I poked a hole in the sky for about an hour on Wednesday evening. Took off
on 28 with information Hotel, on return they were using 10 and information
was Juliet.

Ah, yes -- back to the wind!

The very next day after my original post (yesterday, Thursday) Mary and I
took off for Ft. Dodge, Iowa -- about 130 nm due west.

When we departed Iowa City, winds were light and variable, and conditions
were smooth en route at 3500 feet.

About half way there, we had to climb to 5500 feet to stay out of the bumps.
Another 15 minutes, and we went up to 7500 feet, and it was still unstable
air.

Interestingly, the winds aloft were light -- we had, at most, a 10 knot
headwind. However, as we approached Ft. Dodge, I listened to their AWOS,
and was amazed to hear surface winds were 190 at 20, gusts to 27!

Since they didn't have a north/south runway -- and we were just out screwing
around -- we looked for an airport with a runway more aligned with the wind.
Finding "Eagle Grove" on the moving map nearby, I landed on their turf Rwy
19 -- into an absolutely gale-force wind! It was so strong, I had some
difficulty standing on the wing, and Mary opted to let me fly the return leg
home. (But not until after we spent an enjoyable hour shooting the breeze
with the new FBO/A&P on the field -- a guy who was obviously very lonely and
starved for company!)

Much to Mary's chagrin, we had an uneventful flight back to Iowa City --
just 130 nm East, mind you -- and landed with the winds once again light and
variable.

That was the biggest wind gradient I've ever seen in such a short distance
without crossing any discernible weather boundary. There was no front, no
storm, no low pressure nearby -- NOTHING to explain such a huge difference
in wind in such a short distance.

Bizarre winds in springtime, for sure.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"Frank" wrote in message ...
Jay Honeck wrote:


--
Frank....H