Big Pistons Forever wrote:Anybody who still doesn't get a kick out of cloud surfing is dead inside, and it is why god invented block altitude clearances.
But seriously much as I find this guy pretty aggravating to listen to, the video isn't a bad depiction of a real world A to B flight. Tune out the over top "OMG isn't this IFR thing so cool" hype and you get to see the real time enroute wx analysis/route planning/fuel monitoring, decision making that is normal in line flying but hardly ever covered in IFR training.
I still find cloud surfing cool.
Upon reflection flight chops is more valuable -- and less dangerous -- than mr aviation because it's profiling someone experiencing things at the novice level, and describing the learning that comes out of that, at the novice level. Maybe corny to a lot of us, but to someone brand new I'll bet it isn't.
That's a whole lot better than messing with (potentially) convective IMC at night in a basic 172 and promoting that as no big deal, whether experienced or not (and he isn't, which is the point)
I just returned from a trip where I had to deal with significant (unforcast) convective activity and significant deviations, in a 182 with stormscope and nexrad, during the day, and I was visual most of the time. Even with all that, I was thankful for the extremely professional controller who proactively backed up my picture and plan with his primary radar, and gave vectors before even being asked. Nice -- and not always the case.
That stuff isn't for ones first IFR flight, and at night -- no thanks.
