Downwind or what ?
As a humble PPL of 20 years experience with 1100 hours (1500 t/offs and landings),I have a question for the professionals. My regular commute from the UK to Italy with a well known loco carrier (to an airport near the coast) always seems to involve landing in one drection and taking off in the other direction shortly afterwards. I can see the operational advantages in having a short taxi to the terminal and a short taxi for takeoff, but is this SOP ?. I was refused the same choices when I departed the same airport in a light aircraft 45 mins after my arrival in the heavy.
The last couple of arrivals have felt similar to a flapless approach in my little Cessna.
Any comments, and are there any agreed limits for downwind takeoffs/landings ?
I don't mean to be rude, but I have this sense of "this don't feel right"