Manchester Barton (EGCB) to Shoreham (EGKA)

26 August 2001

Departed 10:15 Zulu
Arrived 11:55 Zulu
Total Time: 1hr 40min
Click for full-size image Sunday 26 August, cloud base at Manchester was overcast at 3000', with a reasonable forecast for the first part of the journey, but a chance of low viz for the latter part, so I decided to file IFR. Climbing out of Barton I punched through the cloud at 5000' to a glorious morning, with a slight north westerly to help me on my way. By the time I reached Birmingham, I was back in very bumpy cloud, and it looked too thick to climb through. The best plan was to descend below the cloud base as the rest of my journey was over pretty low ground.


I finaly caught sight of the ground at 600', but the visibility was marginal, to say the least, and well below VFR minima. About 80nm from Shoreham the heavens opened again, reducing visibility to less than 1nm. I considered looking for an alternate, but decided to press on.

About 8nm out of Shoreham I entered a severe thunderstorm, with poor little Mike Lima getting bounced around like a cork in the ocean. The wind was now roughly South-easterly, putting the asphalt runway at Shoreham over the crosswind limits for the Piper, so it was soggy grass again on runway 13 - also the shortest.

I was very relieved when I shut down the engine and opened my first beer! Next time I get caught in weather like that I will certainly look for an alternate.

Click for full-size image The Route

  • Barton 
  • Honiley 
  • Woodley 
  • Midhurst
  • Shoreham

Distance: 185.3nm

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