Tahoe IFR Cross Country

I really wanted to fly to Tahoe once I got my instrument rating but have always been worried about the terrain and oxygen requirements at high altitude.  After my March 3rd experience, I decided NEVER to take weather for granted again.  So, instead of flying to Tahoe wondering if I would hit weather or altitude restrictions, I decided to be prepared.  I purchased a $650.00 4-person 22 cubic foot (M) oxygen system for the plane.  You can find more about the unit I purchased here.

The Trip

• Departure
  • I filed a flight plan from Livermore to South Lake Tahoe.  After receiving a standard weather briefing I was told it was VFR all the way but had noticed a lot of low clouds in the valley that day on my way to the airport.  I decided to go IFR all the way.
  • I received my clearance and proceeded to Lake Tahoe using an ATC amended flight plan. 
  • All the way to Tahoe I was in the base of the clouds.  I couldn't see horizontally, but I could see the ground - barely - but it was there.  I used my GPS and VOR's to navigate the flight plan.
  • I played around with my new oxygen system to get used to it.  Pretty easy to use system!
  • Once near Tahoe, I requested the GPS approach to runway 18.  I was cleared for that approach and let Roger (my autopilot) fly the plane down until I was near the airport.  I was in IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) on the approach until about 3 miles from the airport.  Pretty cool.

  
  Finally spotted the mountains near Tahoe
  
  
  Tahoe was beautiful once I got down from some of the Muck
   

  • I landed with no problems and had lunch.

  
  Nice little airport

   

• Return Trip
  • After lunch I filed my IFR flight plan after getting a standard weather briefing which told me that most of the trip would be VFR.
  • I wasn't sure the best way to depart the airport since when I looked at the published departure procedures, I noticed they required a pretty hefty ascension rate.  I called the Tahoe tower to ask them what they suggested:
    • 'We suggest that you depart runway 18, turn left down wind, proceed over the lake, gain altitude and open your IFR flight plan in flight'. 
    • I was a little concerned with the cloud layer that had moved in, but they assured me the clouds were at 11,000 feet.  Sounded good.
  • I departed runway 18, turned left downwind, and began to climb.  To my surprise, at 9,000 feet, I hit the cloud base (or was it fog?).  Ouch!  VFR violation!  I immediately descended below the clouds and contacted ATC.  I asked for my IFR flight plan to be opened but the response wasn't what I expected.  ATC wanted me to climb to 13,500 before they could clear me for IFR back to Livermore.  Clouds were everywhere!  I notified them of this but they told me that they could not clear me until I was on their radar. 
  • I began circling.  My first thought was to land back at Tahoe and either request a clearance on the ground and attempt one of the departure procedures, or stay the night.  The plane is new and has a fabulous climb rate, so I'm sure it would have been no problem. 
  • After circle #2 over the lake however, I noticed a hole had opened up in the clouds to the west of the airport.  The hold looked like it was about 13,000 feet up, so I notified ATC of my intentions and began climbing.  I immediately donned my oxygen mask (actually, a nose unit) and pushed full-throttle.  I easily got to 13,500 and was immediately contacted by ATC.
  • ATC cleared me direct to Manteca (ECA), then to Tracy intersection, then to Livermore.  They requested that I ascend to 14,000 feet Exciting!
  • After reaching 14,000 feet I realized I was going to be in IMC in just moments.  I hit the wall of clouds who's tops were no more than 400 feet above me and began flying instruments.  I let Roger (the autopilot) fly the plane while I kept track of my position and the other instruments.  Planes behave differently at that altitude and I noticed I had to modify the way I was leaning the fuel to the engine.  After a couple of try's I got it right and was getting great performance at 14,000 feet.

  
  A wall of clouds coming towards me at 14,000 feet MSL
  
  
  This is what is meant by IMC
   

  • I then checked the air temperature -7 degrees Celsius!  I began watching the wings and wing struts to check for frost or ice.  I noticed frost/ice building up on the sides of the windshield and a very thin layer of frost on the wings.  After about 30 minutes I noticed very light rime icing on the wings and called it in.  ATC likes it when you report weather conditions of this sort.  During this portion of the flight I stayed very focused on the performance of the plane and my altitude but saw no change in the way the plane was flying.

  
  This is after I got out of the clouds but Ice had
  formed on the windshield a little. 
  I could have used a windshield wiper!
   

  • Then, an hour after I had entered the clouds, and right after passing the highest clouds I broke out to see the blue sky and a layer under me about 2,000 feet.  Since the plane was performing well and I had oxygen, I just decided to stay at 14,000 feet.
  • I was then vectored towards Tracy intersection and asked to descend to 8,000 feet.  I had to go through that second layer of clouds but they were probably no thicker than 800 feet or so.

  
  After descending out of the clouds -
  their still right above me though!
   

  • I did a simulated ILS approach (actually, the sun was so bright I couldn't spot the airport until I got down to $3,000 feet and 6 miles from the airport) and landed.

What could I have done differently?

• Flown a published departure from Tahoe after getting my IFR clearance on the ground.  You have to be careful here though, you have to make sure the plane can climb at the rate the departure procedure specifies.
• Flown further north on the lake looking for lower terrain to fly under the clouds VFR.  The problem here is that you really know the terrain well before attempting something like this.

Lesson(s) Learned?

• Don't Trust the Weather!
• Don't assume the standard weather briefing is 100% accurate
• Don't assume the tower knows everything about the weather
• Don't underestimate the value of being prepared for every contingency

Moral of the story: don't take the weather for granted and be prepared.  $650.00 may sound like a lot of money (you can buy less expensive versions of the oxygen system I purchased ex: 1-person for $395.00, 2-person for $470.00), but when you need it and you have it, talk about calming one's nerves!

This page was last modified on 12/03/2006