Justin’s Pilot Reports (PIREP)

I headed off to the airport this morning with a forecast that called for some scattered clouds and light winds. I’d filed an IFR flight plan for a quick hop from San Antonio Intl Airport to Stinson Municipal Airport where I planned to do some pattern work. I’d also planned to do the VOR 32 Approach to Stinson and hopefully get some “credit” with some actual IFR time during the approach.

Mother Nature had other plans about the weather…

Once aloft, I noticed an isolated shower off to my left. After doing the VOR 32 approach at Stinson and making my first landing there, I was advised by the tower controller that there were moderate rainshowers in the Downtown San Antonio area and more approaching the airport from the South.

I asked and received an IFR clearance from the helpful tower controller and decided to head back to San Antonio immediately since I wasn’t comfortable with the deteriorating weather conditions.

Aloft, I climbed to 4,000 feet and received radar vectors to set me up for the ILS landing on San Antonio’s Runway 12 Right. Periodically I encountered light rain on the windshield but generally had a smooth ride.

Watch a video of an enroute portion of the flight

I was a little troubled to hear the approach controller mention that they were experiencing “moderate rainshowers” at the airport. Once I captured the localizer I had only tracked the glideslope for just a few minutes when the controller cancelled my approach and vectored me into a “box” to let faster moving traffic get ahead of me.

I wasn’t thrilled about the thought of staying aloft for more minutes than I had to. Fortunately, the ride was still smooth and I was being vectored around the heavier showers.

Once I recaptured the localizer and began the ILS approach, I emerged from the clouds and the visibility allowed me to see the runways.

The wet runways! As I made my final approach I was determined to land at the slower speed possible and made a mental note to keep my feet away from the brakes. The landing was one of my best and it was a proud moment to turn the slick runway into a non-event.

I was thrilled to put my IFR training to good use. My IFR skills made the flight uneventful, relaxing and a good exercise of my flying skills. I can only imagine how stressed out I would have been if I was VFR only and presented with such a rapid weather change!

It was also nice to be in a familiar airplane that I’ve spent many hours in. Skyhawk 810SA - a 2003 Cessna 172SP - has been very good to me and today marked yet another occasion where she got me through some inclement weather and got a nice bath out of the deal!