Insights Into the Life of a Pilot

So I'm sitting at the Calgary Flying Club; I had to fly one of our planes down to Springbank airport for an inspection, and I'll be flying it back to Three Hills once the inspection is done.

That gives me three hours (ish) to relax and wait for the plane. The problem, is that the weather is deteriorating. The wind has picked up, and there is a storm building to the west, headed right for us.

We make plans, but God doesn't always agree with them.

Days like this are stressful, I have to figure out a lot of things on the fly (no pun intended). Hopefully the weather will improve and I will be able to fly out, I might have to dodge around some storms, but that's not too difficult. On the other hand, if the wind is too strong, I won't be able to safely take-off. Or worse, land.

There is no easy answer to what I'm going to do. For now, I can just sit tight and wait to see what the weather looks like when the inspection is done, but if the weather is still questionable, then what? Where do I draw the line for acceptable risk with the weather? I have to take into account my skill, the performance of the aircraft, and the likelyhood that it will get worse after I take off.

What's more, how long do I wait to see if it'll clear? The aircraft isn't certified for night flight, and I'm not current, so I have to make it home before dark. But it still takes a bit of time to fly out there, and I need to give myself extra time for contingencies since the weather is interesting.

And what do I do if I decide that the weather isn't good enough? I have to call someone to drive down here (one hour each way) and pick me up, which doesn't sound pleasant. Hey man, can you drive for two full hours to pick me up despite your busy schedule? Thanks! And even then, now I have to get back to Springbank to get the plane. So I could spend the night at a cheap motel, but in Calgary, cheap is a relative term, and still pretty expensive. Also, there doesn't seem to be any motels around the airport, so how am I going to get to one without spending more money on a taxi or a rental car?

So yeah, that's a small insight into my life as a pilot, and I want to remind you that these questions don't go away when you get into the big leagues, so next time your pilot delays the flight for weather, don't get mad at him, he wants to fly just as bad as you do, and he spent a lot of time thinking about his decision.


Update: I made it home on time, though I had to divert around this storm system (the weather guy called it a Super Cell!), making my flight considerably longer.