Don\'t try this at home
I am a CFI in Alaska. Had an interesting experience today, thought I would share. I fly at Merrill field in downtown Anchorage, which is a stones throw from Elmendorf Air Force base. Cheney was in town this afternoon, which led to a TFR around the base. Due to our close proximity, it limited landings to runway 33, takeoffs on 15. Although I knew about the TFR, I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to land on our normal 06/24.
Long story short, I returned from a x-c with a student, and was cleared to land rwy 33, with winds out of 160 @ 16, gusting to 19. I had 2600 feet of available runway, and was in a 172. I had never before encountered so much direct tailwind on landing, and wasn't 100 percent sure of the best way to approach it or if I even should. I decided to proceed and carry an extra 5-10 knots of airspeed, with 20 degrees of flaps. Initially I figured I would do a go-around if it wasn't looking good, but on short final it occurred to me that I could violate the TFR if I didn't turn immediately upon executing the go.
I continued with the landing, even though we were cooking across the threshold at 70 KIAS. (I dont' even want to think about our groundspeed). I hovered above the runway for a good 1200 before touchdown. I basically had to wrestle the mains down to the pavement, at which point I exectued max breaking technique. We pretty much used all the available runway, but made an otherwise safe landing.
I would not attempt this landing again. In retrospect, I should have diverted to an alternate, and waited for the TFR to expire. It was a bad judgement call on my part. Once I realized my go-around attempt might violate the TFR, I should have aborted the landing. I tried to turn it into a learning experience for my student, I know it was for me.
My question is, has anyone experienced something similar, and is there a recommended technique for landing with a significant tailwind? I just used my knowledge of LLWS for my approach. Thanks for reading...
I am a CFI in Alaska. Had an interesting experience today, thought I would share. I fly at Merrill field in downtown Anchorage, which is a stones throw from Elmendorf Air Force base. Cheney was in town this afternoon, which led to a TFR around the base. Due to our close proximity, it limited landings to runway 33, takeoffs on 15. Although I knew about the TFR, I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to land on our normal 06/24.
Long story short, I returned from a x-c with a student, and was cleared to land rwy 33, with winds out of 160 @ 16, gusting to 19. I had 2600 feet of available runway, and was in a 172. I had never before encountered so much direct tailwind on landing, and wasn't 100 percent sure of the best way to approach it or if I even should. I decided to proceed and carry an extra 5-10 knots of airspeed, with 20 degrees of flaps. Initially I figured I would do a go-around if it wasn't looking good, but on short final it occurred to me that I could violate the TFR if I didn't turn immediately upon executing the go.
I continued with the landing, even though we were cooking across the threshold at 70 KIAS. (I dont' even want to think about our groundspeed). I hovered above the runway for a good 1200 before touchdown. I basically had to wrestle the mains down to the pavement, at which point I exectued max breaking technique. We pretty much used all the available runway, but made an otherwise safe landing.
I would not attempt this landing again. In retrospect, I should have diverted to an alternate, and waited for the TFR to expire. It was a bad judgement call on my part. Once I realized my go-around attempt might violate the TFR, I should have aborted the landing. I tried to turn it into a learning experience for my student, I know it was for me.
My question is, has anyone experienced something similar, and is there a recommended technique for landing with a significant tailwind? I just used my knowledge of LLWS for my approach. Thanks for reading...
