Keep up that approach speed!

This whole blog started because of this question: "What is your best 'I learned something from that' story?"

The best one I'd have to think about. However, last Thursday (November 20th)...

I was flying my Cirrus SR20 home from SMO with two passengers. At takeoff CRQ weather reported VFR, but 15 minutes out, the field reported 100' overcast with 1/8 mile visibility. As I setup for the ILS and called for clearance, I realized I was almost certainly going missed.

By now, I've probably flown 40 ILS' into CRQ in actual, but the lowest ceiling so far has been about 300'. Per usual in the Carlsbad sector, I was vectored onto final close and high so I had to dive for the GS. Because I was inside of ~3 miles when I intercepted the GS again, I pulled power to slow down and started adding power again to hold about 80kts - which is final approach speed, but not instrument approach speed (100kts). I had never really thought about the difference in the speeds and why they would be relevant.

Anyway, 250' off the ground at DH I could see the approach lights but not the runway and per the rules, I descended another 100'. I still couldn't see the threshold lighting or the runway so I went missed...

... Which is where that missing 20kts airspeed made a difference. It isn't that I couldn't climb at full power, it's just that when I pitched the nose up, I didn't start climbing immediately. Engine had to spool up and I was nose up, 50% flaps and leveling for probably 4-5 seconds before I started climbing. Turns out, that the initial pitch up simply arrested the descent and there wasn't enough energy left for an immediate climb until the engine got to full power. Interesting...

Lessons learned:

• Always fly approach speeds on approach. You might need that energy later.
  
• (reinforced lesson) Never touch those flaps until positive rate is established. I didn't, but in retrospect, with the low'ish airspeed and proximity to ground in descent, pulling the flaps would have compounded the issue costing me another ~80'. Very close to "landing" anyway :)
• Speaking of compounding workload, the components were: close in vector, high with a dive to the GS...
  

I immediately realized the missing airspeed when I wasn't climbing. The biggest lesson is that proficiency really matters. Sometime we screw things up, but comfort with the airplane and all the actual experience I get through my commute made an "interesting" situation just an interesting one. I've thought about it and decided that I'm glad that didn't happen within the first few weeks/months of my instrument ticket and new Cirrus. In the soup, turbulence, light rain, strobes and landing lights flashing and reflecting off the clouds, near gross weight with the knowledge that I was 100' AGL? I wonder if I might have tried to get airspeed with the flaps, etc, etc?

Then again, I probably wouldn't have even attempted that approach knowing that I was almost certainly going to have to go missed and I certainly wouldn't have continued down that last 100' "allowed" by the rules. So I've also realized that the whole point of personal minimums is to avoid (to the extent possible) making value judgments at critical times. This flight (at this time) was within my personal minimums given my proficiency levels and experience.

BTW, after missed, we flew the ILS to MYF and landed without any further excitement :) My passengers thought the flight (and alternate airport) was cool and fun. Me too ;-)