Flying in Circles
This week had me from Chico to Visalia and back, plus a trip out to the north coast, and tomorrow down to San Luis Obispo and back. I ran into some clouds and weather on the coast trip, a condition known to pilots as IMC. This stands for "instrument meteorologic conditions", which means you can't see anything. The plane I fly now makes instrument flying a little too easy. The instrumentation and computers give you incredible "situational awareness" in the clouds. It even tells you the weather report and if other planes are in your vicinity...very cool. I love to pop out below the clouds to see the runway right in front of the airplane, but I must admit that clear conditions make for the best flying.
On the way back from the coast, I looked back into the passenger compartment to see my wife and my two youngest children all fast asleep. If I can land without anyone waking up, I know I've made a good one.