Peter R. wrote:
Guy Elden Jr wrote:


My question to you all: why would anyone in a spam can even attempt
flight on a day like this?


IMO, it all comes down to one's comfort level and experience. Personally,
I would fly in today's winds if I needed to go somewhere and weren't
carrying an experienced passenger. Additionally, I would also consider
launching today simply for the practice if family commitments didn't
compete.

However, this comfort level comes from commuting weekly across NY State in
my Bonanza since early last year. While today's winds were forecasted a
few days ago and are of no surprise to us here, I have encountered several
flights where the winds at the destination airport were much stronger than
forecasted.

One such flight occurred last spring while flying into Buffalo, NY. Winds
were forecasted 15G25, but when approach began vectoring my aircraft for
the ILS, the winds picked up to 30G45 with wind shear of +/-20 kts reported
at 1,500agl (this was NOT due to a nearby t-storm, which is a completely
different animal). I continued the flight and landed without incident,
although that was the first time an astute lineman actually directed me to
park into the wind, rather than on the line.

With this, though, I also understand why many wouldn't fly today and I
certainly respect that choice.


Same here. I flew my Skylane several times in similar winds. I took my
instrument flight ride on a day much like this. 15-25K on the ground
and 40K at 6,000 ft. It took me three circuits to really get the hold
established, but the DE said that was find given the wind and
turbulence. Flying partial panel was a challenge that day, but I think
the DE was reasonable given the conditions.

I landed at ELM one night after a flight from Roanoke when the wind on
the ground was 30K. I didn't dare leave the airplane until the line
crew came out and tied me down. They heard me coming in and were
waiting for me. I was going to call in for help, but they were savvy
enough to know I couldn't exit the airplane on those conditions.
Taxiing crosswind was a little bit dicey, but the Skylane handled in
pretty well. That was the only time I've ever hit a 45 degree bank
angle on the ILS!

I had a colleage from work along, but fortunately he's a very
experienced flier. I still was afraid he might get sick as the
turbulence was in the severe category. There were moments when we were
moving so fast that I could not read the instruments. And tuning the
radio was challenging to say the least.


Matt