Expanding Personal Limits

^^^ good way to get shot at, messing with a man's cows :fingerwag: :rofl:
 
This here is Texas... and that thar ain't no "cow."
 
yetti said:
Need several tools in your pilot bag of tricks that can be pulled out at the correct time. So go up high put the plane in landing configuration with a cross wind. Dip the upwind wing into the wind with a slip. Feel the steadiness. Now do go lower and find a landable (no powerline) cow pasture with cows or you can use fence posts. Landing configuration with crosswind. dip the wing into the wind lined up on one cow. Now move upwind to another cow. Now downwind to another cow maintaining the slip the whole time. Now go around. See no runway with a cross wind runway needed. Gusty crosswinds need several tricks. Once trying to land in gusty strong crosswinds I set up crab and kick twice. As soon as the kick happened the tail came around. So dipped the upwind wing and landed it.
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So that's why my cows have dried up!

Bob
 
I was stationed at an Air Force pilot training base as a controller and we had a T-38 get shot at because this particular IP was making it a habit of buzzing the man's cows. Rumor was he put a hole in the wing and that the FBI got involved. This was in the pattern but the outside downwind, which was probably 3-4 miles outside of the normal downwind. Training bases have a ton of different patterns.
 
Well you can insert what you need. windmills, Trees, light poles, oil wells, for active targets see if you can keep your slip up with cars on the country road. The story goes that out on the Katy Prairie west of houston which is the practice area, a drug plane did an emergency landing. The lady in the blue house coat on the news said "Oh we really did not think much of it as there are planes down low all the time out here" The DPE would have you feet above the field before he would let you go around.
 
Once you are master of the slip. Now you can pull off a one main landing. (Don't try on icy runway) Hold the slip all the way to the runway keep upwind wing down, do the flare land on upwind wheel. then gently level out. The reverse of this is taking off with wind correction in which you have already done several times.
 
He stopped by this summer. I hadn't seen him in 25 years or so. He said you had just gotten your PPL and was going to buy a Cherokee. I got him flying when he was working in Twin Falls. Fly on up this spring or summer and I can get you comfy with crosswinds. Tell him Don said hi. Don
 
A little experience gained slowly is the best way forward. At 66 hours you should build experience in good weather and get comfortable with the plane. I followed the following guidelines when I was just starting out- if I was familiar with the plane I'd get one check. If I was familiar with the route is get one check. If the winds were below 10 knots of get a check. If the ceilings were above 5,000 I'd get a check. If I could not get 4 out of 5 checks I would not fly! I'd plan my flights around this too. For example, if the winds were stronger is pick an airport I knew well and fly there. If the ceiling was low, I would stay closer. On a real nice day, I'd make sure to expand my horizons a bit and good further or take on a little bit more( like clear and a million but 15 gusting to 22.). It kept me safe and limited the amount of variables I'd have to encounter on any one flight. I don't think one variable pushed a little bit makes it too unsafe. It's when you combine multiple variables and push all of them at once that pilots begin to have a trouble I believe. So I think the OP made a solid choice given that he was not comfortable in the plane and would have a strong(ish) wind. Given my formula I use for myself, I'd probably have made the same choice!
 
yakdriver said:
He stopped by this summer. I hadn't seen him in 25 years or so. He said you had just gotten your PPL and was going to buy a Cherokee. I got him flying when he was working in Twin Falls. Fly on up this spring or summer and I can get you comfy with crosswinds. Tell him Don said hi. Don
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Oh awesome! He told me about you when he went on that motorcycle trip and stopped by the airport up there! I know he said he would like to fly up there sometime. He said you've built quite a few Van's RVs...would love an RV7 or RV9 some day.
 
Come on up and stay a couple of days have access to several cool airplanes to fly. In the mean time fly as much as you can. It all gets easier after a few hours. One thing I strongly suggest is to do a basic aerobatic/tailwheel course. Find a place that uses a Citabria or Decathalon not an Extra or Pitts. That will build you're confidence and give you the good basic skills you will need in you're flying career. Don
 
CC268 said:
So I am a low time private pilot (66 hours). My dad recently bought a Cherokee 140 ... Deer Valley has winds (currently) 360 @ 12 knots. I just feel like since I got my PPL I have been a big puss lol. What do you guys think?
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I think this spring you should grab a CFI when winds are 20G25 (not aligned with the runway) and get high wind practice. That'll eliminate all problems < 20 knots after.

SkyDog58 said:
Seriously. Using cows to steer by sounds like a bunch of bull.
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:confused::eek: These messages are getting udderly ridiculous.
 
yakdriver said:
Come on up and stay a couple of days have access to several cool airplanes to fly. In the mean time fly as much as you can. It all gets easier after a few hours. One thing I strongly suggest is to do a basic aerobatic/tailwheel course. Find a place that uses a Citabria or Decathalon not an Extra or Pitts. That will build you're confidence and give you the good basic skills you will need in you're flying career. Don
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Go do this!!!

(Finding a good tailwheel instructor who has the experience Yakdriver does is NOT always easy, and with access to airplanes too! Go visit him!!!)
 
I'm not an instructor but do a lot of teaching. I enjoy sharing the airplanes I have access to with the owner's blessing. Don
 
What you need is a crosswind and a wide runway. With an instructor and then without...

Do you have any airports with 90 degree runways?
 
coloradobluesky said:
What you need is a crosswind and a wide runway. With an instructor and then without...

Do you have any airports with 90 degree runways?[/QUOTE]

Thankfully all the ones I've seen around me thus far are pretty straight with no turns in them :D
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One other scheme that helps is to go find a runway with a crosswind (doesn't need to be wide, in fact, a narrow one or just one with a good centerline stripe will work better). Fly down the runway without touching down (maybe 10' up) and try keeping the plane's longitudinal access aligned with the centerline and tracking down the center of the runway. This is where you need to be WHEN you touch down. It matters not if you are crabbing or slipping on the way down final, you must be in this mode when the wheels touch. The only difference is when you start the manouver.
 
You aren't going to get more comfortable by NOT flying. Just sayin'

On the other hand, as a fellow low time new pilot, I can understand the predicament you are in. It's often difficult for me to tell if I'm being a chicken, or making a safe decision.
 
Salty said:
You aren't going to get more comfortable by NOT flying. Just sayin'

On the other hand, as a fellow low time new pilot, I can understand the predicament you are in. It's often difficult for me to tell if I'm being a chicken, or making a safe decision.
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Good point. Wanna play guitar like Eddie Van Halen? A good start is 100,000 hours of practice. It's a tough time of year to get quality flying weather....even in SoCal we're having above-average rainfall, for a change! The storm is over, but it's gusty as crap.

Remember that experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward. So gain that experience in small chunks, and if your gut tells you that conditions exceed your abilities, trust that. Usually, the more conservative pilots don't end up in NTSB reports! :eek: I'd go up with the CFI one or two more times in challenging crosswinds. Then, absolutely brimming with confidence, you can take on that 10 kt crosswind component yourself. "Child's play, hahahahaha!!!" you'll say after you've done it. :D:D

CC268 said:
I just feel like since I got my PPL I have been a big puss lol.
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I got myself into a situation a couple months ago where I was going to have to land in a 19 knot crosswind. I was pretty concerned, but I wanted to get home. I stewed for an hour between being safe and getting home. Finally I realized, there was a nearby airport where the wind was going straight down. So I headed out with the plan to try landing, and if I had any concerns, I'd go to my alternate. Turns out I no longer am scared of a 19 knot crosswind. :D
 
If you have enough rudder you can manage a strong crosswind. You have to get used to LEANING THAT PLANE INTO THE WIND using aileron and rudder to land on one wheel. No matter how much you bounce or whatever else you do, keep it straight!

Taxiing in high winds can be a big challenge too. So can just getting tied down.
 
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SoCal RV Flyer said:
Remember that experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.



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I'd never heard that quote before, but it is fantastic. Really like it!

I have been playing guitar in bands since the seventies, I'm pretty good, but I still occasionally make clams (bad notes) here and there. I don't want to make clams in an airplane.
I don't think to play like Eddie would take 100,000 hours of practice. But then that would be just learning the parts and how to play them. But people like him, Hendrix, etc. we're known for having guitars all over the place and besides just playing for hours, would pick up a guitar often throughout the day and play this and that.
You just can't do that with flying.

Thanks for the quote, I'm definitely going to remember that one.
 
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