Page 119 - Demo

117around the edges still clear. I looked to my left and right, and was alarmed to see that the wing tip fuel tanks had become very large ice lollies, so goodness knows what the engine air intakes looked like!They probably resembled small, ice-filled tubes. Air Traffic interrupted my growing consternation by asking me what my intentions were if I couldn%u2019t land. %u201cOvershoot and go to Greenwood (the diversion airfield)%u201d, I replied confidently, although secretly I was concerned that the engine might not take kindly to me opening the throttle and asking it to suck in more air. At 200 feet, I popped out of the base of the clouds and could just make out the runway approach lights on both sides through the clear portions of the quarter-lights. The windscreen was a mass of brightly coloured ice but, using peripheral visual cues, I managed an ungainly landing, and being on solid ground never felt so good. The runway had been treated, so the surface was fine but, as soon as I turned off it and tried to taxi, I realised how treacherous freezing rain can be.With great care, I manoeuvred the aircraft before shutting down and walking gingerly into the Operations Centre.The dinner party? Oh, that was cancelled because conditions were too bad for driving!1 NATO airbases used a colour coding system to indicate the prevailing meteorological conditions in relation to cloud base and visibility. Starting with the best they were BLUE, WHITE, GREEN, YELLOW, AMBER and RED.