Ceiling Clearance Turbulence 
Plane and Pilot
AUGUST 6, 2024
The route is simple, GPS direct, but…there’s my personal 1,000-foot en route ceiling requirement, and those silly Smoky Mountains. Also, from when I lived out West, there was the mountaintop clearance guideline—1,000 feet for every 10 knots of wind, with 30 knots meaning no-go. The two considerations are turbulence and headwinds.
Plane and Pilot
SEPTEMBER 1, 2024
The conditions were a mile of visibility and about 500 feet of ragged ceiling, barely enough to maintain orientation by landmarks passing below. A low ceiling absolutely ends a planned flight, though visibility may be the legal determining factor in some situations. If on radar vectors, the controller may have another option for you.
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Air Facts
APRIL 29, 2024
KCPC was reporting IFR conditions with a 700’ ceiling and one mile visibility. I queried ATC about when to expect the approach clearance and was informed that the Saratoga had appeared to land but the pilot hadn’t contacted ATC to close his IFR flight plan. Tuning in the AWOS, I heard an unpleasant surprise.
Plane and Pilot
SEPTEMBER 1, 2024
The conditions were a mile of visibility and about 500 feet of ragged ceiling, barely enough to maintain orientation by landmarks passing below. A low ceiling absolutely ends a planned flight, though visibility may be the legal determining factor in some situations. If on radar vectors, the controller may have another option for you.
Photographic Logbook
JULY 11, 2024
Moments after climbing through the ceiling over Beverly, MA. We made an IFR departure that morning on runway 16 and climbed above the ceiling in short order. But I accepted the clearance knowing that I could change it with a local Approach control like Syracuse. This was even better than I requested.
Air Facts
FEBRUARY 10, 2025
“The instrument conditions, likely turbulence, and increased workload imposed by beginning the approach phase of the flight presented a situation that was conducive to the development of spatial disorientation and a loss of situational awareness. Communicate sounds self-explanatory, and it mostly is.
Plane and Pilot
OCTOBER 2, 2024
No flying in winds exceeding 10 knots, no chance of obscuring precipitation, no use of runways shorter than 5,000 feet, no risk of encountering darkness or lowering ceilings. is a common question, when the wind, ceiling, visibility, turbulence, or even temperature are obviously not conducive to routine flying.
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