It was a beautiful March day in 1976 in South Texas, and I was excited to be flying my Sweet Adeline women’s barbershop quartet from San Antonio to Amarillo, Texas, for our regional barbershop singing contest. My husband and I owned a 1965 Mooney M20C—yes, with a Johnson bar—and we flew it quite a bit just for pleasure, always alternating as pilot in command. I was really happy that Julie, Carole and Kathy trusted me enough to fly with me. After all, at that time, a woman pilot was a member of a rare breed.
Clouds From Both Sides Now
Key Takeaways:
- A VFR pilot flying her barbershop quartet encountered unexpected Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) when attempting to climb through a "sucker hole" in the clouds, creating a tense and dangerous situation as she was not instrument-rated.
- Despite being scared and technically operating illegally in IMC, the pilot maintained composure and instrument control, eventually aborting the climb after learning the cloud tops were at a significantly higher altitude than anticipated.
- The flight was ultimately canceled and diverted back to San Antonio due to the challenging IMC encounter and a severe weather forecast for the destination, leading the group to switch to a commercial flight.
- The experience served as a crucial lesson for the pilot about the dangers of "sucker holes" and the critical importance of understanding meteorological conditions, especially when flying VFR.
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