Windy Days
 

WOW, just got back from a short trip this afternoon. C150 out of EGTC. At 4,000 feet on full power, into wind ground speed was Zero. Crossed Milton Keynes with 80mph drift and then downwind at 120 mph ground speed. Not recommended without someone who knows what they're doing, but certainly gets the blood pumping.

Anyone else been out today?

Wow, that's crazy!

Nope... won't be flying until after the New Year... has been pretty blowy today here in Edinburgh, don't know what it's like in the air.

Capt. S

It's great fun when you can get an airplane either stopped in midair or travelling backwards! I was able to do it in the Taylorcraft. Picked a landmark, happened to be the beer-mug shaped castle in the park NW of Leicester, plotted it between the struts out the pilot-side window, and kept bringing back the power and raising the nose until the castle was stopped firmly in the strut-vee. Great fun!

There are old tales of a guy doing vertical circuits in a Cub. Takeoff into a howling wind, climb to some altitude, still over the runway, bring the airspeed back to something less than the windspeed, ride the wind backwards over the runway, pick up the circuit on final, land, repeat until bored. THAT sounds like fun!

Can't quite get there in the Pitts without a hell of a headwind. :(

Pitts2112

wind
 

I did Plymouth to Gloucester in my Mooney in record time this morning - 220kts ground speed (@65% power 14 usgph). Tail wind of 40-50kts.
Very few other a/c in the air.
Glad I wasn't going the other direction!!
Not too turbulent (at 8am) but I bet it picked up later.

Planning Glos to Milan Linate Thursday am then back on Sunday (hopefully over the alps both ways wx permitting)- France and Italy look balmy by comparison on the forecast charts.

SB

You're just posing - stop it.:= :)

Was out doing some instrument training today. Controller vectored us onto a 12nm ILS. Our groundspeed, in a Beech Duchess, was 60kt.

No real problem - but a few miles later, when a Cessna Citation reported downwind in the visual circuit, and the controller initially told him he'd be number two to the Duchess on a 6nm final, I was a little skeptical. Sure enough, the controller changed his mind, and turned the Citation inside of us. He was down, taxied in and shut down before we crossed the threshold!

FFF
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Yep coming back from Redhill to Blackbushe today was a struggle for the C152 I was in, must of had a 50 knot head wind! I have yet to experience 0 kts ground speed, but am looking forward to it :).

I took my flexwing from Popham to Compton Abbas last weekend. 1:50 there, 40 minutes back.

Coming back was fine, but outbound it's quite difficult to keep track of your navigation when you are quite so slow over the turf.

G

Genghis the Engineer


Was up in the flex on Saturday.Up here in the lakes the wind was all over the place.Left our strip heading west with a Groundspeed of 24mph.Crossed into the next valley still heading west and the groundspeed went to 80mph.Very strange!.Trim off with full power took us to 101mph(GS).Not bad for a 47hp two stroke rotax.Fairly smooth even with the gusty conditions.

Regards

Barshifter

Yes, much the same for me (a 503-1v so presumably the same engine as you) virtually no turbulence at-all.

That is, until the last 100 feet before landing at Compton Abbas, which scared the Bejezus out of me, but can't take a joke, don't try and land at CA with any southerly component to the wind!

G

Genghis

Yes 503.

Never been to Compton Abbas,although wasnt too far away from it this summer while enroute to Spamfield.

Regards

Barshifter

The trees to the south are your friends....it's falling off the slope on the northern side you really want to worry about....

Well in theory, but even at my worst moments I've always managed to stay within 20 metres of the runway centreline.

I have seen a monowheel Europa do that however as it feathered on landing in a strongish northerly crosswind.


It can be a fun place CA, once you've found it!

G

I was up yesterday afternoon.
flew from North Weald to Coventry and back.
by the way, there are some lovely aircraft in the hangars of Air Atlantique. (by the way, thankyou AA for hosting us...)
it was a tad bumpy on occasion and I reckoned on a westerly of about 50kts at 2000 ft, but increasing to about 100kts at 8000 ft.
all good fun

gusts of wind made for interesting landings and ballooning......
:}

FWIW
1.1.98 Managed 25 kt backwards in a Jodel D18.
with 50kt indicated on asi, at 2500 ft.
I wasn't especially breezy on the ground, but at 2500 ft there must have been 70+kt and very smooth, classic wave conditions..
What else would you do on New Years Day ? :bored:

Yep, I was up in a 152 out of Henlow. Logged my fourth hour! :)

From a novice's viewpoint, it was decidedly exciting. I blogged a bit about it here:

http://www.myspace.com/nigeleaton

I was damned glad there was a Proper Pilot around to do the real flying...

Nigel