Changing winds gave this solo student a rush today...

[Hobobiker]

Beautiful day to fly in SW PA today, and I had a couple of hours this afternoon so I decided to go up and practice circles around a point, S-Turns, pattern work, etc. Winds forecasted good around the time I started pre-flighting the Archer at 2:00 EST (for runway 28). They seemed to change a lot as I flew however, and it was pretty bumpy at 3500 MSL in the practice area. By the time I was landing I got some interesting x-wind and downwind experience (for me, at least). When I got the weather inbound for landing the wind was from 180, so it didn't really matter if I chose runway 28 or 10, so I chose the "norm" which is 28. I even did a go-round after having the wind blow me long on the base leg. At 17.3 hours going into today's flight and only a little over 2 hours of those being solo time, this was definitely a learning experience.

The historical METARS are below for my flight time today between 2:00 EST and 3:00 EST. I guess things can change pretty quick up there!

KIDI 251935Z AUTO 16009KT 140V230 10SM 27/11 A3007 (Landing)
KIDI 251915Z AUTO 18008KT 10SM 27/12 A3007 RMK AO2 (Practice)
[FONT=Monospace,Courier]KIDI 251855Z AUTO 21005KT 10SM 27/12 A3008 RMK AO2 (Takeoff)[/FONT]
[FONT=Monospace,Courier][/FONT]

 

[dwalt]

Hey, practice is practice right!?

I remember the day I was scheduled to do my long XC, the winds were gusting something like 20-30kts at a 70-degree crosswind or so. I called my CFI and said I'm canceling my XC. He said "that's fine, but come to the airport...we've got some practicing to do." It was great experience early on in my training, albeit I had the comfort of an expert in the right seat in case things went to poo poo.

 

[Hobobiker]

Hey, practice is practice right!?

I remember the day I was scheduled to do my long XC, the winds were gusting something like 20-30kts at a 70-degree crosswind or so. I called my CFI and said I'm canceling my XC. He said "that's fine, but come to the airport...we've got some practicing to do." It was great experience early on in my training, albeit I had the comfort of an expert in the right seat in case things went to poo poo.

It IS different when there's no CFI in the right seat to bail you out. I had FULL right rudder on my slip and still wondered if that was enough. And I'm sure down the road I'll look back on today as trivial. Practice IS Practice though! My CFI's response when I txt'ed him was "Cool! You gotta do it sometime, right?"

 

[ChrisK]

Just curious - what is your instructor's current wind tolerance for you?

 

[Hobobiker]

Just curious - what is your instructor's current wind tolerance for you?

Right about where today's flight ended Chris. In fact, the xwind component was probably higher, but that changed during the flight...

 

[ChrisK]

That's what I figured. Mine was <=10 knots including gusts and avoid direct crosswinds. I remember my first solo XC on my way back my last landing was 10G17. I was pretty scared when the tower gave me the wind and then the landing was a complete nonevent.

Good for you to stretch your boundaries slowly =)

 

[Hobobiker]

That's what I figured. Mine was <=10 knots including gusts and avoid direct crosswinds. I remember my first solo XC on my way back my last landing was 10G17. I was pretty scared when the tower gave me the wind and then the landing was a complete nonevent.

Good for you to stretch your boundaries slowly =)

He and I discussed 10 as the max with a 5kt max xwind. They were higher than that when i landed today but not forecasted as such. I might have puckered up a little during that first try before I aborted to a go-round... Lol

 

[MassPilot]

My first 90 day solo endorsement was 5 knots x-wind limit and the second was 7 knots. Now that I have my ticket I routinely land in 12-13 knot direct x-wind. I actually enjoy it now that I've gotten the hang of it. Landing on one wheel on the centerline without sideloading or squealing tires, then seeing the windsock pegged to one side as I turn of the runway is a pretty satisfying feeling.