Worst Headwind You've Ever Fought?

Meliss said:
I had a 50kt headwind on a 350NM flight, I was at 6,500' (which was the lowest I could go because of terrain) and the winds were substantially worse higher. My ground speed was 80kts in an airplane that cruises between 130-140. When I flew home the next day I had a 5 knot tailwind... :rolleyes:
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Same thing for me. I could get up to 75 or so knots GS down below 2,000' but it being night I got a class B clearance through Baltimore and stayed up around 4,000' for safeties sake.

The winds were so strong when I landed that you literally didn't feel the touchdown. So score one great landing at least.
 
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I had gotten weathered-in at KIER (Natchitoches, Louisiana) on the way home from Florida. Ended up taking CJane and Tomster to Shreveport in the crew car so they could pick up a rental car and drive home (she had to work), and waited another day. Bright, sunny, beautiful weather, but I knew it was gonna be a long trip home.

45 knots on the ground, barely a ground roll at all, and I had 60-70 knots on the nose going home. Smooth as glass, though. I just told myself I was in a Warrior. A very inefficient Warrior.
 
MD11Pilot said:
198 knots straight on the nose in the mid 30's in a 757.

Now let's talk tailwinds. North Pacific 747, 300 knots on the tail. 959 knot ground speed. some flights going westbound to Asia from Anchorage had to turn around due to low fuel. They could have filled the tanks and made it but left all the passengers and cargo behind.
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300 knots...:yikes:...

That is almost hard to believe.....:redface:
 
Deadly tornados in February moved through Ky the evening before. The family departed at 8 AM with 5 kts on the ground. Climbing through 2,000 AGL, went to 60 kts. After a rough ride over hilly terrain surveying the damage, headed back to land around 10:30 AM with a 29 kt direct xw. That is my aircraft and personal limit! We passed the Governor in a Blackhawk going to check things out while we were returning home. I'd say they had a better ride.
 
Took off out of Fargo once with my Cessna; 35 knot surface winds. Climbing through 1000 feet, I was starting to go backwards while still over the runway. Tower controller wasn't sure what to say. When I got to cruise, about 5000 feet if I recall, I was doing 90 knots indicated, 25 knots across the ground. Luckily it was only a short hop.
 
Is this why people run out of fuel before they get to their destination?
 
It took me three hours once to fly from Albuquerque to Conchas (e98). Return trip took about 30 minutes. That was not a fun flight.
 
It is my view that the fuel computer, connected to the GPS, is a genuine safety benefit. I set standards for how much fuel I want in the plane when I land, and adhere to them. Easy to do with these amazing toys.
 
SCCutler said:
It is my view that the fuel computer, connected to the GPS, is a genuine safety benefit. I set standards for how much fuel I want in the plane when I land, and adhere to them. Easy to do with these amazing toys.
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I am with ya 100%...:yes:
 
MD11Pilot said:
Now let's talk tailwinds. North Pacific 747, 300 knots on the tail. 959 knot ground speed.
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N801BH said:
300 knots...:yikes:...

That is almost hard to believe.....:redface:
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It's not the 300 knots that's hard to believe, it's the 959. That would mean a true airspeed of 659 knots, which is Mach 1 at about 1000 MSL and supersonic at altitudes above that, and well above the maximum speed of a 747.
 
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