What I have to be grateful for

When I checked the weather Wednesday night I wasn't too happy: it looked like
there were two cold fronts pushing their way through North Carolina and I might
have to deal with them for my flight Thursday morning down to the beach. When I
called flight service in the morning, they were calling for 57 knot winds and
moderate turbulence at my planned altitude... up my rear. "Hell", I thought,
"My teeth may get rattled out of my head but at least it won't be for long."

The wind was blowing out of the west as I lined up on runway 20 at Rock Hill
(KUZA) but in for a penny, in for a pound. A very short roll later, I was
flying, climbing like a scalded cat in the cold air. The GPS was showing ground
speeds faster in climb than I'm accustomed to in descent. The flight down to
the coast wasn't nearly as rough as I thought it would be... actually just a
little light chop. But faaassssttt! At one point I was reading ground speeds
of 192 knots... not too shabby for an old Piper Arrow. The majority of the
flight was in excess of 170 knots, still pretty good for a 135 knot airplane.

Well, you know there's always a price to be paid. After enjoying a fine meal
last night with my dad and some of our friends, it was time to come back home
this morning. Checking the winds aloft, I saw that my usual altitude still had
winds from the same direction as yesterday, although lighter now (down to about
27 knots). BAH! But wait! The winds down low were in the opposite direction!

I ended up with a 15 knot tailwind going home at 2500 feet. In fact, the trip
wasn't long enough for the 24 hour minimum for keeping the airplane overnight
and I ended up paying for .3 hours that I didn't actually fly. (If you pay for
three hours minimum per day you can keep the plane overnight.)


Life is good.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote

Checking the winds aloft, I saw that my usual altitude still had
winds from the same direction as yesterday, although lighter now (down to
about
27 knots). BAH! But wait! The winds down low were in the opposite
direction!

I ended up with a 15 knot tailwind going home at 2500 feet.

Damn, you MUST be living right. A tailwind both ways, less than 24 hours
apart? Never!!! g
--
Jim in NC

All winds are headwinds. Tailwinds are fantasies - the product of
deluded and deranged minds. To have a tailwind in both directions
implies the complete abandonment of reality.

I want what you're smoking!

Jose
--
He who laughs, lasts.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Jose wrote:
All winds are headwinds. Tailwinds are fantasies - the product of
deluded and deranged minds. To have a tailwind in both directions
implies the complete abandonment of reality.

I want what you're smoking!


Most flights are a combination of both headwinds and tailwinds. Having said
that, I figure I must have 30 flights with headwinds in both directions for
every one with tailwinds in both directions. Yesterday was rare indeed. G



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote

Most flights are a combination of both headwinds and tailwinds. Having
said
that, I figure I must have 30 flights with headwinds in both directions
for
every one with tailwinds in both directions. Yesterday was rare indeed.
G

It goes to show that the other 30 flights, you were just starting from the
wrong place! g
--
Jim in NC

P.S. Did you get the back channel e-mail I sent you a week or so ago, or
did your spam trap eat it?

Morgans wrote:
"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote

Checking the winds aloft, I saw that my usual altitude still had

winds from the same direction as yesterday, although lighter now (down to

about

27 knots). BAH! But wait! The winds down low were in the opposite

direction!

I ended up with a 15 knot tailwind going home at 2500 feet.


Damn, you MUST be living right. A tailwind both ways, less than 24 hours
apart? Never!!! g

Hah. Try a balloon.

Morgans wrote:
"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote

Checking the winds aloft, I saw that my usual altitude still had

winds from the same direction as yesterday, although lighter now (down to

about

27 knots). BAH! But wait! The winds down low were in the opposite

direction!

I ended up with a 15 knot tailwind going home at 2500 feet.


Damn, you MUST be living right. A tailwind both ways, less than 24 hours
apart? Never!!! g

Hah. Try a balloon.

Damn, you MUST be living right. A tailwind both ways, less than 24 hours
apart? Never!!! g

Yet it seems to work the other way 'round with alarming regularity. We had
a 55 (!) knot headwind on the way up to Montblack's in Minneapolis on
Wednesday -- and a 15 knot headwind coming home today...

:-(

Luckily, it was fairly smooth at altitude both ways. (The ride was no fun
at all down low on the way up, however...)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"