Originally Posted by
Reely340
Another thing that amazes me while reading the posts in this thread are the numerous suggestions the a/c ended up in tailwind once it cleared the stadium walls.
These clearly can only be wrong speculations. Would one consider any takeoff, being towering or Cat-A, that has the a/c end up in tailwind after the climb, gross neglect?
Given the crew's reputation I can't imagine any condition, that would have them choose a climb into tailwind, or am I just a PPL(H) missing something?
Why do you assert these are wrong speculations when the METARS published above and all met info available shows hte area subject to a moderate breeze from the NW?
I agree it seems unlikely anyone would perform this transition knowingly with a 20Kt tailwind so the implication is that it the pilot mistook or misunderstood the wind strength above the stadium or else judged it sufficiently slight to be acceptable.
It is also worth noting that a departure to the SE takes place over somewhat more open and considerably less residential areas and doesn't involve a noisy 180' turn over the city itself. A considerate pilot would quite likely factor that into his departure plan too.
I'd still like to hear type-familiar pilots' comments on t/r effectiveness in downwind high power situations.