Why do you 180?

"BillC85" wrote in message ...
Good day,

I got caught in some weather the other day and had to 180 outa there.

Punched up goto nearest on the Lowrance, put the Love Boat down, called
wifey for a ride home (three hours by car), and the airplane still sits at
the unscheduled stop waiting to finish the flight, probably tomorrow.

My question is this;

Why do you 180 instead of pressing on? What are your motivations? What goes
through your head?

Flying is important to me. I want to fly. I don't want to get myself
into a situation where I lose my license when it's preventable. GA has
been good to me and I don't want to give GA a black eye.

I will 180 or land if I believe the chances of surviving the flight
are diminishing, but I think anyone would do that. The problem is
recognizing that situation.

I will 180 or land if I believe continuing may force me to bend the
rules in a manner that might be likely to come to the FAA's attention.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

"BillC85" wrote in message ...

I know there are steely eyed pilots out there who will flame me for having

Obligatory line about old pilots versus bold pilots goes here

went through my head. You'll notice dying was actually number three.
That's kind of interesting in that it reveals something about my ego. If it
had come right down to the moment however, things probably would have
switched around a bit.

There was an NTSB transcript I read a year or so ago involving VFR
into IMC and the resultant disorientation, in contact with ATC as it
unfolded. As the plane went into a spiral dive, the pilot said
something like, "Center, we're sorry, we've lost it here."

On the other end of the spectrum, the tapes from the Alaska Air plane
that went down off the Southern California coast some years ago are
also pretty gripping. A failure in elevator had rendered the plane
pretty much unflyable but you could hear the captain talking it
through as they went inverted and fought all the way down right up
until the Pacific filled the windscreen.

It's about knowing that you've seen the elephant and didn't bug out,
even if you only know that for the moment before the lights go out.
Ernest Hemingway defined courage as "grace under pressure." For the
literary take on the theme read his story, "The Short Happy Life of
Francis Maccomber."

Best,
-cwk.

"BillC85" wrote in message ...
Good day,

I got caught in some weather the other day and had to 180 outa there.

Punched up goto nearest on the Lowrance, put the Love Boat down, called
wifey for a ride home (three hours by car), and the airplane still sits at
the unscheduled stop waiting to finish the flight, probably tomorrow.

My question is this;

Why do you 180 instead of pressing on? What are your motivations? What goes
through your head?

Here are mine for this particular event in order of priority more or less;

1. I didn't want to embarrass myself by having to put down on a road or
field and causing a big scene.
2. I didn't want to bend the airplane by having to put down on a road or
field.
3. I didn't want to die in a CFIT (closely related to the first part of
number 1 above).
4. I didn't want my wife to be without a husband.
5. I didn't want my dogs to be without a Dad.
6. I didn't want to inconvenience my wife.

I know there are steely eyed pilots out there who will flame me for having
to come up with so many arguments for the 180 but these are the things that
went through my head. You'll notice dying was actually number three.
That's kind of interesting in that it reveals something about my ego. If it
had come right down to the moment however, things probably would have
switched around a bit.

Thoughts?

My main parameters for a 180 was a slant range of a mile.
Or with a lowering cloud base with rising ground ahead.
Every time you fly you have to win. Gravity only has to win once

I must be getting old, I wasn't aware that "180" had become a verb.

I will make a 180 (or such other degree of course reversal is called
for under the circumstances) anytime I am not happy with what I see in
front of me. It is never inappropriate and I've found that those who
are critical tend not to have the background to be in a position to
offer an expert opinion on the subject. In other words, generally, a
person who criticizes a pilot for making a 180 and retreating from a
flight is not worth listening to on that particular topic.

It seems to me that too many of those who have hesitated to make a 180
for fear of the opinions of others did not survive that particular
flight.

All the best,
Rick

"BillC85" wrote in message ...
Good day,

I got caught in some weather the other day and had to 180 outa there.

Punched up goto nearest on the Lowrance, put the Love Boat down, called
wifey for a ride home (three hours by car), and the airplane still sits at
the unscheduled stop waiting to finish the flight, probably tomorrow.

My question is this;

Why do you 180 instead of pressing on? What are your motivations? What goes
through your head?

Here are mine for this particular event in order of priority more or less;

1. I didn't want to embarrass myself by having to put down on a road or
field and causing a big scene.
2. I didn't want to bend the airplane by having to put down on a road or
field.
3. I didn't want to die in a CFIT (closely related to the first part of
number 1 above).
4. I didn't want my wife to be without a husband.
5. I didn't want my dogs to be without a Dad.
6. I didn't want to inconvenience my wife.

I know there are steely eyed pilots out there who will flame me for having
to come up with so many arguments for the 180 but these are the things that
went through my head. You'll notice dying was actually number three.
That's kind of interesting in that it reveals something about my ego. If it
had come right down to the moment however, things probably would have
switched around a bit.

Thoughts?

BillC

As much as I do love flying, it's certainly not worth getting killed or
maimed for (nor wrecking anyone else's life).

I take a picture of my wife along with me when I go flying. It helps remind
me that I have some good reasons to get my ass back home in one piece.

And since I promised her that I would not get myself killed with all this
crazy airplane stuff, it also reminds me that I better not crash, or else
I'll be in REAL trouble with her when I get back (alive or otherwise)!

YMMV.

David Herman
N6170T 1965 Cessna 150E
Boeing Field (BFI), Seattle, WA
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Visit the Pacific Northwest Flying Forum:
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/pnwflying

"BillC85" wrote in message
...
Good day,

I got caught in some weather the other day and had to 180 outa there.

Punched up goto nearest on the Lowrance, put the Love Boat down, called
wifey for a ride home (three hours by car), and the airplane still sits at
the unscheduled stop waiting to finish the flight, probably tomorrow.

My question is this;

Why do you 180 instead of pressing on? What are your motivations? What
goes
through your head?

On 25 Aug 2004 14:06:53 -0700, (Rick Durden)
wrote:

I must be getting old, I wasn't aware that "180" had become a verb.

I will make a 180 (or such other degree of course reversal is called
for under the circumstances) anytime I am not happy with what I see in
front of me.

Same here. Just did one this morning. Was trying BED-GON, forecast
and briefing was for clear/unrestricted... Some sort of temporary
layer moved in, so I couldn't get over 2000-2500 without being in (or
looking like I'd be within 500 of) the clouds. Wasn't sure if it
would be better further in, but didn't like the picture where I was
and no better was in sight, so back to where I came from. Course, it
all burned off about an hour after I got home, but that's always the
way isn't it?

BillC85 wrote:

Why do you 180 instead of pressing on? What are your motivations? What goes
through your head?

Because I don't want a bunch of postings on this newsgroup saying variations of "I
knew that stupid ******* would ball it up some day."

George Patterson
If you want to know God's opinion of money, just look at the people
he gives it to.

I reckon this must be the reason I want a high altitude plane so I'm
not necessarily dancing thru the weather!

"BillC85" wrote:

Here are mine for this particular event in order of priority more or less;

1. I didn't want to embarrass myself by having to put down on a road or
field and causing a big scene.
2. I didn't want to bend the airplane by having to put down on a road or
field.
3. I didn't want to die in a CFIT (closely related to the first part of
number 1 above).
4. I didn't want my wife to be without a husband.
5. I didn't want my dogs to be without a Dad.
6. I didn't want to inconvenience my wife.

I have NO problems about landing on a road or field. I cannot be
embarassed about something like this.

I got hit by an incredibly fast-moving fog bank that came out
of nowhere a few months ago. My first reaction was to check the
lights on the field (I had just taken off and knew there wasn't
enough real-estate to land on the runway). No lights working
(it was daytime). I figured if I could see the lights, the visibility
was good enough to turn around and land. Fine.

I know the area well-enough that I can
put the airplane down anywhere (empty fields everywhere except
for a few telephone poles and one building behind me, KDEN ahead
of me) and the insurance company will take possession of the
junk.

I don't scare easily, but I was definitely scared.

And then I remembered ..."look at the instruments, stupid!"

Headed south (which was my destination anyway) and in less
than 30 seconds, clear, beautiful weather. It was only over the
airport, about 1 mile diameter, and only between 200 & 600 AGL.

Really strange.

On 8/25/04 10:50 AM, in article ,
"BillC85" wrote:

My question is this;

Why do you 180 instead of pressing on? What are your motivations? What goes
through your head?


I only fly for fun, not for business, yet. Why put a perfectly good airplane
at increased risk, for pride's sake?

There is no compelling reason to put myself in a situation where I am forced
to use my widely acknowledged superior flying skills. I don't have to land
at my intended destination, just in one piece.

I plan on living at least 100 years. To fall short of that goal due to my
own stupidity would be mortifying beyond comprehension.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino
Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
www.wizardofdraws.com
www.cartoonclipart.com