Does anyone want to take a look at a weather briefing for me and give their recommendation? I'm not planning on taking the trip, but I tend to be on the conservative side and perhaps I'm being overcautious.

 

Where's the weather?

 

Checkride?

 

Good. Be on the conservative side. How much experience do you have? Are you instrument rated/current? How confident do you feel about winds, low ceilings, visibilities etc.? Everyone should have personal minimums. If the weather does not meet your personal minimums, the answer should be an easy no. Are you flying solo or with an instructor? There are way too many variables to consider. Lastly, you are responsible for the safety of flight as PIC.

 

I had one of those experiences just last week Sierra. Sitting in Fort Smith with the rest of the state practically covered by a convective sigmet while there wasn't a cloud in the sky or a hit on the radar in any state surrounding and my OPS is trying to send us to LIttle Rock - right in the middle of it!
I actually tried to print a screen shot of it so I could take it back to work and ask the rest of the office if they thought anything was strange. Sometimes you wonder where the sanity has gone! In the end - all worked out well and Ft. Smith got their ILS sooner than expected

USMCFLYR

 

Oops, left for the evening and didn't see your replies. I didn't go this evening; planning to go in the morning instead weather permitting.

Not a checkride; it's just a flight to visit my parents and go to a dentist appointment (which is tomorrow).

To answer your questions, PearlPilot, I have about 105 hours, am a few weeks from taking my instrument checkride, I do not like low ceilings, and I'm flying solo. I wanted to depart this morning but waited til 2 before the ceilings went up to my liking. Then there was a misunderstanding about scheduling the plane, had to wait til 8pm for it. By that time there was a convective outlook for my destination area, with thunderstorms forecast close to it. I'm always hesitant when there are thunderstorms anywhere near my route; I don't want to be anywhere close to them. Though I have been on dual flights where my instructor is not nearly as concerned as I am.

USMCFLYR, doesn't it seem like when we want/need to go somewhere, the entire country has superb weather except the very place we are headed?

 

I spent a lot of my career up and down the east coast dealing with the spring and summer thunderstorms every afternoon. It is always a challenge. They are respected for a good reason. At 105 hours without an instrument rating I wasn't looking to prove anything either; nor am I now, hence my PICs decision to stop the presses! Plus - the really cool thing is that most of my job has to be done VMC so unless I'm enroute from one job to another I'm not flying in hard IMC that often. You have the right attitude when it comes to weather. Keep making those good decisions and you'll enjoy the trip all the more. Don't worry....if you keep at it, I'm sure you will have plenty of chances to test your mettle in the weather before it is said and done with in the end.

USMCFLYR

 

Thanks for the encouragement

 

The most important thing when it comes to any decision like this is having an out. You can't know exactly what is going to happen so sometimes you're going to take flights with a little bit of uncertainty. Thats usually ok, its how you gain experience. But always ask yourself "what is my out?"... if you can't immediately think of one, its time to put on the brakes.

As far as weather goes, that can be tough. Usually to do it safely you need experience and to get experience you have to do it. I remember flying in stuff when I had 100 hours that I won't now with thousands upon thousands of hours. I used to go on solo night flights and in hard IMC in 30 yearold 172s as a private instrument rated pilot. Perfectly legal. Would I do that now? Absolutely not. Call it a change in attitude that comes with experience... your thought process goes from "Why shouldn't I?" to "Why should I?"

 

It sounds to me like you made the right decision. You pulled the trigger and said no, and that shows a lot of promise for your future in aviation.