Couldn't Get it Down

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:x4Q3c.2179$YG.23444@attbi_s01...
No, this is not a story about Viagra's side effects... ;-)

Amazingly, today dawned clear and sunny -- against all predictions. Thus,
once the kids were at school, it was time for us to head to our favorite
"$100 Breakfast" in Muscatine, IA.

Conditions seemed perfect, but I knew some weather was predicted to move
in
later.

Snip Nail Biter...

Once the plane was in the hangar, we sat and enjoyed the sunny skies. No
one driving by could possibly have a clue how treacherous that pretty blue
sky was today...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"



Jay,

I hope I turn out to be as smart and judicious a pilot as you've proven
yourself to be wtih this situation.

Thanks for writing it up.

Regards,

Jay Beckman
Student Pilot - KCHD
4.5 Hrs ... Nowhere to go but up!

I hope I turn out to be as smart and judicious a pilot as you've proven
yourself to be wtih this situation.

Thanks, Jay.

It's funny how your perspective changes with age. As a student, I was
exposed to extremely high winds with my instructor. (Peak gust: 62 knots!)

I was too stupid to be afraid. In fact, I had a great time on that flight,
and at the time felt that it was one of my best lessons...

Until years later, when I realized what a foolish thing it was to do.
True, the winds had come up abruptly, but we didn't check the weather very
thoroughly before departing, either. I find it hard to believe, in
retrospect, that those extreme winds weren't predicted, and we could easily
have bent metal that day.

Then, after I got my ticket, I flew out of a little, single-strip airport in
Wisconsin. There was ALWAYS a cross-wind, and the runway was just 30 feet
wide, so by necessity I got pretty danged good at nailing it in just about
any kind of wind.

However, after a few excursions into the parallel grass strip (and a few
real scares on pavement), my respect for crosswinds increased. I was still
good at handling them, but -- having lived through a few hundred landings --
I was learning my limitations.

Now, for the past seven years I have flown out of an airport with 3
intersecting, 150-foot wide runways. Needless to say, my cross-wind skills
are not what they were, and -- although I think I'm still pretty danged
good -- I've learned that there are more important things in life than
landing.

Most importantly, however, is the knowledge that I must pay for any repairs!
It's *amazing* how that changes your perspective!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I was flying a tiny electric model one day in a light wind. I thought I was pretty cool slowing down until I could land vertically.

Pretty cool that is, until the wind abruptly stopped when I was 8 foot up. Can you say splat?

Mike Z


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:g6%3c.6559$Gm5.17364@attbi_s04...
It's funny how your perspective changes with age. As a student, I was
exposed to extremely high winds with my instructor. (Peak gust: 62 knots!)

Big Snip
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"