Decision Making Along the Way

ADM is a fundamental process for mitigating risk and reducing the anxiety of a demanding flight profile.

0

Aeronautical decision-making (ADM) is essentially the mental process of gathering and evaluating information pertinent to a flight; listing the options and their attendant risks; and then choosing the best alternatives. It is an iterative process due to the nature of the changing variables inherent in flight.

ADM is often a relatively simple and subliminal process if we are out for that $100 hamburger on a beautiful Saturday morning. However, when you have a long cross-country and weather ahead of you (and some commitments on the other end), it takes on a far greater significance.

Flying into Oshkosh for my third time kept me on my toes. I want to share some of the challenges and decision making that made for an exciting time in a wonderful environment.

I flew a Mooney Bravo that is normally well equipped. I say “normally” since the oxygen bottle’s 15-year life had run out and the new one was not available prior to my flight. The autopilot was the other inoperative piece of equipment. Many single-pilot IFR folks will attest to the value and workload relief that this wonderful system provides. Fortunately, I had an AP backup—a long-time family friend Michelle—a 500-hour commercial pilot with instrument rating and about 20 hours logged in this airplane.

The Mooney had the traditional round-dial flight instruments featuring a BendixKing AI and HSI; a Garmin GTN 750 and GTN 650 MFD navcomm, with NEXRAD and Stormscope. I carry an Android tablet with the Garmin Pilot app connected wirelessly to a GDL 39 that provides a link to ADS-B In.

The Plan

Although we had some commitments in OSH, unlike previous years, each could be postponed or even canceled with a simple phone call—this ensured that we were not creating an obligation trap.

The first significant decision came before we left the ground on Saturday due to the airplane being in maintenance. Should we accept a late departure or wait until the next day. We decided that some distance covered was better than none, and launched out of Albuquerque at 1530 local time.

In New Mexico, this means summer thunderstorms need to be addressed carefully and this day was no exception. Looking at the radar it appeared we could work south around the weather; so we filed for V234. However, the clearance received was to fly north on V263 to the Santa Fe (SAF) VOR and then southeast on V62 to join V12 enroute to Woodward, Kansas (KWWR).

We already knew that route was not going to work due to the severe weather we observed but decided to head out and see what would develop or dissipate as we approached SAF.

We had a few options such as continuing north or just coming back to ABQ and trying again in the morning. The GTN and GDL both showed the same severe intensity along our flight path east of SAF with no areas of deviations possible at our legal altitude. ABQ Center confirmed the moderate to extreme precipitation multiple times along our route, and I can take a hint.

I advised ATC that Plan B was now in effect, which meant we would head north on V83 to Alamosa, and then east on V210 and V10 to our revised destination of Dodge City, providing we could find a nice gap between the Rockies and storms…talk about a rock and a hard place. We could have had a more direct route over the Sangre De Cristo Mountains at 17,000 but the oxygen was not available and I was already missing it.

Avoiding Heavy Weather

The onboard weather display showed the new route as promising, and we confirmed that when handed off to Denver Center. The Stormscope proved valuable and allowed us to comfortably navigate around the most intense areas of activity at a well-respected distance, with other alternatives available if necessary.

Another cell was hovering near Dodge City and we did not want to further our already long delay that preceded the flight. Our fuel conserving efforts allowed us to again modify our destination to Hutchinson, Kansas (KHUT). Throttling back the Bravo and running a lower RPM, significantly reduced fuel flow and still allowed us to maintain a respectable speed while increasing our range.

The weather in Hutchinson was great and we were lucky to find one sole around past dinner time—a local flight instructor. He was kind enough to offer us the courtesy car for the evening.

A storm passed through our route to Cedar Rapids the next day in the early morning hours before our departure and we beat out the second storm by launching at 0900.

This last IFR leg to Oshkosh started out IMC within a few minutes of our Cedar Rapids departure. I will say that the AP paid for itself on this leg. Michelle worked hard and loved it. Having two pilots was a huge safety factor in this scenario, Michelle did the hard work, and I simply managed the planning, navigation and steward duties.

We monitored the weather in and around Oshkosh and it looked as though we could just make it before the next cell moved in.

We had actually filed to Madison Wisconsin, but 20 miles south we advised Approach that our goal was to press on to Oshkosh and that we would like them to take us IFR as far north as possible—they had no problem with the request.

We were then vectored in and out of IMC for the next 30 minutes until we cleared the clouds at a lower altitude. Once in the clear, we cancelled IFR and went direct to RIPON for the VFR arrival to KOSH. We landed on 36R (a taxiway at other times during the year) with very little taxiing thanks to the FBO sign in the windscreen and that made this portion of our trip come to an end just 45 minutes ahead of the next cell.

The Return Trip

I like to fly my cross-countries IFR and departing Oshkosh was no exception. We read and understood the NOTAM. An e-STMP (Special Traffic Management Program) account is required and the NOTAM provides a link to this.

Once I had my account, I simply logged on and chose our departure airport, date and time. I received a registration number to be noted in the remarks section of the flight plan.

The departure procedure for our route was direct to the Dell Vortac; we then received our clearance “as filed” that would take us to the Kansas City Downtown (KMKC) airport. We took off on a VFR day using the eyeballs for separation services for incoming VFR traffic.

Weather became a factor as we got closer to Kansas City. The NEXRAD and GDL showed a nice horseshoe pattern with much less intensity—nicely timed for our arrival. We asked Center for the lowest altitude they could give us that was 4000 feet; down from 10,000 feet. This allowed us to observe the heavy shafts of rain around us and to keep our distance.

The Stormscope et al. provides great situational awareness, but it’s nice to keep an actual eye on things when you can. ATC advised that our current route was the preferred one for all the deviations they had that morning and that solidified our decisions. A few light-to-moderate rain showers were encountered for about 15 minutes and then blue skies prevailed.

Appreciating The Apps

Another nice feature of the Garmin Pilot app is that you can have it on two devices. I used it on my phone to file and plan our next leg to Amarillo, as my tablet is Wi-Fi only. This is very convenient and it is nice to get that confirmation e-mail stating that your flight plan has been filed and accepted. More than a few times when I call to get a clearance, I discover there is no flight plan on file.

The flight to Amarillo consisted of a few non-threatening cumulous clouds along the way and Michelle was still working tirelessly.

Once we departed AMA, we were in and out of the most beautiful clouds I have ever experienced. The autopilot moved us left and right all the way back to ABQ just so she could hit her favorite formation along the way.

The trip was one of my best flying experiences. I was in good company with a competent pilot and together we made informed decisions. We left with the plan that “we never had to be anywhere” and it worked.

The onboard equipment was invaluable to our decision making and really provided some great situational awareness, which really does help calm the nerves in some of the more stressful situations.

Garmin provides some great tools for flying and I am excited to see what additional creativity comes out of them with the competition in hot pursuit.

TJ Spitzmiller is a CFI, avid IFR enthusiast, and the wayward son of the IFR Refresher editor.

This article originally appeared in the December 2014 issue of IFR Refresher magazine.

Read More from IFR Refresher, and learn how you can receive a FREE BOOK!

LEAVE A REPLY