I Learned About Flying From That: What Now, Richard?

David G. Waller

Friday, June 24, 2011 at 05:56 PM ET

Verified

** To see more of Barry Ross' aviation art, go
to barryrossart.com.** Barry Ross

Key Takeaways:

A pilot on a VFR flight encountered rapidly deteriorating conditions due to unexpected smoke, despite prior clear weather forecasts.
Initially misjudging the extent of the weather, the pilot made the critical decision to turn back to a known airport rather than proceeding into poor visibility.
Attempting to land at an unfamiliar, short private airstrip, the pilot had to adapt his normal landing technique to a short-field approach after two unsuccessful attempts.
The experience underscored the importance of landing at the first suitable opportunity when conditions worsen, rather than hoping for improvement, and adjusting flying technique to non-standard situations.

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(June 2011) For an 80-something-hour pilot, the Sacramento Valley was like a giant flying playpen for me. The foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains border the eastern side while the Coastal Range separates the valley from the Pacific Ocean on the west. The Cascades, including 14,000-foot Mount Shasta, form the northern boundary of the valley.

One weekend in October 1978 a friend and I decided to take a Cessna 150 from the local flying club at the Yuba County Airport (MYV), not far from Marysville, California, for a flight to Redding, California. It’s at the northwest end of the valley and is the last stop before heading into the Cascades. We heard there was a decent restaurant on the field. For two young airmen looking for something to do, we needed no other excuse.