Uncomfortable Situation WINDS

[MATTS875]

Yesterday I had to fly my plane to KEKY which is only about a 25 min flight.Weather was beautiful and sunshine.I departed runway 33 and flew a heading of 050 , being a beautiful day ,I did not get the winds aloft which were 280@30. This was my first turbulant flight and was extremely uncomfortable.When I was in the pattern the wind sock was blowing straight across, so here comes the crosswind landing.It was not pretty, but I was so proud to be on the ground.I used flaps which should have forgone.So from now on ,regardless of how much sunshine is out I will always check the winds aloft.

[rob]

I flew from Charleston, SC to Wichita, KS yesterday in my C, with stops at KRYY and KOLV for lunch and passenger drop off. There wasn't any smooth air to be found below 10,000 and the winds were over 50mph most of the way at 4-6000. The landing at KRYY around 2 PM was especially fun with a little wind shear, a stout variable crosswind and strong gusts over 30 mph.

Most of the small aircraft I heard aloft were Mooney's and Bonanzas. 

The main thing to remember is no matter how strong or what direction the wind is blowing, fly the airplane. Day one of PPL training

[triple8s]

I am taking IFR training at the present and my CFII is a retired ATP who flew F-4's in south east Asia; he has instilled a new habit in me (his student). This new habit is to always listen to the weather or "get" the weather from someplace, write it down along with the time in "ZULU", because in his words......."thats the first thing the FAA is going to ask you".

 

[rob]

Quote: nosky2high

This is why night flights are a good option IMO, as the winds/turbulance usually have died down. I had to fly my kids back to Mississippi from Alabama yesterday, with winds and turbulence in the forcast all day. So we simply waited until after 1800 local and had a nice sunset/evening cross country. As always YMMV.

[MARZ]

Sounds like that was the case around most of the south - we went to Lufkin - luckly I planned high 7500 to get the most from my new windows, smooth ride, but bumpy on the way down.   My luck was that I usually have crosswinds where I land and yesterday they were almost directly down the runway at both ends.

[DrBill]

Yesterday I flew from Okeechobee (OBE) to Charlotte (CLT). Non stop at 9000 ft.  SMOOTH AS SILK with a minimum 30 knot tailwind (up to 50 sometimes).  Not true below me however. I heard ATC talking to MANY planes along the whole route from 4000-7000 asking where the smoother air was. ATC was asking me how it was and I told them however I would guess that many of those asking were going SOUTH and the headwinds for them were not as bad lower.  One pilot (near Columbia SC) asked to talk to me, ATC OK'd, and he asked about the trip north.. He decided to go to 8000 and put up with the headwinds to PBI vs bump along faster. "Looks like I'll be here for a while he ended".

Bill

[Parker_Woodruff]

Just because the winds aloft are strong doesn't mean the flight will be turbulent.

This was a really smooth flight with a 52 knot tailwind, till on the ILS approach it got a bit rough...

[Txbyker]

Wow Parker, you were getting up there in the record territory  http://www.groundspeedrecords.com/database%20light.htm

Something else to think about for wind planning if you are IFR...I was shooting ILS approaches for currency this week and the only local Houston ILS in operation was an approach with a strong tail wind.  I was 120 knots GS crossing the numbers with 90 IAS. Would hate to do that for real.

[John Pleisse]

I was up yesterday KFDK to KGED (MD to DE). Winds aloft at 5 and 6 interpolated were 220 @ 45. It was bump-free exept over the Chesapeake (cooling). Surface winds KGED were 210 21G28KTS. I did the RNAV 22. At 2000 feet on the approach, it was like a jail break. Continuous moderate 2k to SFC.

[Parker_Woodruff]

Quote: txbyker

Wow Parker, you were getting up there in the record territory  http://www.groundspeedrecords.com/database%20light.htm

 

The gear doors for my Encore conversion actually came off an [incomplete] Mooney Acclaim.  I own the only Acclaimed Encore Conversion in the world.  Must be the reason 242 kts comes so easy.

[mooneym20d]

I also flew yesterday. Working on my CFI in my Mooney. I was going to cancel with 33 knot gusts, but thought, what kind of CFI would I be? (maybe a smart one) Anyway, the winds at KTAN were 210 @ 21G33. My options were rwy 30 or 12. Basically a 90 degree crosswind. Fought the plane all the way to taxi speeds. A flawless landing, however. I think I've mastered the plane at this point.

[Jeff_S]

Quote: mooneym20d

A flawless landing, however. I think I've mastered the plane at this point.

[jetdriven]

I feel sorry for those planes stting at Mooney, never having been completed and now being cannibalized.

[bnicolette]

Quote: mooneym20d

 I think I've mastered the plane at this point.

[rbridges]

Quote: Jeff_S

God, I think you just jinxed yourself. I've never heard ANYONE say they feel like they've mastered a plane.

Hope your insurance is paid up!

[healthfx]

I like this post...Especially the underlying message of never being too confident with your plane.  I was on a cross country form Los Angeles to Durango, CO with my family.  We stopped in FLG, AZ to fuel my '62 M20C and to let my little guy stretch.  I was expecting the typical crosswind landing at 00C, and told myself if it was too fast I'd opt for the larger runway 5 miles East.  30 min out I listened to ATIS, a bit nervous, like awating a sentencing.  29 knots, directly across. Shit.  My fearless 10 yo daughter was up front, my 5 yo son and wife in back.  I took the GPS off my yoke for full control and danced on the peddles like an athlete stretches before the big game...Not typical, my wife asked what I was doing..."Crosswinds," I replied curtly.  Once in the pattern, it got really bumpy on base leg.  I set up to come in high to avoid downdrafts.  On final I pumped in full flaps so I could set down nice and slow on my Mooney legs (standar procedure)...I was all over the place at that point, but hoped it would smooth out in ground effect. If not, I was ready to go full power, gear up as quickly as possible and reminded myself nose down for airspeed, not nose up for altitude (full load and high attitude don't mix)...Almost down I flaired but gust pushed me over the grass...Plan B...The jolt of power instinctlively forced my wife to yell, "what happened."  Daughter calmly said, "we are doing a go-around, papa was off the runway..."  Bigger runway was sounding nice...But I wanted to see how the plane handled on downwind and base leg with no flaps...Once there, the plane settled in much better...on final, I felt the remarkable aerodynamics of Mooney fist hand.  I was sticking my crab into the wind like velcro at the higher speed and sharper configuration, which showed I didnt need the larger space.  Straightened out and nailed it.  Wife wanted to marry me all over again...Still though, I was out of my comfort zone/safe minimums...My instructor taught me that such conditions are a game of statistics and that exceptions never make rules.  So still today, for me, its all about my glide slope and handling on final, not about whether I've done it before...I think if he had not taught me that, I may have had a skewed sense of reality.  I'm sure glad I wasnt in a Cessna.

[Skywarrior]

Quote: healthfx

...We stopped in FLG, AZ to fuel my '62 M20C and to let my little guy stretch.

[Ned Gravel]

Quote: healthfx

...But I wanted to see how the plane handled on downwind and base leg with no flaps...Once there, the plane settled in much better...on final, I felt the remarkable aerodynamics of Mooney fist hand.  I was sticking my crab into the wind like velcro at the higher speed and sharper configuration, which showed I didnt need the larger space.  Straightened out and nailed it.  Wife wanted to marry me all over again...Still though, I was out of my comfort zone/safe minimums...My instructor taught me that such conditions are a game of statistics and that exceptions never make rules.  So still today, for me, its all about my glide slope and handling on final, not about whether I've done it before...I think if he had not taught me that, I may have had a skewed sense of reality.  I'm sure glad I wasnt in a Cessna.

[nels]

Are the winds particularly bad this year?? In particular, I've been through Kansas twice this year, the last time moving my daughter and her husband to Denver. Since I just bought a Mooney and now getting reaquainted with flying, I notice winds on the ground a lot more. I also know that, hopefully, my wife and I will be flying from from Cinci to Denver a lot. This will require a fuel stop in kansas. Does the wind ever slow down in that state??????? It was sometimes hard to keep our van on I70 much less a Mooney on a landing strip!!

[MARZ]

Quote: Skywarrior

Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?

[Piloto]

Using no flaps in gusty conditions is the way to go. But to get better visbility on final use full flaps and then raise them during the flare. Beware that flying in moderate or severe turbulence for prolonged time can accelerate wear on mechanical gyros. Whenever in turbulent conditions slow the plane to less than 120kts to make the ride more comfortable for your passengers and the gyros.

José

[Jerry 5TJ]

Quote: nels

Are the winds particularly bad this year?? In particular, I've been through Kansas twice this year, the last time moving my daughter and her husband to Denver. Since I just bought a Mooney and now getting reaquainted with flying, I notice winds on the ground a lot more. I also know that, hopefully, my wife and I will be flying from from Cinci to Denver a lot. This will require a fuel stop in kansas. Does the wind ever slow down in that state??????? It was sometimes hard to keep our van on I70 much less a Mooney on a landing strip!!

[nels]

Quote: jerry-N5911Q

I've heard out in West Texas the airport ATIS reports winds like that as "light and variable, gusts to 40."  

[PTK]

Was anyone up flying in the NE today? Very very windy in NJ today. Returning home to land late afternoon surface winds were 280 at 18 G 28!! I was debating on t/o flaps or no flaps. On final I decided on no flaps which worked really well to plant her down on 26!

[Hank]

Yeah, the whole weekend was windy. Landed at GSP last Friday since my destination has no AWOS and a 30' runway width. At GSP, Runway 22, 280@9G18 made me a little long. Coming home on Sunday, landing over the trees on 26 with winds reported as 320@10G20, but I saw the windsock swing from 30º left to 60º right and vary from half to straight out to limp and back to half, all in less than one minute. Not a fun time, increasing turbulence from 8500 all the way to the asphalt. It's been at least that high since, often reported as gusting into the mid-to-high 20's; today's TAF is 15G25 or higher all day.