Don't always believe the AWOS...

I got my IR last August and finally got to log my 1st post-checkride actual
approach. All while the airport I was landing at was reporting 10 miles and
clear below 12,000. More like 1,200. All day long this place was reporting
clear skies. All day long it varied between 1,200 and 1,700.

ATC read me the AWOS before I heard it and we were planning a decent to MSA
then a visual landing. The bases were only about 700-800 below me, but I
just couldn't keep visual. I ended up flying a full procedure turn LOC
approach. Bah. Just enough to keep my in the clouds until descending past
the FAF. (and yes, i will be logging that approach g)

Lesson learned? Be prepared. I had already loaded the approach into the GPS
just in case, & had everything ready for it. Also, I'll believe reported
weather when I'm actually in it. Third lesson? Be very familiar with the
equipment in your plane. I was flying a Diamond Star I was recently checked
out it. We had gone through auto pilot usage, and I used it for most of the
flight, but when it was time to make the procedure turn, the plane wasn't
turning. I didn't have something set. I think I forgot to switch the 530
from GPS mode to VLOC once I activated the approach. Shoot I can't remember
if I even hit APR on the autopilot now that I think of it. I ended up hand
flying the approach.

Cool experience. Very rare to get such benign IMC to learn in.

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PP-ASEL, instrument