Simviation Forums

by **BFMF** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 3:59 pm

"Shoot, overslept again" I mumbled to myself as I looked out my hotel window. I had hoped to leave by sunrise so I could get as far as I could, but atleast I was able to get a half decent night sleep. After drinking a cup of coffee, I filled my thermos, grabbed my flightgear, and hurried to the airport where I wasted no time in preparing for my flight.

I filled the tanks up, did my pre-flight inspection, and filed for Yakutat. At 1950Z time, I taxied to the runway, announced my intentions on the radio, and took off. Once I left the pattern, I began my climb and turned on course, leaving the Homer Airport behind.

Besides some mild turbulence which only lasted a little while, there were only a few scattered clouds. Even though it was relatively clear, I encountered strong headwinds for the duration of the flight, slowing me down considerably.

After recomputing my fuel burn/speed/range, I estimated that I wouldn't have much fuel after landing.

As I neared Yakutat, I started to encounter more more and more clouds, and finally low fog and rain. As soon as I was in range, I tuned my radio to the Yakutat weather and learned that winds were from the NE at 13, and visibility was down to 3 miles in rain.

"Great, that's all I need. I'm low on fuel and I'm gonna be landing in marginal vfr weather" I thought to myself.

As I got closer, I listened to the updated and was delighted to hear that the weather had improved. Winds were still the same, but visibility had increased to 6 miles, plus the rain had stopped. I descended into the fog, lined up for the crosswind landing, and once down, bounced a couple times on landing. It wasn't too bad, but I made a mental note to check the gear. Once I backtaxied to ramp, I shut everything down at 2328Z time and closed my flightplan. It had been a long flight, and I needed a small break, not to mention something to eat.