Crosswinds from Hell

Wow. I'm kinda surprised that you guys are this blasé' about it. I really thought these were pretty extreme for the pilots, given the perspective of the camera and wind conditions, but I guess it's really just another day at the office for you? Obviously I don't fly for a living. :)

Color me impressed.
 
killbilly said:
Wow. I'm kinda surprised that you guys are this blasé' about it. I really thought these were pretty extreme for the pilots, given the perspective of the camera and wind conditions, but I guess it's really just another day at the office for you? Obviously I don't fly for a living. :)

Color me impressed.
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Some of them were maybe on the upper limits of what I'd consider prudent, but you most of them look like they're ~20-30kts of crosswind. In a place like ORD, you'll get winds of that magnitude pretty frequently, and you don't get your choice of runways until it gets windier than that. The end result is plenty of gusty crosswind experience, especially if you're slumming a regional schedule with 4-6 short legs to airports with likely similar wind conditions. It's more amusing in a place like LAX where crosswinds are really rare--but when they're occurring (Santa Ana's) it's *really* blowing.
 
killbilly said:
Wow. I'm kinda surprised that you guys are this blasé' about it. I really thought these were pretty extreme for the pilots, given the perspective of the camera and wind conditions, but I guess it's really just another day at the office for you? Obviously I don't fly for a living. :)

Color me impressed.
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Best crosswinds that I've been in where upwards of 30-35 knots landing at Andrews. Doing the approach and start of the flare with the runway out the right windscreen makes it look interesting... But, with a steady approach and the right de-crab and flare, they really aren't that crazy.

Definitely more impressive to watch the C-17 that landed after us. His approach setup had his nose pointed like he was going to land on us over in our parking spot. I think the camera angle from the ground has a lot to do with the "impressiveness" of these videos.

As a low-time pilot, this is just my opinion. But, our pilots handle these things fairly regularly without much hoopla.
 
There has been a lot of wind in NW Europe this winter. The idiots that built the runway at Birmingham decided to orient it 90° to the prevailing winds (which when they blow, blow) too so it's always fairly interesting in a crosswind.

I had one day where the weather was atrocious and our nearest legal alternate (for crosswind) was about 300 miles away. One night around London, there was only one airport with the crosswind in limits (Stansted - RWY 22) and everyone else was out of limits as their runways were East/West. Winds averaging 45G60 for about 18 hours - diversions as far as Paris as the likely candidates filled up very quickly indeed.
 
Pilotdude3407 said:
On a serious note, I'm very disappointed in how little crosswind correction you see guys doing. It's a wonder half those planes don't have the gear ripped off. Very poor pilots out there.

On a positive note, I'm glad to see some people exercising good judgement and going around. Never hurts to try again. Better than to have your plane being picked up in pieces.
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With most of the larger planes the landing gear is designed to take a side load. Now would it be nice to kick the rudder before touchdown? I would think so.
 
MercFE said:
Best crosswinds that I've been in where upwards of 30-35 knots landing at Andrews. Doing the approach and start of the flare with the runway out the right windscreen makes it look interesting... But, with a steady approach and the right de-crab and flare, they really aren't that crazy.

Definitely more impressive to watch the C-17 that landed after us. His approach setup had his nose pointed like he was going to land on us over in our parking spot. I think the camera angle from the ground has a lot to do with the "impressiveness" of these videos.

As a low-time pilot, this is just my opinion. But, our pilots handle these things fairly regularly without much hoopla.
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Love the Globemaster. We have a number of them flying around So. Ca. and always enjoy seeing them, especially in climb. Such a beast. Watched a rerun on the Smithsonian channel Mighty Planes series following a crew on a three day mission recently. Terrific stuff.

 
A Life Aloft said:
Love the Globemaster. We have a number of them flying around So. Ca. and always enjoy seeing them, especially in climb. Such a beast. Watched a rerun on the Smithsonian channel Mighty Planes series following a crew on a three day mission recently. Terrific stuff.
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Yeah, it's pretty neat when we're on alert out at Travis AFB. With the new assault strip there, watching them do touch and go's on a 3,500 ft runway is pretty impressive for a plane that size.
 
I rather enjoyed my crosswind landings. At the time, it was pucker face and butt clinching but after it was done, a day later I wanted to do it again. It keeps things interesting and changes what might normally seem redundant.
 
killbilly said:
Wow. I'm kinda surprised that you guys are this blasé' about it. I really thought these were pretty extreme for the pilots, given the perspective of the camera and wind conditions, but I guess it's really just another day at the office for you? Obviously I don't fly for a living. :)

Color me impressed.
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No doubt those guys were working hard, but the angle of the camera along with the distortion of the telephoto lens makes everything look that much more amplified.

I don't know... I've landed in some high crosswinds and while it is fun and challenging, at the end of it all you're either within your parameters of controllability or you're not and you try again or just go someplace else. No real point in getting emotional about it. In many ways, it just makes the job more interesting by breaking up the monotony of landing into the wind all the time. ;)
 
amorris311 said:
With most of the larger planes the landing gear is designed to take a side load. Now would it be nice to kick the rudder before touchdown? I would think so.
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Yep. Obviously you want to minimize side-loading, but once you get to a certain size of airplane, planting one wheel first isn't a realistic option anymore.
 
I loved it…it was a challenge. Circle to land to 14 at ACV with winds 200 @ 35 G50? yippie…the circle was the hardest part because the wind would try to blow you into the field…if you could depend on your FO to make the turn that was helpful..if not well there were other ways to get a pointer to the field.
 
Bumblebee said:
I loved it…it was a challenge. Circle to land to 14 at ACV with winds 200 @ 35 G50? yippie…the circle was the hardest part because the wind would try to blow you into the field…if you could depend on your FO to make the turn that was helpful..if not well there were other ways to get a pointer to the field.
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Skywest, AMF, or both? :D
 
Why are all those Airbuses going around????? I remember the pilot is just holding the flight stick......
 
jafra98 said:
Why are all those Airbuses going around????? I remember the pilot is just holding the flight stick......
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Airbii are actually kind of more difficult in a crosswind because your roll amount (and possible roll rate) are computer limited near the ground. The FBW Boeings may be the same but I'm not sure.

EDIT: We don't have a max controllable crosswind limitation for the 717 (demonstrated was 38 knots) but we are limited by the engines to 40 knots direct crosswind. It's the only plane I've seen that airflow to the engines is the limiting factor.
 
amorris311 said:
With most of the larger planes the landing gear is designed to take a side load. Now would it be nice to kick the rudder before touchdown? I would think so.
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What about holding in some aileron during the roll out and takeoff though. That's what I was looking at the whole time. I'm honestly surprised there wasn't any wing tips running along the pavement.
 
mshunter said:
What about holding in some aileron during the roll out and takeoff though. That's what I was looking at the whole time. I'm honestly surprised there wasn't any wing tips running along the pavement.
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I think you'll drag the flaps before the wingtips.
 
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