Why we don’t fly

I had a plane booking and a willing victim passenger. The sun was shining despite the temperature being a tad on the cool side.

It should have been a great day for flying. Made even better by the fact that I’m legitimately skiving off work to get the flight in.*

I’d started having second thoughts the night before when the TAF was calling for winds of 15 gusting 25 but irritatingly at 240 degrees.

Those winds are strong BUT if they WERE straight down the runway they’d probably be doable to a degree. Challenging but not impossible. Right on the border line.

Already I’m tending towards the NOT side of the decision tree.

Fast forward to the morning

While I’m gathering up the various items you need to fly a plane legally. RTH has pulled up the TAF, “Ermm do you really thing you need to do that he asks”

I inquire as to the latest numbers

Once I hear the 18 gusting 28 at 230, I stop packing up stuff and say “Yep, I guess I’m not going to need to drag this into the office then”

Once at work I phone down to cancel “I don’t fancy playing with those winds” I say. No one questions this in the slightest.

A little later I get a text from a new found flying friend “Good decision to cancel today’s flight, have you seen the GFA?”

Intrigued I take a look.

This is what I see (I’ve added the green arrow for the geographically challenged. This is CYTZ)

For those of you who don’t speak fluent GFA-ese

The following

Is shorthand for “you don’t have enough sick bags on board”

That’s why we don’t fly. 








*Boss wanted to fly with me, suggested a Friday afternoon, who am I to argue?