Hi Guys,

  We had another enjoyable and slightly different Fly-In with respect to
weather. This time to Camarillo (CMA) on Sun, July 23rd. Nine people in five
planes made this Fly-In.

  Flying out of Gillespie airport were Jeff & Elayna Cary & Jerry Jackson in
a C-172, and Robert Werve & Tom Cline in a C-337. From Brown Field came
Dennis Cullum in his RV3, and flying out of Montgomery was Bob Polich in a
Bonanza V-Tail followed by Jim Newport & Tony Tex in a 337.

  Weather wise, it was a little different than other Fly-Ins. The FSS
weather guessers initially said that along the coast from San Diego over LAX
to Camarillo was "good to go" with no significant weather. You know, like
Oohhh Yaaaa Baby, CAVU, severe clear. That was the weather report between
0700-0800. Most of us departed VFR around 0830 with that great weather
report.

  At Montgomery, before depart in a C-177RG, Chris Maier made a last minute
call for a weather update around 0830. He cancelled because of weather, and
we found out why while we were en route.

  Andy Silver in his Comanche had to turn back with engine problems and Mike
Gretton followed him back to Gillespie in his Lancair.

  About 15 miles southwest of John Wayne Airport (SNA), Jim and me could see
a wide, dark column of clouds reaching down to the ground, with lightning
strikes, just east of Seal Beach (SLI) and SNA which was moving westward
toward our route. This is the nasty weather Chris got on his last minute
update, but we didn't on the previous report. Seeing this, we considered
doing a one-eighty back home, but figured the thunderstorm was moving slow
and  would cross behind us, and it did.) Jerry Jackson & Jeff Cary were
behind us and decided to divert westward to Catalina for breakfast, until
they found out the airport was closed due to a fire. By then we were past
SNA and SLI with the thunderstorm 15-20 miles at our 5 o'clock and we told
Jerry & Jeff it was clear ahead. They turned back on course behind us, over
LAX and to Camarillo with no problem. Little did we know there were more
thunderstorms forming east and behind the one we saw.

  Nine people in five planes met at CMA for breakfast and we had a great
time with the usual chatter about aviation and lots of camaraderie. We
talked about the August Fly-In and decided to cancel it because four people
in three of the planes, including yours truly, would be going to the
Abbotsford Air Show in Canada. So there will be no Aug Fly-In and decided
our next Fly-In will be in Sept, unless you want to join us for the Canadian
Air Show in mid-Aug. We didn't pick a destination for the Sep Fly-In. There
wasn't a camera bug in the group this time, so no pics on the website.

  Anyway, after our breakfast chatter at CMA we decided to head back home.
That is until we checked weather. As we clustered around the computer
terminal, we saw the nasty stuff we seen earlier east of SNA. It was now a
line of thunderstorms stretching from Catalina to Palm Springs and closed
down SNA and Hawthorne airport near LAX.

  We probably could have squeezed between them, but most of us decided to be
"old and not bold". Fortunately Dennis Cullum left 10-15 minutes earlier and
got through a wide gap with no problem. The stuff was moving pretty fast. So
we waited at CMA for an hour for a wide gap to open again along the coast
between the thunderstorms. The time went by quickly as some pilots went back
to the restaurant, some to the War Planes Museum and others continued the
aviation chatter outside the FBO, with occasional checks on the movement of
the thunderstorms. In a little over an hour the weather went CAVU over LAX
and all the way down the coast to San Diego and we were flying back through
some light chop and light drizzle at CMA that last only a few minutes before
it became CAVU.

  It was a fun Fly-In with a some unusual chatter about "go" or "no-go"
decisions while watching the thunderstorms march westward on the local FBOs
computer terminal.

  Remember, we did not pick a destination for the Sept 27th Fly-In, so send
me some recommendations.

 Best of clear skies and tailwinds,

Tony Tex