Tips for flying when there might be fog

With the winter flying season largely over with, pilots in some areas will face fog – one of the most dangerous weather phenomena out there due to the fact it can obscure the ground. Hence, a recent post about fog on the Cirrus Owners & Pilots Association (COPA) blog by Cliff Izer, a Master Certified Flight Instructor, is well worth reading.

According to Izer, if you are a VFR only pilot and think there is a chance of fog:

• Do not fly until you are sure take off, en-route, and arrival conditions do not support the development of fog in any form including mountain obscuration. Be sure to check PIREPS before leaving.

For IFR, Izer gave the following advice:

• Ensure that you spend adequate time in your pre-flight planning and weather analysis.
• Get condition updates throughout the flight using on-board information and Flight Watch 122.0.
• Listen to ATC communications with other aircraft.
• When switched to the tower frequency ask where the last aircraft broke out. 
• Practice in a Flight Training Device such as the full motion FTD’s at SimTrain. 

And remember, if there is a chance that your flying plans could be obscured by foggy conditions, you can always choose to not fly until conditions improve.