The first attempt for my MEP / IR check flight was yesterday. I looked at the forecasts the days before and saw them degrade slowly. Two days before the flight, everything was looking fine. Almost no pressure difference over all fo Germany and no clouds. The day before, the first relevant 36 hours TAF for Frankfurt came out and incdluded 3′000 feet ceilings and showers of rain. The ceilings could be a problem because the first flight will be VFR to the airport where we have to meet with the examiner and some hills there have tops in the high 3′000 feet range. I filed an extra IFR joining flight plan, to go there, just in case… The TAF also included 30% of probability of having thunderstorms. Said differently, there was 70% chances NOT to have tunderstorms… stay optimistic.

Few hours later the significant weather chart for the time of the checkflight was published. A small zone was depicted from north-eastern France to central Germany, almost centered on the planned flight. Light turbulence up to FL140. Not good. Moderate icing up to FL140. Even wrose. This chart had no informaton below FL100, so there was still hope. After all, my flight was planned at 5′000 feet. I tried to remain optimistic and headed to my bed for a good rest. I had to wake-up early next morning as the first take-off was planned at 8am.

I slept like before any exam – as good as I could. The alarm did ring at 6.15am and I immediately noticed the sound of rain. Oops. But rain does not means no flying, at least IFR. And I had the joining flight plan. By the time I got upstairs and started my computer, the rain had stopped. The sky was definitely very cloudy with a solid overcast but ceilings seemed to be quite high, possibly in the 4′000 to 5′000 feet range. It was looking dark at some places. Not good. The low-level significant weather chart was now available. The turbulence and icing zone was still here, over the flight area. The reason for icing and turbulence was exactly the one I was afraid of. The typical light IFR flight killer: ISOL EMBED CB.

Flying in a thunderstorm is not something to do. When they are visible, it’s quite easy to circumnavigate them. But when they are embedded in a cloud layer there is only one possibility to detect them: a weather radar. The DA42 is not equipped with it and the stormscope is not a viable alternative. Moreover the planned flight is relatively short. A thunderstorm on one of the airports would make the other one unusable as well, not to mention one on the way. The new long TAF was calling for thunderstorms all day long.

I headed to the flight school under heavy rain and dark skies. My secret hope that the forcasts could be wrong was quickly dissipating. It would be a no-go. As frustrating and painful as this situation was, it had the benefit of being clear. Not one of these 50 / 50 situations in which some pilots would go and other won’t. The discussion with my instructor was short. He was on the phone with the examiner and it was obvious that the three of us had the same idea.

The next date is not defined yet but I hope it will be during the next days, even if the forecasts are not exactly brilliant. Stay tuned for more info later on.