Discovery Flight today...unexpected results

"DGS" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:54:56 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

Hi all. I'm a 39 year old guy who has loved flying and dreamt of
being a pilot for a long time.

That says it all. Don't let a single bad experience ruin your dream.

It sounds like you went up on a bumpy, turbulent day, which can rattle
anyone. That feeling of being tossed around like a kite is still
uncomfortable, even after many years of flying.

Now that you've seen some bumps, you'll know what to expect on your next
flight. Explain this to your CFI, and try to make your next flight on a
calmer day -- you'll be amazed at the difference.

It was definitely a windy day...18 mph winds with gusts up to 40 mph.
Directly after rotation a major gust hit us and threw the plane at
least 10 yards to the right. That right there caused a major skip of
the heart and lump in the throat. I corrected the plane but just
feeling the wind shove that plane around the way it did definitely
freaked me out. I had no idea that you could FEEL it so much when
your hands are on the wheel...it was like driving a car through a snow
drift.

Unless the wind was nearly straight down the runway, that much wind could
very easily exceed the demonstrated crosswind component for landing--and
there are some considerations for taxiing as well. What type of aircraft
was used?