Flight to Las Vegas Pirep -- Part I

"Jim Burns" wrote in message ...

snip
as we approached Liberal, KS where a regional
jet was shooting an ILS35 circle to land 21 due to blowing dust into a 45G51
knot wind. We began looking for a more suitable airport with runways more
aligned with the wind and hopefully lower surface winds than Liberal was
experiencing. Best port in the storm turned out to be Dalhart, TX. Beyond
Dalhart is Tucumcari (sp?) and not much else. I was not going to push our
fuel constraints passed Dalhart. We had an alternative route planned that
would take us further south towards Tucson and thus avoid some of the high
winds, however that route required a fuel stop in Liberal, KS, Dalhart, TX,
or Borger, TX. All airports have 17/35 & 3/21. Dalhart turned out to be
the best combination of lowest wind and runway length. Winds were said to
be 230@38G46, but in actuality they were more like from 260.

Without a doubt we could have stayed in Hutchinson, KS. With everyone
feeling better, the conditions at Hutchinson being better than forecast, and
the forecast showing acceptable VFR conditions, we chose to continue.

Jim

Jim,

What day did you and Jay come through here? You flew within 90 miles of my home base, KWWR if you were at
Liberal. I think I was in Houston visiting relatives but if you'd have let me know I would have made sure you guys
were taken care of and had a place to stay if you'd have diverted here. WWR has a 5/23 runway which would have been
better for winds out of 260 & 17/35 is 100 ft wide.

Listen you guys, this ain't a butt chewing but I want you to know that the conditions you experienced are not at
all uncommon in this area. The area around Gage VOR has a reputation as the beginning of tornado alley. Look at
this: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/19470409/

Some really huge thunderstorms will begin rolling through here within the next few weeks if the drought breaks.
The distinction with our winds is often not necessarily their strength but also "the intense sharpness and high
frequency of the gusts". I've seen gust fronts with straight line winds that exceeded 100 mph and they moved cars in
the parking lots. When we say winds are 30 gusting to 45 we mean they can change that much in just a second or two
and then be right back where they were. And they can keep it up for hours or days on end. Just please be careful in
this neck of the woods! The cloud pictures you guys posted on Jay's site look all too familiar.

Engage flame suit mode.

As an aside, and hopefully so others will be a little more careful than myself... about a month ago the wife and
I were on a return flight from visiting our daughter at college. There was an oil drilling rig on fire due to a well
blowout about 30 miles north of the airport. We flew up there, avoided a TFR, and took a look. It was after dark
and so it made for a spectacular sight. Shades of Red Adair and all! When I turned for home, the turbulence was
quickly increasing and I had to hold a very high angle crab to maintain runway heading for a long straight in
approach. The AWOS was spewing reports similar to those you encountered at Dalhart. I chose runway 17 due to its
width. The wind was from 200. The ailerons were nearly going stop to stop and I reached over, snugged up the wife's
seat belt, explained the situation and told her to expect a go around. The darkness made for a real challenge
gauging wind drift and flare height while battling for control. The landing light beam was swinging wildly from
clear past the right runway edge one second to off the other side the next. I had just started feeding throttle in
for the go around when the gusts died down to about 30 knots and I was able to touch down with the rudder to the
stops and chop the throttle. I intentionally was trying for the upwind edge of the runway and my plan worked. We
touched down semi straight and nearly on the centerline. In my haste to get the nose wheel planted and get firm
control before the rudder lost effectiveness, I let the nose wheel down early. The plan suddenly wasn't quite as
brilliant. With the nose wheel cocked with the rudder a la' Cherokee, we veered back and forth several times before
I had her tracking straight down the runway. It was the most challenging landing I've ever made in my short 870
hours of piloting. I am still wondering if I did the right thing. I'm not sure if I should be proud of my piloting
skills or ashamed of even trying, it was that close... and I fly here in these winds all the time. The airplane
suffered no damage but I know I was pushing both its and my own capabilities and my wife was a passenger.

p.s. Within a few days of your passing through, about 700,000 acres of the Texas panhandle went up in flames
near your route due to those winds and tinderbox drought conditions. Firefighters from my hometown were among many
on the scene.

Joe Schneider
N8437R



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