Xmas night washing machine over W. MD

[Shadrach]

Anyone else up over Western MD on Xmas night? I experienced some of the worst windshear I've ever dealt with on a round robin into KCBE around 6:30PM. First time I've ever aborted an approach due to wind. This was the first time in my 13 years of flying that I experienced winds so strong and erratic as to cause rudder flutter in flight. Not only could I feel the pedals shaking, I could hear the nose wheel shaking in the wheel well. It was very frustrating, Uncommanded bank angles of 45 degrees or more on decent. I made a low pass down the runway to see if it was calmer closere to the ground, but even at 300ft it was still way beyond anything I wanted to do at night, with a passenger.  Hope everyone had a Merry one! Stay safe!!!

[PTK]

Didn't fly Xmas day but yesterday was very windy up here. Winds were howling all day in central/southern NJ. Anywhere from 300-360 at around 14 G22. Fun landing on 26!  

[Shadrach]

Quote: allsmiles

Didn't fly Xmas day but yesterday was very windy up here. Winds were howling all day in central/southern NJ. Anywhere from 300-360 at around 14 G22. Fun landing on 26!  

[Seth]

I was not flying over Western MD on the 25th (I did go up yesterday afternoon and it was perfect flying weather) but did experience some moderate turbulance / wind shear near the ground last late April/early May when traveling home from a wedding in Texas.  I picked up a friend in Oklahoma (a little out of the way) but due to a massive storm front I had to fly a U shape curve south and then east to get around the weather.  I littlerally flew back to Dallas and then cut east, then Northeast, and when trying to land for fuel at the Texas - Louisiana border, I must have been too close to the front, at about 2000 feet AGL.  It was not good +/- 300-500 feet pretty quickly, working to keep the wings level, with a little less than an hour of fuel left.  I had been clear of bad weather, in and out of clouds, and found a good altitude up until that point, but when decending on the instruemnt approach, it got bad.  I had decided that if the up and down drafts and turbulence did not settle out by 1000 feet agl on the VOR approach, I would go missed, and head south to calmer weather for fuel (or simply land and if the fuel wasn't 24 hours, wait till morning) - I was simply too close to the front.  It was one of two times I wondered if it this was going to part of an NTSB report and all I had to do was break the chain (pressured by picking up the friend, wanting to get home, taking off later than usual, now night flight instead of afternoon flight, flying in IMC to an unfamiliar airport, fuel running low when chances to refuel earlier were passed, etc . . . ) I broke out of the clouds at about 1000 agl and it became astonishingly calm.  I landed, refuled, and got out of there.  I found out later using the WX download on board that a big red splotch engulfed that field about 20 minutes after we left.  Instead of flying a direct line more or less back to the DC area while hugging the front, I flew to GSO - Greensboro, heading more east than north to get away from the storm front.  It added a little time, but it was much smoother ride.  We just simply stopped there for fuel instead of somewhere on a more direct path.  I admit there was some a lot of get-home-itis going on, and I've learned from it.  The person I picked up in Oklahoma was a CFI.  we took turns flying separate legs, and that was in my M20F that did not have an autopilot (thank goodness for the wing leveler - it helped on that long flight. 

Also, during training for my PPL with all of 25 hours or so around Atlanta, I experienced with an instructor (attractive female instructor - she flies for Delta now) wake turbulence on final from a departing heavy turboprop (I think a dash 8).  We got the warning as was customary, and then BOOM, the wings of the 172 were suddently in a steep bank and we went around. I also experienced wake turbulence over BWI during some night training ILS approaches and once into maybe York or Harrisburgh in PA.  I'd have to check my log books. 

I have not experienced the tap dancing on the rudder peddals nor the shaking of the nose wheel - you made the right move to go around - good decision thought process.

If you expereince any of this once you know to always be ready for it.  If you haven't yet experienced something like that, be ready for it.  Glad you made it out safe Ross - Happy Holidays, and here's to a great 2012.

-Seth

[MARZ]

Quote: Shadrach

[Shadrach]

It would have been a blur anyway. It was still a bit choppy at 3500, but not horrible. November of 2009, I saw in excess of 240kts in smooth air while level at 11'500. I should have gotten that with my camera.

[DaV8or]

Quote: Shadrach

I made a low pass down the runway to see if it was calmer closere to the ground, but even at 300ft it was still way beyond anything I wanted to do at night, with a passenger.

[skyking]

Quote: Shadrach

Anyone else up over Western MD on Xmas night? I experienced some of the worst windshear I've ever dealt with on a round robin into KCBE around 6:30PM. First time I've ever aborted an approach due to wind. This was the first time in my 13 years of flying that I experienced winds so strong and erratic as to cause rudder flutter in flight. Not only could I feel the pedals shaking, I could hear the nose wheel shaking in the wheel well. It was very frustrating, Uncommanded bank angles of 45 degrees or more on decent. I made a low pass down the runway to see if it was calmer closere to the ground, but even at 300ft it was still way beyond anything I wanted to do at night, with a passenger.  Hope everyone had a Merry one! Stay safe!!!

[John Pleisse]

Quote: skyking

This happened to me last winter. Not WS, just horrific turbulence. I was 15 out from CBE on decent out of 8. At around 5, the plane started rocking uncontrollably. I dropped the gear which helped, but we all know that loud rumbling noise with high winds and turbulence thumping through the empty wheel weels. It kind of makes the plane jolt harder. I climbed as steadily as I could in a 15 degree bank 180 southward. I wasn't out of it until almost 7k msl. Never experienced anything like it.

[John Pleisse]

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[John Pleisse]

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