PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - I think I cheesed off Gloucester tower yesterday for going around
Old 1st Jun 2009, 22:46
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Gertrude the Wombat
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Cambridge, England, EU
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had no way of knowing that the turbulence was making your flight uncomfortable and was doing his best to offer you some assistance
Yes, I've discovered that ATC can help better if they know what the problem is!

First attempt to land, being blown up and down and sideways all over the shop, in something of a crosswind that I'd have coped with on its own, went around.

Asked for the into-wind runway. But although (as it turned out) I'd lined up correctly and was in the right place on final I couldn't actually see the runway! (Grass, low sun, that sort of thing.)

Another go around. I say I'll try the main tarmac runway again. ATC, assuming (because I hadn't said anything different) that my problem was the crosswind, sought to encourage me by saying that the wind had dropped a knot and come round a couple of degrees.

Me: "Oh, it wasn't really the crosswind that was bothering me, it was the turbulence over the threshold."

ATC: "Ah yes, it does that sometimes when the wind is in that direction, because of [some ground feature]. Try a higher approach and touch down some way into the runway."

Worked fine. ATC couldn't so easily have offered that advice if I hadn't told them what my problem was! (And taking three attempts to land was a wonderful first-time-in-a-light-aircraft experience for one of my passengers ...)
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