We Go West But Not Viral

FBO of Hale County airport, Plainview, TX

If there ever was an understatement for the year 2020, it is "The COVID-19 virus is affecting our lives." Yeah, like staying home almost continuously for weeks and weeks.

So, we decided to do something about it: A flight to visit daughter Ingrid in Albuquerque, NM.

We called the FBO in Plainview, TX to inquire how they handled refueling. Then contacted Albuquerque about refueling and hangar storage. Both answers satisfactory: Masks in use, a promise to keep distance.

But that really isn't good enough. What happens when we enter the FBO building? The air in the building, surfaces in the office, and restrooms?

So we decided to work out a system that eliminates potential virus transmission as much as possible.

The key is: Do not enter the FBO building during refueling. That requires some care.

Fuel Input

As we were about to land in Plainview, we requested refueling with the fuel truck, as opposed to self service.

Sure enough, as soon as we had taxied to the terminal and stopped the engine, a lineman with mask exited the FBO building. We put on the face mask and gloves, opened the canopy, stepped onto the ground, and stayed away from the other person at least 6 ft as recommended.

Refueling went well. Then we handed over the credit card and asked that the lineman go to the FBO building, handle the billing, initial the ticket for me, and then bring out the receipt plus credit card.

This went smoothly without a hitch. Alone again at the plane, we sprayed the gloves with alcohol and then rubbed alcohol onto the credit card. Now everything was guaranteed to be virus-free.

Fluid Output

Whenever we land at an airport, the first trip is to the restroom for needed relief. This was out of the question. So we had a large bottle that we used at the halfway point of the Dallas-to-Plainview leg and a second time just before landing in Plainview. 

The bottle was quite full, but we were not concerned. We had a second bottle in the plane to guarantee sufficient capacity, no matter how many breakfast fluids would work their way to the exit tank.

We emptied the bottle on the grass next to the storage tanks. Thus we were back to two empty bottles. Then we cranked up the engine, taxied out to the runway, and took off.

But there was more to that trip.

Another Weather Lesson

When Chesley B. Sullenberger set an Airbus A320 down on the Hudson River in 2009, thus performing the "Miracle on the Hudson," there was much discussion why he and his crew were able to do this so smoothly, carrying out the most successful ditching in aviation history.

The simple answer was: preparation, preparation, preparation. The pilot must always be ready when things go south. 

But that is a trivial explanation that doesn't really capture why captain Chesley Sullenberger and copilot Jeffrey Skiles were able to perform this feat. So when Skiles later talked in an interview about the event, I paid particular attention. There was something to be learned here, for sure.  

Of course most of Skiles' remarks did not apply to flying a small plane with small Rotax engine. But then Skiles mentioned an unusual aspect that is relevant for anybody flying cross country.

He said that Sullenberger does the following every 30 minutes. He looks at the weather along the remainder of the route, including the weather reported at the destination. This includes verifying that forecasts have not changed for the destination.

When we learned about that, we thought, "Here is something we need to pick up and use."

Since then, every 30 minutes on a cross country flight we do the following. 

First, we pump up the center tank to full again. That takes less than two minutes. 

Next, we traverse the entire panel from left to right. We look at every instrument and piece of equipment. 

For example, we reset the DG, transfer the current altimeter setting from the Garmin Pilot to the altimeter, and check that all equipment is turned on or off as needed, in particular the electric fan for the oil cooler. 

We check the frequencies that we will need next have been entered into the radio. We check and update if needed the direction used by the autopilot. And on and on.

When we are at the end of the checking trip across the panel, we go to the Garmin Pilot on the iPad and follow the entire route from the current position to the destination. We check for each airport along the route the current weather, and for the destination the forecast as well.

Of course, during each 30-minute interval we also scan the panel and correct and adjust as needed, as we have always done. But the 30-minute check looks at everything, regardless how nice the weather and how wonderful everything is.

During the most recent trip to Plainview, the Garmin Pilot displayed the picture below when we were at the halfway point of the Dallas-to-Plainview leg and performed the above scan.

Red and Yellow Blob near Plainview, TX

An amazing sight: There was a red/yellow blob about 12 nm southeast of the airport.

We had never seen such a thing. Yes, we had possibly some rain ahead, as evident from the green areas just ahead of the plane icon, maybe even severe if the green/yellow patches grew into serious weather. But that red/yellow blob was strange, to say the least. 

Then it dawned upon us: The only reasonable explanation was a local, almost focused thunderstorm, with massive rain and intensive lightning.

Now for thunderstorms in Texas there is a simple rule. Stay away at least 10, and preferably 20, miles. The thunderstorm may pitch up hail the size of tennis balls that may be carried downwind and come down from clear sky.

What might this thing do? Might it grow into a large-area thunderstorm region, maybe move directly over the airport while we approached?

Given that we had more than 1.5 hrs to go, there was plenty of time to go to another airport and generally plan for an out no matter how this monster developed. 

First, we looked at the blob up close:

Threatening weather at Plainview, TX

Since the radius of the circle of VORs is 10nm, the diameter of this monster cell was about 8-10nm. 

If it moved away from the airport, we could circumnavigate it. Or if landing in Plainview was not an option, we could go on to Clovis, NM, which was another 70nm beyond Plainview and within our fuel endurance. 

On the other hand, if it truly started to grow into a monster that couldn't be safely circumnavigated, we always could veer northwest and go to Childress.

The important point was that we knew about the problem and could work out alternative before we were anywhere near Plainview. 

And that's where Sullenberger's strategy really pays off: Potential problems show up early and allow planning for evasive action before the actual problems surface.

In this case, we checked the monster cell every 10 min. The first few times, there was no change. But after about 30 min, the cell began to weaken, and by the time we were in the Plainview area, it had totally dissipated.

So what did we learn? It always pays to listen when experienced pilots talk. There often is something new to be learned. And that something new almost always turns out to be useful on some future flight.

That day, it was Sullenberger's rule.

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