Is 23G30 worse than 05G12?

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

May the force be with you
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First Officer 6PC
it is all relative and they are both 7 kt increases in the wind speed.
The latter seems more challenging.
 
Think I figured it out sort of.
Flying in 30kt wind is more challenging than 15kts

Is it that simple?
 
Wind direction in relation to runway?
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
it is all relative and they are both 7 kt increases in the wind speed.
The latter seems more challenging.
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It depends on the wind's alignment to the runway. If it's a full crosswind, you probably don't want to land in 23GAnything. If it's directly down the runway, your preference is probably based on your ability to control landing speed.
 
yes the cross wind factor is a huge consideration.
I'm more or less just talking about getting the crap knocked out of you while flying through it
 
Grab an instructor and go fly in both. Report back your findings...

Real answer is it depends on alignment of the winds, the terrain around the airport, etc. Generally speaking, the stronger wind is going to be more challenging, particularily if stuff around the airport causes strange wind currents. In a big open area, not a big deal.
 
If you're not talking about landing, what aspect of concern are you asking about? The relative gust is the same so you shouldn't notice a difference in turbulence, but if you're concerned about navigation, I expect larger winds make errors in wind correction less forgiving towards getting where you want to go since you'll drift further in a shorter period of time.
 
Yes, it is more challenging -- no matter what the wind direction with relation to the runway.
 
Brad Z said:
Grab an instructor and go fly in both. Report back your findings...

Real answer is it depends on alignment of the winds, the terrain around the airport, etc. Generally speaking, the stronger wind is going to be more challenging, particularily if stuff around the airport causes strange wind currents. In a big open area, not a big deal.
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Size of the Texas Panhandle duck can have a factor too.

None the less, doing some Xwind practice with an instructor is a good investment. Before I did that, I too was a bit timid on xwind takeoffs and landings. After I did it, well, you already experienced following HWY380 in a 45° crab angle.
 
C182P said:
It depends on the wind's alignment to the runway. If it's a full crosswind, you probably don't want to land in 23GAnything. If it's directly down the runway, your preference is probably based on your ability to control landing speed.
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And to turn off the runway onto an intersecting taxiway without flipping the aircraft over.
 
AggieMike88 said:
After I did it, well, you already experienced following HWY380 in a 45° crab angle.
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I doubt it.

In a 172, at cruise that would take a 100 knot crosswind. On approach, it would "only" be 60 knots. Which means you can take off from the runway with the brakes on.
 
MAKG1 said:
And to turn off the runway onto an intersecting taxiway without flipping the aircraft over.
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That's right. 20 - 30 kt winds pose more of a hazard handling the plane on the ground.
 
MAKG1 said:
And to turn off the runway onto an intersecting taxiway without flipping the aircraft over.
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Excellent point, I hadn't considered that.
 
Keep in mind those are peek speeds. It can go from lower than 23 to potentially higher than 30, and will likely do it more often and with a faster rate of change than at lower wind speeds. Add in a greater chance of directional variation and the higher wind speed is much worse.
 
...I landed in Galveston once and the winds were way higher than forecasted at 22G28. It was about 20 degrees off the runway heading. I had plenty of fuel to do a few go arounds and then fly back to Austin if I didn't want to mess with it so I figured what the heck.

I'm not doing that again anytime soon. :) I didn't bend anything but let's just say I was glad I had a 150' wide runway to land on.
 
For me...depends on the plane, recent proficiency, runway width/length, snow or ice, aircraft weight, time of day, wind dir, gust factor and terrain. I made the decision to fly up to VLL Sat AM at 2500' msl with destination winds 20G30 from 260-290 deg. 10+ visibility. Landed on 27, 0 flaps at 85 kias. 5 over normal no flap approach speed. It was not bad at all other than passing pretty low over building on app end. Normal glide slope 4 deg. If winds were out of the North, we would have stayed home.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Think I figured it out sort of.
Flying in 30kt wind is more challenging than 15kts

Is it that simple?
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The 30kt crosswind will run many planes out of rudder so you may not be able to point it down the runway in a gust, 5-12 is just more or less rudder and aileron in a fairly predictable shift/gust interval.
 
Henning said:
The 30kt crosswind will run many planes out of rudder so you may not be able to point it down the runway in a gust, 5-12 is just more or less rudder and aileron in a fairly predictable shift/gust interval.
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Yes, mine runs out at 25 kt direct xw. Been there and it was steady thank goodness. That is my max. If gusting then the gust max would be 25 kt.
 
30G37 is worse than 23G30 let alone 05G12 :)
(shameless plug: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceDXVSQcDOI )

It is doable, but not much fun. That landing was 30G37 blowing 50 degrees off runway heading. We got bounced around pretty badly as you can see from the vid, and got some serious windshear too, all way too typical during heavy winds like that.
 
Since you're asking about flying at altitude and not landing, a lot depends on the terrain below you. 23G30 would beat you up bad over the Ozark Mountains when you're below about 3,000' AGL. Out in the flatlands of KS and OK you might barely notice it.

I landed in 25G35 (at least) at Liberal, Ks once (Liberal, Ks...that's an oxymoron if there ever was one). I was puckered tight. For most of my flying career, my permanent base has been somewhere in the Ozark Mountains and winds like that will beat the hell out of you across that region. But in Liberal it was a non-event. Nary a bump from altitude all the way down to the runway. Just had to be careful taxiing in.
 
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Bear in mind the aircraft makes a big difference.

Pilots may look at a wind they could easily handle in a Cirrus or Bonanza and come to grief in their new Light Sport in the same wind.

BIG difference between a landing speed of 60k and 40k, regarding the effect of both the crosswind and the gusts.
 
Just landed today with 11G21 at about 70 deg. crosswind. For some reason, it was a real handful for me. Landed last week with 17G24 with around the same crosswind component and it was not a problem at all. Not sure what makes it different, but it was very very different.
 
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/04/plane-flips-over-on-runway-in-leesburg-va--101954.html

Another frontal passage accident on the east coast. Almost as common as fuel starvation it seems.

It was forecasted in the AFD...

"MIXING BEHIND THE FRONT IS ALREADY LEADING TO GUSTY WINDS...AROUND 25 KNOTS IN THE HIGHLANDS. THESE WINDS WILL PROGRESS EASTWARD ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA DURING THE DAY. SOME UPSLOPE SHOWERS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. A SPRINKLE CANNOT BE RULED OUT FURTHER EAST BUT GIVEN DRYING IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER."
 
JasonM said:
Just landed today with 11G21 at about 70 deg. crosswind. For some reason, it was a real handful for me. Landed last week with 17G24 with around the same crosswind component and it was not a problem at all. Not sure what makes it different, but it was very very different.
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Don't confuse what the automated system is reporting with what you experienced in those few moments in the flare and at touchdown. The weather station isn't where you are, and even though the system is reporting "X" conditions, you may luck out and experience less than "X" at the important moments, or you might pull the unlucky straw and experience gusts or wind at the very top of the range.

So, at the moment of truth the "11G21" might have been worse than the "17G24".
 
JasonM said:
Just landed today with 11G21 at about 70 deg. crosswind. For some reason, it was a real handful for me. Landed last week with 17G24 with around the same crosswind component and it was not a problem at all. Not sure what makes it different, but it was very very different.
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It seems to be much worse for me too once the difference between the peaks and lulls reach 7-8 kts.
 
Even with the wind blowing right down the runway, you are likely to have much more turbulant air with the winds at the higher value.
 
there are several airliners that are limited to 30knot crosswinds.......I'll go to the "gusts to the 25ish" region, after that I'm looking somewhere else........
 
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