Short Final

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • During a summer with weeks of rain and overcast skies in the Midwest, a pilot departing Flint, Michigan, received an unusual request from air traffic control.
  • ATC humorously asked the pilot to report if they could see "a big bright light" (the sun) once they climbed above the clouds, highlighting the persistent bad weather.
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Overheard in IFR Magazine's 'On the Air' Section
Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air”

Returning home from the West Coast a few years ago, we landed in Flint, Mich. The Midwest had had weeks of rain and overcast skies that summer, and I got this on departure:

“Bonanza Five Four Seven Zero Victor, when you get on top, would you look out to the southeast and tell me if you see a big bright light?”

Don Sanderson
Bear Creek, Pennsylvania

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