Fixed+Rotary (aircraft, not washing lines)
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Peak District, Yorkshire, UK
Age: 56
Posts: 357
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Crosswinds and vortex...
Hi all, a few weeks since I've been in the air and posted here. Back in the PA28 yesterday for circuits.
All going fine with the instructor then I was let out on my own. First one was fine, but on the second touch and go there was a crosswind on the narrow (for me) runway at Sandtoft. I landed and used rudder for alignment, I had over aligned, so corrected in the other direction, but overcompensated. At the same time applying full power for a touch and go, by now weaving all over the place and heading for what looked like the edge of the tarmac at the wrong angle. Quick decision time - stay or go? Brakes or power? Within a second I was aloft and so elected to continue. But my heart was going crazy - by far the most hair raising time I'd had at the controls. But I knew the only way to get over it was to continue and to focus. So I completed a few more T&Gs all quite acceptable and the occasional greaser. Stopped to pick up the instructor then back to Leeds.
At Leeds were orbited a couple of times before following a Ryanair B737. Six minutes clearance we were told so we greatly extended the downwind. A rare opportunity to fly over Leeds and I'm looking for the few and far between forced landing green spaces. Turned base and then final, probably about 4nm out. All going smoothly. Then horror of horrors the aircraft just dropped out of the sky and lurched to the right. Without even bothering with the 'I have control' handover the instructor took over, pitched down, kicked left rudder and left aileron. We were righted straight away, but I didn't understand: we were nowhere near stall speed, there had been no stall warning. It would appear that the vortex wake from the B737 was still present, even though we had given a full six minutes or more clearance. That was one of those great learning opportunities that you can read all about in the books but until it happens...
Mazzy - did you get much experience of that at Liverpool with the B737s flying out of there all the time?