'nuther learnin' experience...

[killbilly]

An internal dialogue, presented by Killbilly Internet Spewage, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Team Billy HQ:

To the pax: "The AWOS is out at the field so we're gonna overfly it to get a look at the windsock, then I'll swing around and enter the pattern, two left turns and we're on the ground, ok?"

...Hmmm. Windsock's showing about 20 degrees off the runway and doesn't look too bad...okay....

(a few minutes later)

...all right...about time to hit that 45 on the downwind...wait a sec...damn...windsock is perpindicular to the runway now...crap...it's swinging all over the place...this is gonna suck...

(a couple more minutes)

yargh....drifting all over the place....only gonna use flaps 20...need the airspeed...okay, there, stabilized now...drifting...better slip it...more rudder...drifting, more wing, more rudder...

...crap. I'm out of rudder...thirty feet to go I can make it...crap...can I? more aileron...jesus! I've got a frakkin' tailwind now!....

(upwind main squeak, then downwind)

...right rudder! right rudder! stay on the damn runway you tool!...

(safely park)

...you dumbass. you got away with it this time. you should have gone around. as soon as you ran out of rudder you should have gone around and set up a better crab. tool. this is how people start JC threads about you.

-----

The return flight to AUS was fine, I even greased it on to 35R without drifting - textbook x-wind landing. But the first landing at T82 was about as ugly as it can be without being a statistic.

While my friend took pics, I watched a few more planes come in. The wind had pretty much finished shifting around to a more southerly direction (we landed on 32) and the rest of the inbounds landed on 14. The sock was swinging all over the place, and it seemed like most of the pilots were struggling with the x-winds.

My passenger told me later that the landing had a high-sphincter-factor for him, which made me feel bad, so I was glad the return landing was smoother for him.

Made me realize I didn't have enough x-wind practice in the 172. You've got a lot more rudder authority in a 152, and I wouldn't have thought twice about it in that plane, which I have way more time in.

Next time, go around. Jeez.

 

[Roger, Roger]

Good job evaluating yourself, your flying, and your decision making. What day was this? Yesterday?

 

[killbilly]

Good job evaluating yourself, your flying, and your decision making. What day was this? Yesterday?

Thanks.

Yeah, yesterday. Took a buddy to T82....

 

[Roger, Roger]

Ah. I had a solo student pilot up yesterday afternoon, up here it was pretty consistently 5-10 knots from the NW. Nice day though.

 

[killbilly]

Ah. I had a solo student pilot up yesterday afternoon, up here it was pretty consistently 5-10 knots from the NW. Nice day though.

It was mostly like that here, too. I don't know why - I'm guessing it's the hills or something, but the winds get kinda swirly out west in the hill country.

 

[Cruise]

A lesson learned--No Damage = Excellent learning experience!

Glad to hear you didn't become a statistic and got real value out of the experience.

 

[falconvalley]

Once you run out of rudder, you're at the whim of mother nature. I'd rather not roll the dice, myself. Please don't do that again!

 

[jtrain609]

Been there, and it sucks.

One time I was teaching crosswind landings to a student and a front starts to blow in. Things were getting squirrely fast so I decided to take the plane from my student and demonstrate proper crosswind technique for the last landing.

So I come into the flare and we're getting blown around pretty good, and I start to notice we're floating...a lot. After we're about halfway down a 7,000' runway, I decide it's better to go around, so off we go. I tell my student about how everybody can get into a bind at times and there's nothing wrong with going around. I check the sock and confirm that in fact, I'm landing in the proper direction.

I decide on the next landing, I'm going to plant it as close to the numbers I can get and just get the plane on the ground. I get into the flare and again, find that we're getting pushed by what feels like a tailwind. The airplane ended up floating, in the flare, a little less than halfway down the runway. I figure "Cool, at least we're down and out of this nasty wind shifting madness," only to realize we're still getting push by that tailwind that had turned around on us again. I've never had a landing roll out that long in my life, and we ended up using all 7,000' to slow down and stop.

To be honest, I've never seen anything like that before or since. There was a headwind where the windsock was, and a tailwind about halfway down the runway. It was as scared as I've been with a student in the plane, and I was the one at the controls.

Moral of the story? If it isn't working and you're short on gas, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. I had four times as much time in 172's as you have total time now and it got over my head quickly. To be honest, we got lucky and it was certainly a learning experience for me, reinforcing those things my instructor taught me when I was a primary; when in doubt, go somewhere else.

 

[HeyEng]

It was mostly like that here, too. I don't know why - I'm guessing it's the hills or something, but the winds get kinda swirly out west in the hill country.

The Hill Country keeps you on your toes! When I did my PPL check, we went out to Kerrville to do the pattern work. Up until my check, the most crosswind I ever messed with was about 10 knots. The winds were pretty stiff that day with gusts to about 30+/- knots. I had flown into ERV several times and ALWAYS went with 12/30 (6000x100) and not 3/21 (3600x60). Well, I did a quick check of the winds and they were in the neighborhood of 190v210 20G30 or so. I didn't pay too much attention since the winds almost come straight N or S here, so I had already painted the picture in my head of a "almost direct headwind" (yeah sure, if I was at my home field that has a runway 17/35!) so I got set up and flew the approach to 12. Well, you know where this is going...I ran out of rudder pretty quick and was kinda stumped for a bit. My airspeed was fine, approach path was fine...just was crabbing like a fool! Well, I got to about 50' and knew I wasn't going to make it, so I went around. As I was 'trying' to correct to centerline, the light FINALLY went off in my head. So, I nervously laughed to the DPE, explained that I had misjudged the winds and would try again, but this time on the much shorter runway 21. That was the smoothest landing I think I have EVER had...to this day!!!

Of course this isn't to steal your thunder Killbilly, but another "there I was" story that won't be published in Flying...(thank God!!!).

Another sporty place is up at Llano. Winds are pretty fun up there too sometimes. It's gotta be the hills!