You forgot to mention the PC12 that came in 8 minutes after you diverted to FTY.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N539 ... /KSSI/KPDK

And another PC-12 40 minutes after you that did the same thing:

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/CNS3 ... /KSSI/KPDK

With the weather at 200 and ~1 mile, who gets in depends on altimeter accuracy, variations in clouds, and who pushes the limits.

In other words, the airplane was not the deciding factor, the pilot was, so this boasting about PC-12 capabilities is misplaced.

They all diverted on their first miss and you didn't. Says more about you than the plane.

Mike C.

Do you want 10 rowdy noisy passengers? Then by all means, take the PC-12.

If YOU want a personal airplane, then a smaller jet would be ideal, IMO.

As I said, you buy the PC-12 for the cabin.

A Nextant 400 would come close to PC12 cabin for the same range and price per mile (though it isn't technically "new").

Mike C.

You forgot to mention the PC12 that came in 8 minutes after you diverted to FTY.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N539 ... /KSSI/KPDK

And another PC-12 40 minutes after you that did the same thing:

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/CNS3 ... /KSSI/KPDK

With the weather at 200 and ~1 mile, who gets in depends on altimeter accuracy, variations in clouds, and who pushes the limits.

In other words, the airplane was not the deciding factor, the pilot was, so this boasting about PC-12 capabilities is misplaced.

They all diverted on their first miss and you didn't. Says more about you than the plane.

Mike C.

Tim's way ahead on me in jets, but speed control on final can be a challenge. On the KA, reducing speed if a bit fast is no biggie. In the jet, they're just slick and if slam dunked, it can be an issue. Runway length required in the Citation isn't much more than the KA if one is on the numbers. Some jets have a HUD which can lower minimums. On wet runways, TRs are sure nice. Of course, the new VLJs don't have them.
The PC12 sure has it's place. It's not that much slower than a Citation II, uses a lot less fuel and has held it's value very well. One doesn't need a type rating to tool around in it.

I land all the time when others miss. In fact, I have never missed on an approach. Does that make me a bad pilot? If I don't go below minimums until I see the runway or lights and complete the flight safely that is what matters, correct?

I've never gone missed either.

You know Ciholas..... Only well trained MU2 pilots should be allowed to fly. Everyone else should walk.

Weather can change every 5-10 minutes when it's bad. A cloud here or there rolls in and out...
I can't remember how many times guys get it in and I don't or vice versa.. Just to many variables.. Maybe a plane has a HUD. I've seen the runway and the co-pilot didn't - He is looking inside for a split second and I was outside etc.... ... who knows....

I have landed many times at minimums or near, but I rarely even plan a flight if I know it is going to be near minimums when I arrive and no forecast of improvement. Most of the time the forecast is for 700/1 and it ends up being 200 and 1/2. If the forecast is for 200 and 1/4 I simply don't go.

The airport everyone was diverting to is FTY (Fulton County). It can't be 5 miles as a crow flies. Why would the weather be so different there?

Your implication that a PC-12 could get into PDK when jets can't is wrong. Some jets made it, some PC-12s didn't, so plane wasn't the deciding factor.

What prompted the two approach aborts? Looks like it took about 30 minutes to get on the ground once you got to the airport area.


Boasters seek attention so they shouldn't be upset when they get it.

Mike C.

There are many times a KA or PC-12 can get into an airport when a jet cannot. I can drag a KA into an airport at 90 knots buying me a lot of time to see that 3800' strip and even land a little long if I catch it at the last second. In a jet, you fly Ref speed - period. You are moving faster and if you are landing on a runway that is near the minimum there is no room for error. The slower the airplane flies and the quicker you can make it slow down in the air & the ground = easier it is to land IMC at minimums.

HA! So anyone telling a story on BT is "boasting"?

Also, your motivation to look up my tail number and then track my flights is above and beyond creepy. It's stuff like this that will eventually kill BT.

The airport everyone was diverting to is FTY (Fulton County). It can't be 5 miles as a crow flies. Why would the weather be so different there?

A friend with a Twin Comanche always seemed to get in when others didn't.

Later discovered, during static check, his altimeter read 70 ft high (or, he was 70 ft lower then he thought). Caused by a static leak, he was out of tolerance.

That is enough to radically change your ability to get in at 200 ft ceilings.

Goes to show you how a relatively simple fault, basically undetectable in normal operation, can have a major impact on the flight.

Mike C.

I was agreeing.