I was in between a rock and a hard place yesterday after the race in Llano, TX. They were expecting severe storms with Hail in that part of Texas after the race according to the local TV weather. The forecast for my destination was 1200 ft broken ceiling and good visibility below. I filed IFR and departed with IFR reserves. As I approached the destination airport the ceiling on the ATIS was 500 ft overcast. The lowest approach with my equipment is 748 ft AGL. I advised Razorback Approach that I could not go into FVY because of the ceiling and asked for a change to Rogers ILS. I was told that Rogers and Springdale ILS were out of service and the only thing available was the ILS to runway 35 at XNA. I asked for that approach. The ATIS stated that the ceiling was 300 feet and the visibility was limited. At 300 ft AGL the approach lights came into view and it worked out but it was the last shot. The message here is not that I am a stupid incompetent airman (though probably true) but in the present government budget situation ground based navigation equipment that you may need to survive may not be available, more so than usual, when you need it most. I'm sure the GPS advocates could not care less but for others - an extra measure of caution is not a bad idea.
Bob Axsom
Bob Axsom
Last edited: