Had to go around today

gil_mor

gil_mor

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Sedona, Az
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gil_mor
Hi everybody.

It was windy at p52 today, we don't have an AWOS but the wind sock was erect as... Well, very erect.:wink2: I'm guessing 20g30kt

Most landings came out pretty good, and then, on my short field landing something happened:

I was doing a mile final, 3 notches of flaps, keeping it 65-70mph, everything was looking good. I was about 50ft above the runway when airspeed dropped to 60, and kept going down. I dropped the nose and added some power to maintain my "glide slope", then even more power, then back on course.
I'm about 10-15ft above the runway and everything seems ok.
Starting to flare - another gust, this time I'm much slower, the stall warning chirps, I'm not fighting it by letting the plane settle a bit and think "What is going on with the airspeed?".
Then right wing goes up quickly as I flare, I correct it and this time I'm thinking "I don't like this". Right hand decides before I get a chance to think. Full throttle, and we are out of here!
Gotta love 182, with one passenger and about 1/2 fuel, we were climbing in NO time.

I think that the hangars on the side of the runway could have "protected" the runway from the blowing winds, which to me felt like a guest or a headwind sheer to no wind.

I decided to re do it, to "unscare" myself, and the rest of the flight was uneventful yet interesting.

Turns out my CFI was there with a student and when I called him after I landed he said "The wind got you on one of the approaches, right?", I told him the story and about the 1-second ADM and he seemed please.

I was very happy that I had a lot of go-around practice as a student, it felt quite natural, and safe.

I'm sure that in 300 hours I would laugh at the tiny gust that got me go around, but for my current envelope and skill - I think it was probably right.

What would you have done?
 
You did the right thing. If you don't like what you see or feel go around.

Well done.
 
Heh. I don't think going around is a big deal. I've done lots of go arounds - usually when the runway insists on not being where it's supposed to be when there's a tailwind on the base leg. I will not make a drastic turn back and risk a stall/spin or dutch roll.
 
Let's see. You didn't like what you saw and got out of there without bending anything. Came around for a second try and landed.

"A superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid having to use his superior skill." Sounds like you today. Good job.
 
gil_mor said:
What would you have done?
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The same thing.

The instant the landing doesn't look or feel right, it's go-around time. No questions, no thinking, no worrying. Firewall the throttle and get back into the air.

I've initiated a go-around at just about all points on final. Never regretted it.
 
Ghery said:
"A superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid having to use his superior skill."
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:yeahthat: I'm making a sticker for my logbook cover from that one!
 
How about, "Every approach terminates in a go-around unless a safe landing is assured." ;)
 
AggieMike88 said:
The same thing.

The instant the landing doesn't look or feel right, it's go-around time. No questions, no thinking, no worrying. Firewall the throttle and get back into the air.

I've initiated a go-around at just about all points on final. Never regretted it.
Click to expand...

Experiance shows that there is a point of no return though.
 
AggieMike88 said:
:yeahthat: I'm making a sticker for my logbook cover from that one!
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Inside front cover of my first logbook I have a quote:

"Excellence is a process not an event. We are what we repeatedly do."
-Aristotle

BTW: I would have made a go around. Wouldn't think twice about it.
 
i probably wouldn't have gotten it right the first time :D

sounds like it was dynamic conditions and you shouldn't feel bad about having to go around. it happens from time to time.
 
Sounds like you did the right thing. Hindsight is always 20/20, but here's the one thing that I do differently.

I'm not sure who your passenger was or how comfortable they were with the flight, but I'll often brief my passengers to prepare them for the go around. If I see anything that gives me the slightest bit of pause, I'll often tell my passengers that a go around is a possibility. It really helps to take the pressure off and makes you worry less about getting judged by them for going around.

One time when we were flying in to Vermillion, SD I was looking at a 15 kt crosswind and it was bumpy. At about 5 miles out I turned to my girlfriend (now my wife) and said...."This is going to be a challenging landing, but it's nothing that I haven't done before. If, at any time, I see something that I don't like...I'm going to go around. It doesn't mean that anything is wrong or that we're in any danger, it just means that something didn't feel right. We have three hours of fuel, so I will do that as many times as it takes for everything to feel perfect."

Saying these things to her really changed my mindset. I changed from wanting to impress her with my superior skills to wanting to impress her with my superior decision making. It put the likelihood of a go around at the forefront of my mind and I feel that if I would have needed to, there would have been much less hesitation and much less worry about what she thought of me for having had to. I stuck the landing, btw.

I witnessed an accident earlier this year that I believe was caused by go around angst. A guy in an RV-7 had gone around twice with his dad on board. It was his first flight with his father and the winds were squirrely. On his third attempt he forced it down and had a prop strike and just about flipped it on the runway. I remember thinking that it was all about him wanting to get it on the ground so that he could save face with his father. It didn't have to happen. Setting the expectation up front that you'll do it as many times as you need to helps to take that pressure off. Obviously, if you don't get down after several attempts, it may be time to come up with a plan B.
 
If you ever have to go around, never question it afterward. In that immediate instance, that was the right decision. The only question you should ever have, is why you DIDNT go around, especially after an accident/incident.

If you have plenty of runway, a touch of power can restablize you and help salvage the landing, but, sometimes its best to not mess around and go "balls to the wall" and get out of there. Especially in gusty winds.
 
It's been 6 months since I landed the Chief. I took it up for a test flight after an engine rebuild last night. Steady winds were 90 degrees cross, but I couldn't wait to try it out.

My first approach was a bit high and fast. I could have touched down and hoped there was enough runway left, but elected to go around.

The second time around was a blade-kissing vision of airborne sweetness.

:thumbsup:

Sometimes it's best to go around.

:yes:
 
dmccormack said:
It's been 6 months since I landed the Chief. I took it up for a test flight after an engine rebuild last night. Steady winds were 90 degrees cross, but I couldn't wait to try it out.

My first approach was a bit high and fast. I could have touched down and hoped there was enough runway left, but elected to go around.

The second time around was a blade-kissing vision of airborne sweetness.

:thumbsup:

Sometimes it's best to go around.

:yes:
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Fast...in the Chief? Hoo haw, whatta riot! Mebbe you shoulda jumped out and grabbed her out of the sky.:rofl:
 
Richard said:
Fast...in the Chief? Hoo haw, whatta riot! Mebbe you shoulda jumped out and grabbed her out of the sky.:rofl:
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Hey! I was averaging 100 knots ground speed flying from KWAY to S37 (Western to Eastern PA).

Yeah, you bet it's fast!

;)

Oh -- and if you level off at 55 MPH you'll float for a while, so you really need to be on speed: 60 MPH pattern and final, 50 MPH short final, 45 MPH just before level off.
 
Thanks for the engorgement guys.

I like
A superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid having to use his superior skill
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!

I'm by no means a "superior pilot", but I'd like to be one, one day.

Jason, that's a good story and good mindset, I'll keep that in mind.

I'm a very talkative pilot. I don't like the "sterile cockpit" thing, when I have a passenger, its usually because they want to fly with me, and are interested in flight, so I talk about what is going to happen next - "I'm going to turn here, do that, it might fell like, this is because (if I have time), are you doing well?".

So by talking about a go around, I prepare the passenger and myself for it, good idea.
 
dmccormack said:
Oh -- and if you level off at 55 MPH you'll float for a while, so you really need to be on speed: 60 MPH pattern and final, 50 MPH short final, 45 MPH just before level off.
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You have the a65, correct? That's what I like about the Chief and other such birds they are real airplanes. Just like other real airplanes, speed control in king.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
That is basically a 55HP engine. Might be more now that he O/H'd it.

Just to clarify any confusion.
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No confusion. Except perhaps in my recall from flying the 11AC Aeronca I had access to. If memory serves, the patt speeds ar fine, it was the approach and flare speeds which seemed high. IIRC, I was touching at 35.
 
n20junkie said:
Experiance shows that there is a point of no return though.
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True, but in the OP's 182 most airports you'd be done flyig and at taxi speed before you got there.

Now change the plane, shorten the runway or add a failure or two and the game changes fast
 
Richard said:
No confusion. Except perhaps in my recall from flying the 11AC Aeronca I had access to. If memory serves, the patt speeds ar fine, it was the approach and flare speeds which seemed high. IIRC, I was touching at 35.
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Touching is likely 30-35, but my target (and the only time I checked the ASI) is about 10' AGL. After that it's all feel.
 
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