Leg 5: Lumberton Regional (Lumberton NC) to Halifax-Northampton Regional (Halifax NC)
We filed IFR in advance knowing the weather was unstable across the intended route - a good plan as it turned out - 129 nm, 01:20:00 enroute.
Departing Lumberton:
The weather starts to close in almost immediately:
A glimpse of eastern Fayetteville through a break in the cloud base:
We take a couple of doglegs to avoid Military Operating Areas used by both Fayetteville and Seymour-Johnson Airbase - not sure if they’re flying today because it’s pouring over SJ:
Up and down we go, looking for a stable cruise altitude - not too many choices given the size of the storm front:
Raleigh’s getting a soaking:
Sometimes, timing is everything - the front starts to break up about three-quarters of the way down the route:
But we’re still IMC heading down to the approach altitude:
We enter a nice clear patch and arrive neatly at Halifax-Northampton:
