Up In Upper Michigan

For those unfamiliar, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan boasts generous lengths of shoreline off Lake Superior, scenic byways, and lots of trees. While it can be a winter wonderland during the off-season, its not unusual to have many days of dreary gray skies and fog that wears away the most sanguine spirit. Its the kind of weather that gets us burning through a whole morning figuring out how to get out, around and back without getting stuck who-knows-where. Welcome to the UP.

Elaine Kauh

Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The pilot faced challenging weather at the departure airport, necessitating comprehensive analysis of current and forecast conditions for all legs of the multi-stop flight, including en-route icing risks.
Extensive planning involved identifying multiple alternate airports for destinations and, crucially, establishing a takeoff alternate (Escanaba) to ensure a safe diversion option immediately after departure due to the poor initial weather.
Despite initial "red flags" and the need to depart below standard minimums, thorough weather assessment, careful planning, and robust risk mitigation strategies (such as the takeoff alternate) led to the decision to proceed with the flight.

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For those unfamiliar, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan boasts generous lengths of shoreline off Lake Superior, scenic byways, and lots of trees. While it can be a winter wonderland during the off-season, it’s not unusual to have many days of dreary gray skies and fog that wears away the most sanguine spirit. It’s the kind of weather that gets us burning through a whole morning figuring out how to get out, around and back without getting stuck who-knows-where. Welcome to the UP.

All In the Timing

Today’s flight plan starts from home base at Sawyer, Michigan (KSAW) with a quick turn at Iron Mountain, Michigan (KIMT) to pick up a passenger and take her to Appleton, Wisconsin. This flight is a short one, just 43 NM for the first leg down V341 to KIMT, then 95 NM (under an hour in your glass-pack piston) to go from there direct to KATW. Since it would take twice as long to drive from Iron Mountain to Appleton, flying is the first choice.