I arrived at the airport at 10:20 A.M. this morning. The weather looked excellent for the solo cross country I have been trying to complete for the last three months. After learning that my instructor would be going on a charter flight this afternoon, I waited 30 mins for a second instructor to sign me off.
To fill the time, I called 1-800-WX-Brief. Unfortunately, the briefer informed me that an IFR Airmet that covered the southern half of Wisconsin threatened my flight. The second instructor decided to call the flight off, a decision that I reluctantly agreed with. A quick review of the TAFs confirmed the decision; there's no way the ceiling would lift by the time of my flight.
After learning my solo cross country would be cancelled again, I decided to do some patterns. I went to check out the plane, only to learn my solo endorsement had expired. A new endorsement, and away I went.
Although what happened today is not all that exciting, I did learn a few things.
1) Flying, like anything else, takes a lot of patience.
2) When it comes to the weather, it's better to be "safe than sorry."
In the end, the ceilings at ENW and JVL lifted by 1:00 P.M. They could have easily stayed at 1,000 feet, and I would have had to turn back or face an unsafe and illegal situation. As frustrating as it is to continually call off flights, I'd rather be safe than sorry.
Safe flying.
