Ice Sucks

Weather out here can be rough at times. Though most of the flying I do is VFR (Visual), We are still an airline, and like I said before, Im at the mercy of my coustomers. If the weather is crappy, and they want to go...then we go. Besides, all they really want is that all important picture of themselves at the rim to show their friends back home.
Fortunately, the Otter is made to haul weight...meaning it can haul the weight of all the passengers, baggage and ice it picks up along the way. This is about an inch of ice build up, but Ive seen at least twice that amount, and ice can get heavy. Durring the winter the canyon can get blizzards with very low visibility, and durring the summer the whole southwest is a breeding ground for thunderstorms and turbulence. The spring time can see wind speeds up around 50 knots at times (about 55 mph)...the fall is the best time to fly out here. In my time flying here, Ive been struck by lightning 3 times, spent long days in continuous moderate turbulence, and clipped the edge of a microburst, pulling out at 500 feet above the ground. Welcome to the beautiful sunny American Southwest.