watch those gusty x-winds!

A300Capt

Freight Dawg
x-wind landing attempt
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Holy smokes, what a scene! Can you imagine the pilot in there jockeying the little side stick trying to get that thing on the ground?? Wow.
 
I was starting to wonder when he would go around! This actually doesn't surprise me at all. My parents live in Lisbon, and winds can get really nasty out there.
 
Does this mean that those old fashioned 'stick and rudder' skills really matter in the A320? Seriously, can a pilot use autoland in those conditions? If not, then you really better be sharp! I've heard so much about the level of automation in the A320 but from the looks of this video.....
 
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Seriously, can a pilot use autoland in those conditions? If not, then you really better be sharp! I've heard so much about the level of automation in the A320 but from the looks of this video.....


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The autoland capability has it's x-wind limits somewhere in the 15-20kt range. This video looks as though the wind was greater than that and very gusty and not steady state.

Stick and rudder skills, especially during windy conditions, are just as important in large jets as in small GA aircraft. Some of the same "stick/rudder" techniques I learned piddling around the patch in a C152 I still use flying large jets (crab, kick-out, wing low...scream, curse, pray...go-around!
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(crab, kick-out, wing low...scream, curse, pray...go-around! ).

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In that order?? That's what I've been doing wrong all this time!
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Doh!
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Hey A300Cpt, or any other big metal pilot, do you think that that guy should have even been there at that time? It looked like he was having a real problem with roll control in the glide path at about 200ft, and then it looks like the x-wind picked up becuase his crab angle increased.

Do you guys have company limits on attempting a landing or a low pass? Is the approach speed a little higher? What is the maximum demonstrated x-wind component of the big rigs?


Sweet video! It reminds me of me landing in Idaho Falls the other day.
 
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Hey A300Cpt, or any other big metal pilot, do you think that that guy should have even been there at that time? It looked like he was having a real problem with roll control in the glide path at about 200ft, and then it looks like the x-wind picked up becuase his crab angle increased.

Do you guys have company limits on attempting a landing or a low pass? Is the approach speed a little higher? What is the maximum demonstrated x-wind component of the big rigs?


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Should the guy have been there? We've all been there at one time or another!
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Not knowing the current weather conditions other than what's on the video, it's hard to determine the big picture or should they have been there. Winds can be completely different at 500 or 100 ft versus what's on the ground depending upon the weather phenomenon causing it or the local topography around the airport.

We do have company and aircraft wx limits listed in the AOM and FOM which we are required to follow. Most transport category aircraft have max demonstrated x-wind limits in the 30-35kt range (A300-600=32kts). We'll reduce this for wet/cluttered rwys.

We will also increase our indicated approach speed by as much as 15kts (we used a max of 20kts in the Boeings) to compensate for the wind gusts. I tend to leave the autothrottles engaged while hand flying the approach but keep my hands on the throttles while manually augmenting their movement since they can be a little sluggish during gusty conditions. We also discuss windshear warning and recovery procedures prior to the approach.

If things don't work out you simply hit the TOGA switch, GA and either wait for conditions to improve or go somewhere else.
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Wow, what a terrifying (attempted) landing! I have to say that I'm surprised that went on for as long as it did. It seemed in the first few seconds of the video that the pilot flying was having a very hard time controlling the aircraft. It looks to me as if they should have gone around much much earlier....but they flew it all the way into the flare, almost touching down! What's your opinion A300capt?
 
Now, consarnit. Anybody else having trouble downloading this? Try as I might I can't do it. Both my browser and google said the url didn't exist. I finally figured out how to get on the site itself but still couldn't get it to work- there were some zip files that worked fine but this one just made my computer blink for a second and then pretend nothing happened. I feel left out, I am so alone...
 
my company's autoland wind limits for the a300/310 are about half of the manual control limit. autoland is 30kt head, 10kt tail,and 20 kt cross.....catII/III 10 kt cross...max 10 degree crab below 500 agl. the a/c will safely go-around as low as flare altitude, but you may get a momentary touch down.
we increase approach speed (1.3Vref) by half of theheadwind component and all of the gust component, up to a max of 20 kt additive.....all this assumes both engines operating and the slats and flaps in the landing configuration.
regards to all
 
Speaking of go-arounds, someone told me that an L-1011 will touch down on a G/A initiated at 100' or lower? Can anyone verify this?
 
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Speaking of go-arounds, someone told me that an L-1011 will touch down on a G/A initiated at 100' or lower? Can anyone verify this?

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100'? Probably not. 50' however, there's a possibility. If a GA is initiated on the autopilot down around 50' the aircraft may momentarily touch down but will rotate and successfully execute the GA maneuver.
 
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Albatross - you're not alone. I couldn't open it either.

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Thanks Ready2fly. Now I don't feel so bad. I always hated sitting at the geek table by myself.
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Thanks Ready2fly. Now I don't feel so bad. I always hated sitting at the geek table by myself.

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Dude - I've been here the whole time! Pretty much built the damned thing.
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