Taking off in the face of an approaching Hurricane

I can't believe what I just saw!
I was outside looking east at the old ATA hanger that was
battered by Hurricane Charley, when suddenly I heard the
sound of an airplane accelerating.
Then a few seconds later I saw a Cessna (182 or larger)
attempting to climbout.
This plane was rocking, yawing pitching and everything else in
between just to stay aloft.
I was really worried that I was just about to witness a disaster
in the making.
Why this guy waited till 11:25am to leave this area is beyond me.
The ASOS at the field is on because the tower has been
evacuated ever since the winds climbed over 20kts.
The ASOS at the time that this guy lifted off was
reporting winds at 31kts with gusts up to 47kts.

I will probably never know who that was, but if your
the guy and your reading this..... Your Nuts!

Dave (KORL)


Don't be such a wuss.

"Murphy" wrote in message ...
Don't be such a wuss.

Well you know what they say...
There's old pilots and there's bold pilots....
But there's no old bold pilots.

....0p

The guy called you wuss, and the best you could come up was a old worn
flying cliche?

"CFLav8r" wrote in message
om...
"Murphy" wrote in message ...
Don't be such a wuss.

Well you know what they say...
There's old pilots and there's bold pilots....
But there's no old bold pilots.

...0p

Brad Z wrote:

The guy called you wuss, and the best you could come up was a old worn
flying cliche?

You are so right. Rather than let that troll go, he should have just
come out swinging and not stopped until there was no heartbeat, just
like those college bar days.

That would have made you happy, no?

--
Peter

"Peter R." wrote in message
...
Brad Z wrote:

The guy called you wuss, and the best you could come up was a old worn
flying cliche?

You are so right. Rather than let that troll go, he should have just
come out swinging and not stopped until there was no heartbeat, just
like those college bar days.

That would have made you happy, no?

That's just usenet tradition.

Paul

Depends on whether the winds were straight down the runway or not. What was
the crosswind component? Once you are in the air, the wind makes no
difference at all except for your groundspeed.

Perhaps he did not leave earlier because it took him that long to get to the
airport. He might have had to come in from out of state.

In article ,
"C J Campbell" wrote:

Depends on whether the winds were straight down the runway or not. What was
the crosswind component? Once you are in the air, the wind makes no
difference at all except for your groundspeed.

Perhaps he did not leave earlier because it took him that long to get to the
airport. He might have had to come in from out of state.



This morning, several of us, who normally "gaggle" to breakfast, met and
discussed flying in this condition. We are about 40 miles from ORL; the
wind was straight down the runway. As long as the air is relatively
smooth, there is no problem, as long as you take care taxiing
(especially in a high wing).

Maybe once you're a couple of grand up (at least), but near the ground,
unless you live on a planet as smooth as a cueball, it's gonna be bumpy, to
say the least.

mike regish

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...

Once you are in the air, the wind makes no
difference at all except for your groundspeed.

A C-182 is not a C-172, it feels heavier and is heavier, so it is more
stable and a little more resistant to x-Wind.
"Gust" means nothing other than wind changes direction up to 30deg. of given
Wind in ATIS, METAR or TAF.
If the wind is not very much off the Rwy. heading, you just have to wait for
the right moment. The C-182 has enough Power "once airborne" to handle these
winds. But it also depends on the pilot and his skills.
I am not saying any pilot should go out and take the risk, but if a pilot
has expirience with x-wind and knows what he is doing and knows his
aircraft, why not!
Everyone else should stick with his personal minimums, as learned once
during his training.

A C-172 would be in my eyes a no go!!!
A C-182 I would eventually do it! (Saw the pictures after Charly)
A Piper Seminol--Sure!
Don't forget this is my personal opinion!

a CFII, MEI

"CFLav8r" wrote in message
om...
I can't believe what I just saw!
I was outside looking east at the old ATA hanger that was
battered by Hurricane Charley, when suddenly I heard the
sound of an airplane accelerating.
Then a few seconds later I saw a Cessna (182 or larger)
attempting to climbout.
This plane was rocking, yawing pitching and everything else in
between just to stay aloft.
I was really worried that I was just about to witness a disaster
in the making.
Why this guy waited till 11:25am to leave this area is beyond me.
The ASOS at the field is on because the tower has been
evacuated ever since the winds climbed over 20kts.
The ASOS at the time that this guy lifted off was
reporting winds at 31kts with gusts up to 47kts.

I will probably never know who that was, but if your
the guy and your reading this..... Your Nuts!

Dave (KORL)