Limit in the wind?
It seems that most helicopter manuals don’t publish a max wind limit. There usually is a demonstrated wind condition (I think it’s a legal matter). I guess it’s up to the pilot or company procedure. What limits do you guys use? Off course it varies dependent on the job at hand and what aircraft. Not to long ago I was flying B206 in Greenland through a valley shaped like a venturi tube. Before I entered the valley the wind was only 20-30 kts but in the valley it increased to about (GPS showed 30 kts and IAS 100 kts) 70 kts. A passenger asked if it was safe to fly in such bad turbulence. I answered”Sure, no problem, just uncomfortable ". This answer was more a reflex. Because sometimes I felt like I was not in control of the helicopter. Needles to say, me and my passengers did not enjoy it very much. When we landed, the passenger sitting next to me said that he could see that I was also affected by the turbulence (witch was true).This incident have left its mark on me. Whenever the wind starts blowing more then 30-40kts, I get a bit nervous. But where do you draw the line? Most people I talk to are more concerned with start-ups. Anybody with experience flying in mountains condition, who could give me some pointers to ease my mind, would be appreciated.