Short Final

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • An ATC controller in Flint, Michigan, humorously asked a departing pilot to report if they saw "a big bright light" (implying the sun) once they climbed above the clouds.
  • This request underscored a prolonged period of overcast skies and rain that the Midwest had experienced during that summer.
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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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