I'm sick of sanding this DG and it's still several hours before the
Packers start beating up on the Sea Gulls, so let me tell you a little
story about busting the PC. We were on an low level VFR route in the
RF-4C, early in out training that offered an all expence paid vacation
to Cong's Ville upon graduation. We hit a couple of targets out in the
desert and then the route took us into the mountains north of Mt.
Home, ID where we encountered a solid deck about 2000 above us. We
pressed on and soon were rapidly painting ourselves into a corner (box
canyon). I told my pilot; let's forget this and get out of here! He
replied; I don't have clearance to enter the clouds. Allow me to state
here that the 1/lt Nose-Gunner, the Air Force issued me was long on
regulations and short on judgment! Soon we were in real trouble, 100
feet off the pine-cones and 100 feet below the
clouds.................................at which time I yelled, Screw
the clearance, CLIMB. We did and finally got hold of center at 10,000
feet. Did we endanger anyone? Did center even know we were in the
soup? Was there anyone else, dumb enough to be flying low in the WX,
near the rocks? Did the original poster endanger anyone by busting the
PC over Reno? He had a transponder and all the folks up there had one
too + TCAS and besides the safest place to be is 18 right over the
Reno. The dangerous place is 9 to 12 thousand at 10 to 20 miles out.
Center was painting him and would/could have diverter any potential
conflicts. I don't think anyone was endangered, except he could have
pulled the wings off by foolishly trying to stay below 18. Remember, a
26 driver did just that right over Reno and endangered himself and
those on the ground with falling pieces of fiberglass. I say he did
the right thing. Now the rest of us, If you fly around
Reno...........get a transponder!
OK, rant's over, bring on the Sea Gulls!
JJ