A couple of IFR firsts (long)

I had a trip planned to Hayward (in the SF Bay area) to get an eddy
current inspection done on our prop hub (another story...another chance
to dump some AMUs into the plane should we opt for a new hub).

I'd planned to file IFR no matter what the weather conditions turned out
to be since I'd never done so in that end of the SF bay. Being just
under the SFO bravo airspace, things can get pretty busy so I thought
I'd do it IFR this time. As it turned out, the weather conditions
required filing IFR but the forecasts were decent in terms of freezing
levels and generally nasty weather conditions.

The trip down was more IMC than VMC. Some in/out of the clouds but
mostly just brief glimpses of the ground, no horizon though. When I
pickup the weather at Hayward, they're calling it 1700 overcast and 2
mile visibility in mist. Approx. 25 miles from Hayward we pop out of
the clouds and start getting vectored all over the place as they fit our
spam can into the arrival flow (which includes Oakland, spitting
distance to the North of Hayward). We do a bizarre sequence of 180 and
90 degree turns for 20 minutes in and out of the white puffies before
getting vectored to the final approach course and a descent. Back in
the goo, it's getting bumpier and this approach turns out to be one of
the more challenging ones I've done. It's a localizer approach with a
440 ft MDA and 1 mile vis. I get the approach clearance somewhere
around 9-10 miles out and it's bumpy enough that keeping the localizer
centered and a 500 fpm descent rate is pretty tough. The missed
approach point is .9 DME from the localizer and as I watch the DME count
down, we're still in a big white cotton ball (ok, where did they hide
the airport?). I start thinking seriously about executing the missed
approach as we hit 1.5 miles and we're at approx. 1200 ft (a bit higher
than I should have been). The As the DME clicks down to 1.1 with
absolutely no hint of ground/airport/etc. (anything but cloud) in sight,
it's everything on the throttle quadrant full forward, positive rate
of climb, gear up, flaps up, "Hayward tower, zero four tango going
missed"...followed by "Arrow zero four tango, turn left heading two four
zero, climb and maintain 2000". At this point, I'm thinking all I want
to do is get into VMC conditions and sort things out. I get handed back
to Norcal approach and hear the expected "Arrow zero four tango, say
intentions" after I check in with them. I ask for a minute to sort
things out and they comply with a vector out over the SF bay (not that I
could have seen anything that resembled water below us). By this time,
I'm ready to go land somewhere, eat, and reschedule the prop shop
appointment...so...I request vectors to our alternate, Livermore (which
we managed to see through some holes in the clouds as we were being
vectored all over the place prior to the approach).

As we're headed to Livermore, the controller informs another guy trying
to get to Hayward that the conditions are now 200 ft. overcast. Gee, no
wonder we couldn't see anything...the weather had gone in the toilet in
the 30-40 minute time frame from the ATIS observation to when we were on
the approach. Not uncommon this time of year in that part of the bay.
Still, a good reminder of how quickly things can (and do) change.

The trip back home from Livermore was much less eventful. Maybe 0.1 IMC
on the departure but it was great being able to file/fly IFR as the
visibility was less than wonderful. Back home, the AWOS was calling it
7 miles but it was maybe 4 from 3000 ft.

Firsts, since getting my instrument rating:
- The most IMC time I've logged in one day (3.3 hours of flying, 1.6 IMC)
- First missed approach because I couldn't see the airport (and wasn't
under the hood!)
- First time I've flown two instrument approaches in actual conditions
in a day
- First time I've ever been given a speed restriction. I was #2 for the
approach at Livermore...and must have been behind a C-150 or something.

While the first approach was probably the most challenging one I've
flown post instrument ticket, it also reinforced to me that I had
learned from a good CFII. Looking back on it now, it seemed that, in
the moment, things were happening more from reaction based on training
than thinking "Ok, what should I do?". Quite an amazing thing to look
back on and one that I didn't realize until talking to a non-pilot
friend about the experience and answering his questions.

And, as usual, this turned out to be a great learning experience.
Now...if only the weather cooperates next week so we can try take-2 on
visiting the prop shop.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane

"To become a Jedi knight, you must master a single force. To become
a private pilot you must strive to master four of them"
- Rod Machado

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