Go or No Go: smoky San Carlos

The overall weather for your flight today from Scottsdale, Arizona (SDL), to San Carlos, California (SQL), looks excellent—no fronts, no storms, no ice, hardly any clouds—with one exception. Huge wildfires have covered much of Northern California with smoke. That means widespread IFR conditions near your destination. Can you make the trip?

Go or No Go: another summer day in the Southeast

Another summer afternoon, another radar splattered with red and yellow cells. After many years of flying in the Southeast, you're used to this picture but that doesn't mean you ignore it—thunderstorms are a serious threat for any airplane. The goal today is to fly from Sarasota, Florida, to Atlanta, Georgia, in your Cirrus SR22. Will the weather allow it?

Go or No Go: dodging storms in the Southeast

The mission today is to fly from your home in Louisville, Kentucky, to visit your business in Atlanta, Georgia. With the coronavirus pandemic, you're trying to do it in a day and save the hotel stay. You made it to Atlanta easily with an 8am takeoff, but now the question is whether you can make it home. As you review the weather in the pilot's lounge at PDK, ForeFlight shows some pop-up storms.

Go or No Go: heading to the beach?

After nine weeks in quarantine, your family is ready for a visit to the beach. It might involve more quiet walks and fewer packed restaurants this time around, but in your Piper Saratoga, the beautiful beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama, are only two and a half hours away. Will the weather cooperate?

Go or No Go: low IFR in a Baron

It's a typical late afternoon flight for you, with the mission of returning your boss to his home in Lexington, Kentucky (LEX) after a day in Greensboro, North Carolina (GSO). The trip should take just under two hours in your Beechcraft Baron, which you fly professionally. Take a look at the weather briefing below and tell us if you would make the trip or cancel.

Go or No Go: a windy trip

Today's flight is one you know well, since you've flown this route at least once a month for three years, to visit your aging mother and father. It's just under a two and a half hour flight in your Cessna 172S from Charleston, South Carolina (CHS), to Ocala, Florida (OCF). You don't have an instrument rating, so you'll have to fly this trip VFR. The weather looks reasonably good, but there are a few cells on the radar and the wind is blowing. Read the weather forecast below and tell us if you would make the flight or cancel.

Go or No Go: California convection?

It's a perfect day for general aviation: your trip from San Diego (MYF) to Oxnard (OXR), California, should take just under an hour in your Cirrus SR22, which is a huge improvement over the typical 4-5 hour drive. The weather isn't great today, but at first glance it doesn't look impossible. Read the weather reports below and tell us if you would fly the trip or cancel.

Go or No Go: VFR ahead of the front

Traveling by VFR airplane means staying flexible, especially in the winter months. That's why you're at the airport today: with a huge line of rain headed for the southeastern United States, you've cut short your visit to Savannah, Georgia, to see if you can get home to Tallahassee, Florida. Is there a safe way to make this flight?

A personal Go or No Go scenario – grade my decision

I was trying to fly home to Cincinnati, Ohio, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the end of 2019, and the weather wasn't great. The screenshots here are the actual ones I was looking at as I sat in the lobby in Pittsburgh, making my go/no-go decision. I'll share the weather briefing, then ask you to add your comment about what you would do. Then, at the end, I'll reveal what my decision was and what my thought process was.

Go or No: staying out of the ice

It's December and you live in Albany, New York, so it's no surprise there's snow in the forecast today, but you're more focused on the aviation weather than the chance of a few inches on the ground. Your plan today is to fly your 1980 Piper Aztec from ALB to BKL in Cleveland, Ohio. Can you make the flight?

Go or No Go: rain over Florida

The question is: can you spend the night in your own bed and fly tomorrow, taking off at 9am EST (1400 UTC) for the PDK to FXE flight? Or do you get in the car and start driving? Your 2015 Cirrus is well equipped with a Garmin glass cockpit, datalink weather, autopilot, and more. You're also experienced and proficient, with over 2,500 hours total time and plenty of recent IFR flying under your belt.

Go or No Go: heading home on Friday afternoon

At the end of a long week of work with a customer in northwest Arkansas, it's time to fly home for a relaxing weekend with the family. The skies are cloudy as you drive to the airport, but the weather looks good overall. Read the weather reports below, then tell us if you would fly this trip.
Route BIL BOI

Go or No Go: IFR over the mountains

Since upgrading to a Cirrus SR22 Turbo a few years ago, you've really started using your instrument rating for serious travel. The airplane is well-equipped with a TKS deice system, Garmin glass cockpit, and built-in oxygen. All of those are useful for your typical flights around Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Oregon. Today is no exception, as the mission calls for a two-hour flight from Billings, Montana (BIL), to Boise, Idaho (BOI).

Go or No Go: home from Michigan?

Summer is coming to an end, which means your annual family vacation to northern Michigan is coming to an end as well. Today is go-home day - if the weather cooperates - so it's time to look at ForeFlight. The goal is to get from Traverse City, Michigan (TVC), to your home in Columbus, Ohio (OSU). Read the weather report below and decide what you would do.

Go or No Go: summertime storms in Mississippi

After a weekend of training in Gulfport, Mississippi, it's time to head home to Memphis, Tennessee, in your Cessna 182. The weather map is cluttered with storms, and it's forecast to stay that way most of the week. Read the details, then tell us if you would make the flight (proposed at 1800Z), which should take just under two hours.

Go or No Go: beating the storms?

It's your regular business trip: Cincinnati, Ohio (I69), to Atlanta, Georgia (PDK) for an overnight visit. It's an easy two hour flight in your Cirrus SR22, and you're familiar with the route, but the weather map is colorful today. As you open ForeFlight just before noon local time, here are the weather maps you see. Read the briefing below and decide whether you would make the flight.

Go or No Go: flying to The Masters

The big week is finally here - you and a longtime friend are flying to see The Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. As is often the case in spring, the radar is colorful. Are there enough holes in the storms to make the flight? Read the weather reports below, then tell us if you would fly the trip or cancel. 

Go or No Go: Rocky Mountain mess

After 20 years of living in Colorado, you know that March weather in the Rockies means anything from blizzards to warm, spring-like days. Unfortunately the weather is closer to the first extreme for your planned trip tonight, a 1:30 flight from your home in Denver (BJC) to Provo, Utah (PVU), to visit your son in college.

Go or No Go: winter warm front

"Messy aviation weather today." That's what the forecaster wrote in the forecast discussion this morning and a look at the TV screen in the FBO at the Elkinds-Randolph County Airport (EKN) confirms that. The radar images shows lots of rain in the area and the forecast is for things to get worse. That's mildly annoying, as you'd really like to get back home, a 1:15 flight to Raleigh, North Carolina.

Go or No Go: how do you define scud running?

After a long Christmas break, it's time to return to your home south of Seattle, Washington. The flight from Ocean Shores Airport (W04) to Pierce County Airport (PLU) is an easy 30-minute flight in your Cirrus SR22 - much better than a two and a half hour drive. But as always, the weather may spoil your plans.