uncertainty. I thought back to a
recent commercial flight, from Maryland
to Arkansas with my 3-year-old: taxiing
back to the gate to wait for an hour and
a half while I burned through every toy,
snack, and coloring book in my Mom
bag of tricks; begging the gate agent
to let us onto our connecting flight,
baggage or no baggage, as the doors were
closing; driving back to the airport at 11
p.m. to reunite with said baggage; and
circling over Virginia on the return leg
while thunderstorms lingered over the
Baltimore airport.
The utility of general aviation shines
when I let go of the expectation that
success is measured by things going
according to plan. Change is a given. The
vagaries of flying and life demand that
we continually reevaluate our present
reality against our goals and work
toward what's most important. As the
adage goes, " Plans are worthless, but
planning is everything. " FT
Flight Training - August 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - August 2024
