Instrument Approaches in High Winds

Jim Macklin wrote:
Come to Kansas for a few days, any time of the year. We
often have winds that are 25G40, most of our runways are
pretty well laid out, but some airports do require a
crosswind landing. Of course, we routinely solo students as
long as the wind is less than 25 knots and the gusts are
minimal. But since this is Kansas, where the wind comes
sweeping down the plains, we often can have a solid day or
two of steady 25 to 40 knot winds. Our bad weather starts
at 60 knots with 2 inch hail (a golf ball is 1-3/4 inch).

One day I remember watching the airliners land. It was calm
and they all were landing very long, those calm winds are a
real problem.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P


That was exactly my observation too when I lived in Albuquerque. I used
to solo students at 25 knots. When I moved east, I got all kind of
weird looks and comments like "test pilot" and "against the aircraft
certificaton" etc.. when I tried to send students in more than 10
knots.