I remember listening to London VOLMET South (is that correct? I think it was, but I've had nearly 40 years to forget) on an airband radio in 1987, during the gales. Trains weren't running, motorways were off-limits to high-sided vehicles and there were trees down all over the place, but LHR and LGW remained open, as there wasn't much of a crosswind component. The same dispassionate voice read out 'windspeed one zero zero knots' as though this was an everyday occurrence.
>30 knots crosswind usually means most planes will divert. Now, for an airship with a Vne of 120 knots, what crosswind component will stop it landing? 12 knots? I can see a lot of flights being cancelled if the aim is to ferry people across the Irish Sea or across to the Scottish Islands. On both, it tends to get a bit windy at times.
Drifting off topic, I understand that in the 1987 gales, planes taking off lined up on the piano keys, applied thrust, and were airborne almost in the *length* of the piano keys, and similarly for landing. It must have been like landing a 747 in the same fashion as an Antonov An-2, which (like a hang-glider) can fly backwards if the wind exceeds the stall speed, which is 27 knots.
Last edited by justapax; 25th February 2025 at 14:33.