I hope I turn out to be as smart and judicious a pilot as you've proven
yourself to be wtih this situation.

Thanks, Jay.

It's funny how your perspective changes with age. As a student, I was
exposed to extremely high winds with my instructor. (Peak gust: 62 knots!)

I was too stupid to be afraid. In fact, I had a great time on that flight,
and at the time felt that it was one of my best lessons...

Until years later, when I realized what a foolish thing it was to do.
True, the winds had come up abruptly, but we didn't check the weather very
thoroughly before departing, either. I find it hard to believe, in
retrospect, that those extreme winds weren't predicted, and we could easily
have bent metal that day.

Then, after I got my ticket, I flew out of a little, single-strip airport in
Wisconsin. There was ALWAYS a cross-wind, and the runway was just 30 feet
wide, so by necessity I got pretty danged good at nailing it in just about
any kind of wind.

However, after a few excursions into the parallel grass strip (and a few
real scares on pavement), my respect for crosswinds increased. I was still
good at handling them, but -- having lived through a few hundred landings --
I was learning my limitations.

Now, for the past seven years I have flown out of an airport with 3
intersecting, 150-foot wide runways. Needless to say, my cross-wind skills
are not what they were, and -- although I think I'm still pretty danged
good -- I've learned that there are more important things in life than
landing.

Most importantly, however, is the knowledge that I must pay for any repairs!
It's *amazing* how that changes your perspective!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"