nddons
Touchdown! Greaser!
Here was the TAF for Waukesha tonight - and Milwaukee and Madison had the same forecast of windsheer:
KUES 132320Z 1400/1424 23009KT 6SM HZ SKC WS015/25040KT
We departed at 0030Z and the windsheer wasn't 1,500 AGL, it was more like 700 AGL. We climbed from 3,000 to 4,500 and it was smooth as glass, but WINDY. I seemed to have a 30 degree crab all night.
What was even more shocking was the magnitude of the temperature inversion. At takeoff it was -3 C. At 4,500 it was +12 C, or about 52 F. Wild.
We needed to review maneuvers under the hood, so after slow flight, stalls, steep turns, we did three unusual attitudes which really scrambled my eggs.
Then my CFII torturer had me do the VOR approach at Burlington, where our inbound ground speed was about 42kts. No sense in dropping and diving per my usual non-precision approach, as it took us a day and a half to come in from the procedure turn. The sheer layer was right around the MDA, so holding that inbound course was a real treat - especially since my stomach hadn't quite settled down from that last unusual attitude.
Going missed, I had a brief bout of vertigo (unusual for me), but fought through it and avoiding an unintentional unusual attitude of my own. But when I opened up the vent, my CFII suggested popping off the hood for the trip back. I thought that was a good idea.
The approach and landing were all visual tonight - the first visual approach I've made in a long time. The X-wind landing was pretty good, but long as I had a little excess gust factor along for the ride.
Man, I'm anxious to get this IR checkride behind me - real IR flying has got to be easier than this.
KUES 132320Z 1400/1424 23009KT 6SM HZ SKC WS015/25040KT
We departed at 0030Z and the windsheer wasn't 1,500 AGL, it was more like 700 AGL. We climbed from 3,000 to 4,500 and it was smooth as glass, but WINDY. I seemed to have a 30 degree crab all night.
What was even more shocking was the magnitude of the temperature inversion. At takeoff it was -3 C. At 4,500 it was +12 C, or about 52 F. Wild.
We needed to review maneuvers under the hood, so after slow flight, stalls, steep turns, we did three unusual attitudes which really scrambled my eggs.
Then my CFII torturer had me do the VOR approach at Burlington, where our inbound ground speed was about 42kts. No sense in dropping and diving per my usual non-precision approach, as it took us a day and a half to come in from the procedure turn. The sheer layer was right around the MDA, so holding that inbound course was a real treat - especially since my stomach hadn't quite settled down from that last unusual attitude.
Going missed, I had a brief bout of vertigo (unusual for me), but fought through it and avoiding an unintentional unusual attitude of my own. But when I opened up the vent, my CFII suggested popping off the hood for the trip back. I thought that was a good idea.
The approach and landing were all visual tonight - the first visual approach I've made in a long time. The X-wind landing was pretty good, but long as I had a little excess gust factor along for the ride.
Man, I'm anxious to get this IR checkride behind me - real IR flying has got to be easier than this.
