Difficult airport
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Barbados
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Difficult airport
There was a thread on here a few months ago about difficult airports.
I nominated Nayland in the UK.
Think I have found a more difficult one, all the more so as it looks so benign (I have done St. Barths so my difficult meter is well calibrated).
Let me introduce Canefield in Dominica! About 3,300ft, nice and level, 15ft agl, not busy (for reasons that will become apparent).
Flew in on Friday, in ideal winds to 19 with 180/07 - not good my first go around in 600 landings over the past six years. I had been looking atbthe METARS for the previous week, saw 110/06 gusts to 24kts and other similar. Thought "mmm, might be iffy in the Archer" - looked ok in the morning so off I went just before noon and, yup, stayed fairly benign. Still humpy/weird.
Spome to a local pilot today seems Canefield is known as "difficult" other than early morning and in the evening due to variable crosswinds. He says a heavily loaded twin, maybe, one up in an Archer not so much
St. Barths a much better proposition.
Just how difficult is evidenced by the fact that Canefield, built in 1979, is just north of the capital and that built another, now the main airport a TWO HOUR drive from the capital at Melville Hall, itself noted for the approach through the mountain valley when landing eastward.
Looks like I will be moving to Dominica - not looking forward to Canefield nor the four hour round trip everytime I fancy a quick jaunt.
I nominated Nayland in the UK.
Think I have found a more difficult one, all the more so as it looks so benign (I have done St. Barths so my difficult meter is well calibrated).
Let me introduce Canefield in Dominica! About 3,300ft, nice and level, 15ft agl, not busy (for reasons that will become apparent).
Flew in on Friday, in ideal winds to 19 with 180/07 - not good my first go around in 600 landings over the past six years. I had been looking atbthe METARS for the previous week, saw 110/06 gusts to 24kts and other similar. Thought "mmm, might be iffy in the Archer" - looked ok in the morning so off I went just before noon and, yup, stayed fairly benign. Still humpy/weird.
Spome to a local pilot today seems Canefield is known as "difficult" other than early morning and in the evening due to variable crosswinds. He says a heavily loaded twin, maybe, one up in an Archer not so much
St. Barths a much better proposition.Just how difficult is evidenced by the fact that Canefield, built in 1979, is just north of the capital and that built another, now the main airport a TWO HOUR drive from the capital at Melville Hall, itself noted for the approach through the mountain valley when landing eastward.
Looks like I will be moving to Dominica - not looking forward to Canefield nor the four hour round trip everytime I fancy a quick jaunt.
