On 19 Jan 2007 22:53:33 -0800, wrote:

I was wondering what people view as their limitations in terms of wind.
I'm talking 172 / Warrior territory here.

Clearly this is a personal decision, based on your perceptions of your
own skills, the aircraft you are flying, the specific conditions on the
day (E.g. how gusty, reports of LLWS & turbulence), your risk
tolerance, etc.

But I'm interested in what the various opinions are. How much wind is
too much to fly, for you? And how much crosswind component? Does your
max crosswind component vary with windspeed? And how about how gusty it
is? Clearly if it's more gusty that's a bad thing, but how gusty is too
gusty?

Of course I have my own views on this but I'm wondering what others
think. And by the way the context is that I have decided to cancel my
flight tomorrow (Boston area) due to winds, but I'm still hoping to fly
on Sunday.

I guess as an aside, what are the scariest windy conditions you've ever
flown in? Would you do it again?

Thanks

Tom

I think you made a wise decision for today. I see winds forecast on the
order of 27G44 with 40-50K winds out of the NW at lower altitudes. It
probably would not be a comfortable flying day, although you could check
PIREPS later on for reports of turbulence.

Having said that, I note that there are plenty of airports where the
forecast crosswind component is minimal. For example, at KBOS, for much of
the day, there would be zero crosswind component on runway 29.

At KASH, where I'm currently located, the closest forecast winds are from
KMHT and are 30020G35 -- 30023G44

KASH would be landing R32 so the crosswind component would be 7G15 kts
(approximately). That would be within my capabilities (in my a/c).

Sometimes, s&^*t happens. I recall a flight to New Orleans a number of
years ago. Hurricane forecasts weren't as precise as they are today, and a
storm in the Gulf turned into a hurricane and was heading towards New
Orleans as were we. I landed at Lakefront in 40-50Kt winds. But I had a
Plan B which included the fact that the winds were steady (no gust at all
being reported) and that there was a runway at New Orleans International
that was aligned directly into the wind.

Another technique you can use in heavy wind conditions is to land at an
angle to the runway, especially if the runway is wide. KCEF comes to mind,
but others can be used.

You should consider going up with an instructor in windy conditions, so you
can explore your limits in this area.


--ron