Using a wind component chart on final
I'm perhaps a little more concerned about some of the questions and views being expressed by apparently experienced pilots. I'm pretty certain that Gertrude has his tongue firmly in his cheek, but others perhaps not.
G
G
No controller anywhere in the civilian world has however any say in whether a particular approach is safe or not from the perspective of aircraft handling and performance
I'll get back in my taped/FQISd/ FDRd/CVRd monitored box now...
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if say, tower reported wind is significantly outside your and/or your aircraft's crosswind limit ....
so it's a case of "if it looks/feels alright" it is regarded as acceptable to press on and land, regardless of what the tower reports ( and is perhaps on the tapes..?
Because of that, I essentially ignore what the tower reports as the current wind (as part of the landing clearance). By then that information has become largely irrelevant, because I have already made the decision that the wind is within limits, so I'm going to see, and deal with, whatever wind comes my way. And a go-around decision will not be based on absolute crosswind values, but on whether I feel confident I can pull off a safe landing.
The only thing I do when the tower reports the wind on final, is a gross error check to see if it's still more or less the same as what I've heard earlier. I've been in a weird windshear situation where the wind that I had at 1000 feet on downwind, was 180 degrees out from the reported surface wind. That took a bit of mental gymnastics to decide what I was going to do. (And the approach was, well, interesting...)
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So the question "is it acceptable to use a chart on final?"
No, fly the aircraft.
To a student, what picture looks "right" or wrong if he hasn't been there before?
So he goes by numbers.
What's the easiest way to get numbers?
A pax once, on final to 06 with Anstruther due south looked out the windscreen and said " is that Anstruther over there?"
"Yes, please excuse me while I calculate our crosswind component".
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it has always been strange to me that a controlling service of whatever nature would not actually give the cross wind component rather than the wind speed / direction. With modern day tools this could be automatically calculated and be no more radio traffic. It would stop all of this phaffing with calculation / rules of thumb etc etc..
"Because of that, I essentially ignore what the tower reports as the current wind (as part of the landing clearance). By then that information has become largely irrelevant, because I have already made the decision that the wind is within limits, "
I wish I did my landings at places where the wind never changed suddenly and unexpectedly.
I wish I did my landings at places where the wind never changed suddenly and unexpectedly.
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Which of the two is going to give me the best information, to make a split-second decision whether to go around or not?
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However when you're being tossed around at a few hundred feet it can be encouraging when the controller tells you that it's a lot better lower down. (You'll make your own mind up whether you believe him when you get down there, of course.)
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As you elude earlier on CV, I was taught the same simple rule as you.
Crosswind of 30 degrees off the runway heading, apply half the wind speed and 60 degrees off, apply the full wind speed. Pro-rata anything else based on that.
Maybe we went to the same place
Crosswind of 30 degrees off the runway heading, apply half the wind speed and 60 degrees off, apply the full wind speed. Pro-rata anything else based on that.
Maybe we went to the same place
The clock code is pretty universal.
Up to 15 degrees off the runway - quarter way around the clock, a quarter of the wind is crosswind.
Up to 30 degrees - half
Up to 45 degrees three quarters
Up to 60 degrees, or over 60 degrees, treat all the wind as crosswind.
As for CV's airbus. - well either the Captain was equally incompetent, or was a complete @rse making an extremely expensive point to his f/o. You can use the same clock code to estimate tailwind. Within 15 degrees of the runway heading count a quarter of the total wind as tailwind, and so on.
Check with a calculator and this is as accurate as you need for most purposes.
Of course maybe the Airbus f/o was struggling to get the numbers into the FMS and determine landing distance? That sounds perhaps a bit more likely.
G
Up to 15 degrees off the runway - quarter way around the clock, a quarter of the wind is crosswind.
Up to 30 degrees - half
Up to 45 degrees three quarters
Up to 60 degrees, or over 60 degrees, treat all the wind as crosswind.
As for CV's airbus. - well either the Captain was equally incompetent, or was a complete @rse making an extremely expensive point to his f/o. You can use the same clock code to estimate tailwind. Within 15 degrees of the runway heading count a quarter of the total wind as tailwind, and so on.
Check with a calculator and this is as accurate as you need for most purposes.
Of course maybe the Airbus f/o was struggling to get the numbers into the FMS and determine landing distance? That sounds perhaps a bit more likely.
G
