I almost blew it today

KSBY - Salisbury MD - Given an airport with 2 nice runways 5/23 and
14/32, I took off on 5 with the wind:
METAR KSBY 231454Z 32013G20KT 10SM CLR 03/M04 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP150
T00281039 51016

What the hell was I thinking?

Distractions are tricky. The key one here was the fact that we had been
trapped for 2 days by weather. The weather was fine now and everything
was set but there was a certain amount of distracting relief tied up in
*finally* getting out of there.

Why did I go to Runway 5? Because that's where the tower told me to go.
But as any tailwheel pilot knows ( and all other pilots should know
too), you are PIC and always decide what runway is acceptable. I've
refused such clearances before, even with the threat of "we may not be
able to clear you for takeoff for quite some time (KRDU 32025G..)"
Stoooopid!

What happened? Well, I was well aware of the xwind and held almost full
corrective aileron. I also had to fight the weathervaning during the
start of the roll. The upwind wing went up and we weathervaned anyway -
only by the grace of the gust, max controls and some braking did we get
it back down and off the ground.

I can land and takeoff in such a xwind but it is a maximum effort
operation requiring full xwind controls. Furthermore, when faced with
such a takeoff on such a wide runway, I start on the downwind side and
roll towards the upwind just to knock some angle off. This time I had
it centered and remember trying to remain centered instead of being
focused on surviving the xwind.

Focus, Focus, Focus. Thanks for letting me share.

On Jan 23, 7:35 pm, Bill Watson wrote:
Why did I go to Runway 5? Because that's where the tower told me to go.
But as any tailwheel pilot knows ( and all other pilots should know
too), you are PIC and always decide what runway is acceptable. I've
refused such clearances before, even with the threat of "we may not be
able to clear you for takeoff for quite some time (KRDU 32025G..)"
Stoooopid!

Stupid, yes. Something we all might do. Absolutely. So thanks for
reminding us. Maybe it will save someone.

Bill Watson wrote:
Why did I go to Runway 5? Because that's where the tower told me to go.
But as any tailwheel pilot knows ( and all other pilots should know
too), you are PIC and always decide what runway is acceptable. I've
refused such clearances before, even with the threat of "we may not be
able to clear you for takeoff for quite some time (KRDU 32025G..)"
Stoooopid!

I have had to argue with the tower to get a runway into the wind when
there was no other traffic. Sometimes, one has to wonder what those guys
in the tower get paid to do. ;-)

john smith wrote:
Bill Watson wrote:
Why did I go to Runway 5? Because that's where the tower told me to
go. But as any tailwheel pilot knows ( and all other pilots should
know too), you are PIC and always decide what runway is acceptable.
I've refused such clearances before, even with the threat of "we may
not be able to clear you for takeoff for quite some time (KRDU
32025G..)" Stoooopid!

I have had to argue with the tower to get a runway into the wind when
there was no other traffic. Sometimes, one has to wonder what those guys
in the tower get paid to do. ;-)

I always assume that the less demanding the airport or airspace, the
less proficiency/engagement/knowledgeable assistance I can generally
expect from ATC. Of course, that generally applies to pilots too ;-)

A worthwhile cautionary tale for us all. Thanks for sharing.
Gary

On 1/23/2007 10:36:02 PM, Bill Watson wrote:


What the hell was I thinking?

These types of posts are very valuable. Thanks for putting the ego aside and
posting the lesson.


--
Peter

john smith wrote:
I have had to argue with the tower to get a runway into the wind when
there was no other traffic. Sometimes, one has to wonder what those guys
in the tower get paid to do. ;-)

On the other hand, sometimes they go out of their way to be helpful.

Coming back from my last cross-country flight, I was approaching from the
southwest, and the ATIS reported landing on runway 22. When I called in,
the tower said something like "winds 060 as 3, how'd you like a straight
in to 4?" I took them up on their offer, and saved a few minutes getting
back.

.... Alan
--
Alan Gerber
PP-ASEL
gerber AT panix DOT com