As a reality check now at EBOT 1500Z I think the trip would have been possible. Thunderstroms moving in from the south of the departure aerodrome. Departing on a north easterly heading the whole flight path seems to be clear. But probably in half an hour the departure will no longer be possible…
If you are talking about a forecast that says FRQ CB I am personally not comfortable flying VFR below them. You may end up in a situation that it is hard to avoid them and flying straight underneath one is simply not a good idea IMHO. As you may imagine, my opinion is formed by an event a few years ago.. Needed full power to keep altitude, and airspeed decaying. Not fun.
I am personally not comfortable flying VFR below them…
Of course you do not fly below them (unless you get paid for it, like me some years ago when we were spraying silver-iodide into CBs to prevent large hailstones from forming). But flying below the altitude of their base means that you are guaranteed to keep them in sight all the time and can avoid them by a wide margin. As far away as possible…
But flying below the altitude of their base means that you are guaranteed to keep them in sight all the time
Which is what I did towards the end of the flight to Muenster yesterday. High or very low you can see them visually. Its the bit in the middle that is the problem.
What Next, of course you would not want to fly beneath them. My point was that in case of FRQ CB you may not easily avoid them, especially if there are terrain considerations coming into play. Don’t know, maybe bad luck, but happened to me..
Sebastian was right: I could execute the planned flight without any problems. When we left, the thunderstorms were coming in from the south. It started to rain during taxi. But since we were heading NE this was not a problem.
VMC all the way to Hamburg. Only some BKN stratus in the approach phase.
I just cancelled a flight I had planned for this afternoon from Stuttgart to Cambridge UK. Too much of this high ranging stuff, I fear I would have to go IMC at one point and then I would be blind for what’s waiting inside. Didn’t help that the weather in Germany for the planned return on Sunday looks pretty bad, too.
Once again proven: utility value of small GA is slim. However, it’s a nice hobby 
