Marqtholomew

This evening I rented 3555L with the intention of flying over a solid layer of clouds for the first time, and my sweetie accompanied me. Flying over a layer of clouds under visual flight rules is called “VFR Over the Top”, and it’s perfectly legal for a private pilot in the U.S., although in some countries (e.g. Canada) you need a rating for it. We stayed local to mitigate the risk of getting lost, and we always kept a “hole” in sight in case we needed to find a way back to the ground in a hurry. Over Hillsboro at takeoff the clouds were broken (5/8ths to 7/8ths sky coverage) at 4,900 feet above ground level, but we could see a solid overcast layer over the coastal range. We climbed to 9,500 feet and flew back and forth across the area between Southeast Portland and McMinville, then descended to 8,500 over the coastal mountains to witness a gorgeous sunset.

We initiated our descent south of Haag Lake, called Hillsboro Tower when we were over Forest Grove, and landed smoothly on Runway 30 with a perfectly-aligned 10 knot wind. It was definitely an amazing experience flying above the clouds, and I think we had the perfect weather for it, too!