B.C. by Mastroianni and Hart for January 11, 2023

From Wikipedia: In aviation, instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) is a flight category that describes weather conditions that require pilots to fly primarily by reference to instruments, and therefore under instrument flight rules (IFR), rather than by outside visual references under visual flight rules (VFR).

For non-pilots: IMC is Instrument Meteorological Conditions – basically flying in fog or clouds, but can be a sandstorm or snow or hail or oobleck (oops – sorry) as well. Bumbling into IMC is almost always fatal within a minute or so; it was the biggest contributor to the Kobe Bryant crash. Now, the technical phrase of the day: (fanfare please) “somatogravic illusion” – up no longer feels like up.

Gocomics — very enlightening.

Nice to see Angry Birds back on GoComics.

He should be requesting radar vectors.

Resist becoming an angry bird.

Dookey must have strong wings and talons to carry John around like that!

Very appropriate for today with all flights grounded and some still in the air. FAA computers down

S.O.B 1981

Squawk 7700.

Some more aviation education this morning.

An aircraft’s transponder is a device that broadcasts a code to air traffic controllers so they can identify one aircraft from another. Unlike Star Trek, The Next Generation, it cannot be used to lower or raise shields.

For some obscure reason that even I do not know, a transponder is known as a parrot in Navy parlance. This nickname made it’s way into the aviation vernacular. Hence the expression, “squawk” instead of “set your transponder code to”

I have been instructed while flying into a Naval Air Station to turn off my transponder, or as the controller said, “strangle your parrot.”

7700 is the code for “I have an emergency.”

It seems reasonable that Dookey can squawk.

I had a pet bird named Dookey a long, long time ago

If an angry bird just flew by you, I’d say you’re in trouble.

Shades of this morning’s FAA alerts.

Thanks for all the flight information, including what the red bird is. I am unfamiliar with the angry bird thing. I learn so much in the comics!

Interesting art in panel 2…

I hope they don’t crash into the snow-covered Andes and resort to cannibalism

We’re under attack, drop biological bombs. Yip yip yip yip yip

10 million years later, those blasted birds still haven’t developed any legs.

Is it angry bird or simply miffed bird? or perhaps mildly aggravated off bird?

The answer is no. If you are in IMC (and if you were, it would be a plain white panel), you cannot have flight following. Flight following is for VFR aircraft – visual flight rules. If you are in IMC, you can’t see anything and need to rely on your instruments. And you need to have an instrument rating to do so.

My uncle owned a ranch in central Wyoming. Uncle liked to point out any light plane crashes in the mountainous terrain. Most were straight down.

Mayday, mayday! Dookey Bird niner-niner is buddy-spiked! Abort! Abort! There’s a turtle aboard, say again, there’s a turtle aboard!

Clearly he’s very lost — he’s blundered into an alternate animation universe!