Get the heck out of Dodge

After a long, dreary day of thunder and rain in Minden, LA, we really hoped the Sunday evening forecast was correct, because we'd be able to leave town. We decided to get up an hour before sunrise (6 AM) to give us enough time to get breakfast, check the weather, and go to the airport early.

Well, we should've slept in. The storm left so much moisture, the ceilings (height of the cloud bottoms above ground) was less than 1000 feet for hundreds miles, probably due to the 2+" of rain dumped everywhere by the strom. We prepared the Phoenix anyway, expecting the ground and air to dry off some by early afternoon. 

About 12:30, that's what happened. We took off, heading for Gainesville, TX. It was low but not slow for the first 120 miles, with ceilings generally between 1800' and 2200" AGL (= "above ground level"). Gradually, conditions improved to 3000' AGL.

Two hours later, near Gainesville, our electronic map was showing a strong storm, or line of storms, moving to the southeast between us and Tucumcari, NM, our goal for the day. The storm is depicted in the middle of screen using colors: green = light rain, yellow = heavy rain, red = severe condiltions, with strong winds and likely hail.

At first, we considered landing short of the storm, waiting an hour or so for it to pass, then conitnuing, but it was too late in the day for that tactic. Soon, using the radar images (from ground based radar, radioed up to our instruments) we discovered a gap in the storm line. 

We changed course about 40 degrees, headng southwest. Now the problem was finding a suitable airport on west side of the strom that did not have the strong winds following fairly closely behind the storm.  "Suitable" means, in this case, low forecast winds, at least two runways should the forecast be wrong and the winds are strong (so we can choose one aligned with the wind), fuel, and a "courtesy car", so we can get to a motel. We had at least two hours more fuel than we needed, so a good outcome was not in dcoubt.

Sweetwater, TX, met all that criteria, though we investigated about ten airports ahead of us before settling on it. Four hours after leaving Minden, LA, we landed in calm winds. We filled the tanks, put the Phoenix in a hangar for the night, then took the courtesy car (a loaner from the airport operator) to a motel. Dinner was at a Texas barbeque restaurant with excellent brisket, ribs, and sausage.

That's Russ Owens on the left, my copilot and mentor, and the airport operator on the right.