Our last IFR Clinic left off the night before a multi-leg business trip from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Arkansas, to Texas, and on to Oklahoma. Leg one goes to Nashville, AR (M77), a single-runway, unattended field. You plan to get fuel before going to a meeting at the next stop, the similarly sized Atlanta, TX airport. Then it's off to Ada, OK for a breakfast meeting the next morning before returning home to Shreveport. With southwesterly winds upwards of 35 knots whooshing through the Ark-La-Tex region, you'll be on your toes with turbulent rides, bumpy arrivals and, as you'll find, some external pressures that'll max out the mental workload. It's almost time to depart for Nashville, AR. You've self-briefed and filed, and really the only aspect raising your alertness level is your anticipated circling approach on the leg to Atlanta. There, in gusty winds and no approaches to Runway 23, you'll fly the LNAV 5 procedure and circle to land. An hour before departure, you're at the airport refreshing the standard briefing. There's a low pressure system bringing the rough conditions into play; winds aloft forecasts for cruising at 6000 feet in the region vary from west to southwest at 25 to 45 knots.
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