Flying by the Numbers
Peter Ricciardiello, an Instrument rated pilot based at Syracuse (SYR) shows why flying IFR approaches the way he was trained is the best way to “stay out of the trees.”
Peter owns and flies a 1973 Beech V35B “Bonanza” (above). To give you an idea of the weather reports Peter was receiving, we’ve included the METARs that he received before the flight and enroute from Syracuse (SYR) to Dunkirk (DKK):
Today, while flying to Dunkirk (DKK) for business, I was not confident that I was going to get into the airport. During the preflight briefing, the weather at DKK was reported at visibility of 1 mile and overcast at 100 in mist. Here in NY State it’s common to experience fog in the early morning hours that burns off by 14:00z or so, especially when there is still snow on the ground and temperatures are more spring-like. Thus, I decided to launch
KDKK 211323Z AUTO 27005KT 1SM BR OVC001 01/00 A3007 RMK AO2 SNE14 P0000
I checked the weather a few times during the hour-long flight because I was aware, thanks to the preflight briefing, that DKK was below minimums. I used both my on-board WSI down-linked weather, which only had the ASOS from the previous hour, and flight service. About half way, I called flight service and requested a current ASOS from them. They were able to give me one about 7 minutes old, which included a variable 100-500 foot ceiling. It appeared to me that conditions were improving, albeit very slowly, so I decided to continue on to Dunkirk to fly one approach.
KDKK 211403Z AUTO 25004KT 2SM BR OVC003 01/00 A3008 RMK AO2 CIG 001V005
Fuel calculations showed that I would be at DKK with about 3 ½ hours of fuel on board so I wasn't concerned about getting to my alternate of Buffalo for the ILS. At worst, I would receive some excellent, actual IMC time for the entire published approach at Dunkirk. Dunkirk does not have an ILS approach; rather the airport has a mix of VOR and GPS approaches, both with minimums of 1 mile and 400 ft AGL ceiling. With light winds from the southwest, I decided to try one GPS runway 24 approach and go to Buffalo for the ILS if I went missed. I made it a point to inform Buffalo Approach of this plan to further set expectations in my mind that I would probably go missed.Recognizing that every foot counts, I studied the approach plate and memorized the MDA. The difference between seeing the airport and flying the missed could literally be the difference between being at MDA quickly after the FAF or casually flying 50 to 100 feet above it. I flew the GPS runway 24 approach and was right at the ragged bases at about 1,080 feet MSL (400 AGL) after the final approach fix. I certainly can see why pilots are sometimes tempted to go below the MDA, as I could see straight down and believed that another 100 feet below me would have put me in the clear, but I kept talking aloud about remaining at MDA and calling out the distance to the missed approach point. I caught sight of the runway about 1 mile out (enough to make a straight in approach without any radical maneuvers). It was a very invigorating flight.
Here is the Metar showing the conditions at Dunkirk when Peter landed around 14:50 Zulu:
KDKK 211453Z AUTO 27006KT 2 1/2SM BR OVC005 01/00 A3009 RMK AO2 CIG 003V008 SLP197 60000 T00060000 53010
Peter Ricciardiello