We had an uneventful flight down to Kissimmee just a week prior, using a borrowed KX-155 with glideslope to replace my NAV#2. My radio had a failed display that had been repaired twice already, but the repairs didn't take (it's been fixed now and is good to go).

I was planning to fly down to meet the owner of a nice Seneca III last night to discuss my purchasing time for the use of his airplane. At the same time, I am shopping for a Twin Comanche and considering the sale of my Warrior II. Friday nights flight was cancelled due to the owners schedule, so we will try again this morning. I haven't used the airplane since returning from Florida, and there is a total of 12 gallons onboard. There is alot on my mind. See if you can find the links in the chain.

I've done this flight a million times (33N-GED-33N). Climbing through 1000' on heading 220, I see that its hazy, but the visibility greater than 6 nm for sure. I had checked the weather an hour ago, and it was clear in Georgetown. Not so now, there is a red flag showing on the XM NEXRAD, meaning I may need an IFR clearance to get through a thin layer. I did NOT read the METAR, as I had seen these conditions before and KNEW what to expect.

I tune in GED weather on the NAV#2 to get the weather real-time and make sure NAV#2 was working. It is MOST DEFINITELY BROKEN. I am aggravated and angry, but the weather is VFR and I expect to get into GED with no problems. Should be easy on one NAV/COMM.

Contacting Dover, I asked for and was granted an IFR clearance direct BOYSE for the GPS22 approach. Briefing the approach, I saw that I could descend to 360' if an LPV was indicated. Arriving over Boyse, I see that the top of the overcast affecting GED was only 800'. I'm surprised, since I expected it to be 2000' and expected to breakout at 800'.

Capturing the glideslope, I leave the autopilot on, but disconnect the altitude hold. The aircraft was trimmed perfectly, and I experimented with fine adjustments on the power to follow the glideslope. I got damn good at it, and by the time I entered IMC, was able to anticipate very fine adjustments and ride the rails on down. I got pretty wrapped up in doing this easy approach, and realized I was still on autopilot passing through 460'. I realized here I was behind the airplane and should have been manual by this time, with a warmed up scan and clear understanding of the missed approach.

I arrive at 360' and here is where it got dangerous. I should have gone missed immediately, as we are trained to do on a precision approach. I had expected to break out and see the runway, so I was somewhat shocked that the usual breakout hadn't occurred. WTF!! I was behind the airplane now. I had captured my Decision Altitude just in time, was thinking like I was on a non-precision approach and looking to the GPS for the distance to the MAP; drifting up to one dot right on the localizer and starting a correction back; looking out the window and wondering why I can't see a freaking thing. Seconds go by and its just not clicking.

I finally caught up to the airplane and felt a lightning bolt to my chest. Full power and CLIMB!!!   In seconds I broke out of the overcast; called Dover; and took an IFR clearance right back to 33N. I would like to have repeated that approach a dozen times to practice, but I had only enough fuel to get back.

I was complacent to the easy approach; had multiple expectations that did not come true; became aggravated and distracted with airplane maintenance issues; and blended precision and non-precision approach procedures because I was not paying attention.

The next morning I flew the very same flight again in VFR conditions. I repeated the instrument indications to see where my mistakes physically took me, and to think about the mistakes I'd made. My flight was tight enough that I was not in danger, but I might not have been as lucky at other airports and other approaches.

Whan you are flying; FLY. Leave the rest at home.