There I was, sliding down from my cruising altitude toward my VFR destination, still 30 or so miles out. It had been a smooth ride, and Otto was following a heading and descending at the selected 400 fpm. I had let the power come up during the descent, along with airspeed. The big Continental in front of me was rumbling along at about 25 squared, still leaned for cruise altitude, and airspeed was well into the indicators yellow arc, Thats when it got bumpy. Too bumpy.
The sunny Florida winter day-not unlike spring elsewhere in North America-was great for warming my bones, but also was heating the air and producing updrafts. Looking outside, there was no real clue as to where the bumps would be-in every direction was clear blue sky. I punched off the autopilot, gently added back pressure to level the nose and pulled off several inches of manifold pressure, letting airspeed drop well below the airplanes published design maneuvering speed, or VA, because I was light. I would be home a few minutes later, thanks to my slower groundspeed, but Id get home. And Id be able to use the airplane again.
