IFR to Fresno - First Cross Country IFR Solo

This was a very interesting flight - no pictures - but I learned a lot about IFR flying and what weather can do to you without any warning.

The Trip

  • Departure
    • I filed a flight plan from Livermore to Bakersfield Municipal airport.  After receiving a standard weather briefing and realizing that the weather would be VFR all the way, I still wanted to go IFR to practice my IFR skills
    • Before receiving my clearance, ground notified me that the flight service station had it down that my destination was Bakersfield-Meadows airport (the big one).  They ammended my plan when I informed them that I filed for Bakersfield Municipal - Make sure the FSS knows your correct destination!
    • I received my clearance and departed Livermore via the Livermore-1 departure.  Once at the Altam intersection, I was diverted to intercept the V585 airway.  I changed course accordingly.
    • I was then asked to head direct to the Pinoche (PXN) Vortac.  I complied.  Note:  at 9,000 feet MSL with 2100 RPM, the plane was flying at 109 ground speed at around 4.5 gallons per hour.  I also kept note of the temperature - 3 degrees C.
    • Mist covered the entire Bakersfield Municipal airport and I was not able to get a visual.  I requested a GPS approach (as published) and used the auto pilot to make the approach.  I was finally able to see the airport about 400 feet above minimums and was able to do a landing with no problems.  I closed my IFR flight plan before landing as VFR conditions now existed.

 

  • Return Trip
    • After having a snack and re-fueling, I decided to depart Bakersfield Municipal airport VFR since conditions looked and were reported as being VFR all the way back to Livermore.
    • After lift-off I asked Bakersfield approach for a flight following and was switched off to different ATC's during the flight - normal.
    • About 35 miles south of Ponoche (PXN), I noticed a very large bank of clouds about 4 miles in front of me.  Looking to the east I also noticed that clouds were converging.  My first thought was to reduce my altitude to stay out of the clouds (remember, I was VFR) and even head east away from the mountains and closer to the valley where clouds would probably not be a problem.  One problem though, I noticed that I could no longer see the ground to the east and I had high terrain below me.  I immediately began to circle to ascertain my exact position and contact ATC.  During my circle, I found that clouds had also come in behind me (to the south) - I was now in a clear-of-clouds hole in the clouds with blue sky above me and flying VFR!
    • I immediately contacted ATC and notified them of my situation and requested IFR clearance to Ponoche (PXN) then to Manteca (ECA) then into LIvermore.  ATC asked me to climb to the IFR MEA of 7,000 feet and then to 8,000 while they got my clearance.  I did so in a circular pattern as I didn't want to enter the clouds that were now surrounding me.  At 7,000 feet ATC gave me my clearance which I wrote down and repeated (actually, I don't even remember writing the clearance down on paper, but there it was!).
    • The trip was uneventful after that - my IFR clearance safely took me back to Livermore.  During my flight though I heard 3 other pilots calling ATC requesting IFR clearances for the exact same reason that I had requested it.
    • Weather is unpredictable! 

What could I have done differently?

  • Filed an IFR flight plan before departure.
  • Flown VFR further away from the mountains where weather is more likely to develop than over the central valley

Lesson(s) Learned?

  • Don't Trust the Weather!
  • Filing a flight plan will NEVER cause a problem!
  • Don't underestimate the value of an IFR certification

This page was last modified on 12/03/2006