30kt winds aloft

eman1200

eman1200

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Bro do you even lift
Diect tailwind there, headwind back. Everything else looks good wx wise. Would u fly?
 
eman1200 said:
Diect tailwind there, headwind back. Everything else looks good wx wise. Would u fly?
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Are you asking if we would fly with 30kt winds aloft? Aside from a slow trip back, is there a reason why I wouldn't?

The answer is yes, provided I'm flying a ship with a cruise speed faster than 30kts. Goodyear blimp? No.
 
Depends on what you are flying, of course. Assuming your AC is 150 kt or slower I would go and have! Thats just winter flying down here. Recently flew into ATL with 45 kt on the nose. For return flight 6 hours later winds aloft had died down. You can't win!
 
Yes, I'd fly. Just make sure you have enough gas to get where you want to go with 80-90 ground speeds.
 
I was flying with 60 knot head winds the other day. Of course, I was in a 180 knot plane. It still sucked though.
 
Few flights ago I had a 60 knot headwind at 6500 ft MSL and 20 knot headwind at 2500 MSL. I noticed the opposite as a tail wind going east and topped off the fuel to be safe coming home. It definitely makes for a slower trip but is fun seeing the ground zoom by with it behind ya.

I say go set your first speed record to somewhere with the tailwind. Then you can brag to all you buds how you made it to such and such in only 20 minutes instead of 2 hours in the car. :)
 
Grob 103 glider. 35 Knot winds aloft. Got off tow, nose into the wind and hovered over the airport for about 5 minutes. :-)
 
eman1200 said:
Diect tailwind there, headwind back. Everything else looks good wx wise. Would u fly?
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Absolutely. In the wintertime that's really nothing special. You asking based on the time it will take flying into the headwind, or because you're concerned about flying in it? Remember that the plane doesn't know the difference between calm air and 50kt winds aloft...
 
eman1200 said:
Diect tailwind there, headwind back. Everything else looks good wx wise. Would u fly?
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Fly high on the trip there, low on the trip back. Usually the winds aloft increase as you go up, sometimes you can end up with a net tailwind on your trip.
 
dukeblue219 said:
Remember that the plane doesn't know the difference between calm air and 50kt winds aloft...
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A statement that's way too generalized. There are lots of variables.

Is the 50kts 1,000' above the surface or 10,000'?

Does the ground below you more resemble Texas flatland or Colorado Mountains?

50kts, down low, over hills can kill you or at minimum make your flight extremely uncomfortable but in Liberal Ks it's typically no big deal.
 
Are you looking at a mountain flight and concerned with the 30/30 rule of thumb? Out over the flatlands/high plains 30 kts is not uncommon and just something ya learn to live with. As others have noted be aware of the fuel state and be willing to stop based on time rather than distance.

Around here (front range of the Rockies) we might expect a wind shear with that 30 kts aloft. It's usually a little bumpy flying through the shear...
 
Last week, I found 45 knots at 3500 feet over San Francisco. Wind was from the northeast and quite smooth over the city. However, a PIREP less than 10 miles downwind (but on the other side of a 3000 foot mountain) reported severe turbulence.

It was bouncy as hell (moderate turbulence) at 2000 over Oakland. Once again, upwind terrain. Made Class B avoidance "interesting."

The forecast was for 14 knots....
 
...love winter flying... :)

We flew from Dallas back to Austin last week. We were indicating 120kts and the GPS was showing 160kts groundspeed in our Cherokee 235. :) The trip up sucked, of course.
 
This thread/question....

ih01uc.jpg
 
Comparing our winds aloft extremes is almost as much fun as ground speed. In the upper left corner of this display there's a small arrow and number. We're looking at a 171kt crosswind, which is the most I've experienced. This was at about 28,000' a little south of Chicago. You can also see there's a pretty good crab angle required to maintain course.
 

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timwinters said:
50kts, down low, over hills can kill you or at minimum make your flight extremely uncomfortable but in Liberal Ks it's typically no big deal.
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no big deal other than the fact that the snot hangs three feet out from your nose...
 
timwinters said:
A statement that's way too generalized. There are lots of variables.

Is the 50kts 1,000' above the surface or 10,000'?

Does the ground below you more resemble Texas flatland or Colorado Mountains?

50kts, down low, over hills can kill you or at minimum make your flight extremely uncomfortable but in Liberal Ks it's typically no big deal.
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Yeah, you're right. I should have been a bit more clear with my response.
 
dukeblue219 said:
Yeah, you're right. I should have been a bit more clear with my response.
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I remember landing in Liberal, KS one time when the winds were howling AND gusting. Winds that would beat the hell out of me in Springfield, MO (where I was based at the time) due to the surrounding hills.

I had never been to Liberal and was puckered up tighter than squirrel with a bobcat on his ass.

It was an absolute non-event. Nary a bump. Of course, it's as flat as a flitter out there.

Not saying it's a non-event every time Liberal has gale force winds but it was that day.
 
MAKG1 said:
Last week, I found 45 knots at 3500 feet over San Francisco. Wind was from the northeast and quite smooth over the city. However, a PIREP less than 10 miles downwind (but on the other side of a 3000 foot mountain) reported severe turbulence.

It was bouncy as hell (moderate turbulence) at 2000 over Oakland. Once again, upwind terrain. Made Class B avoidance "interesting."

The forecast was for 14 knots....
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Well, bingo, that's just it, over flat land, 30 kts is nothing. Over mountains, the resulting turbulence can shred a plane.
 
timwinters said:
Are you sure that's not brains? :wink2:
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considering the number of times I've been referred to as a brainless twit I'm thinkin' it had to have been snot - as always, YMWV
 
Out here in the west, 30 knots at altitude is considered almost calm.
Just don't watch the ground and you'll be fine.
(And Sac's point is well taken --- try keeping 100 times the number of feet between you and the ground as there are knots of wind or keep your belts cinched tightly -- and stay away from aircraft with low wing loads :) )
 
Flew to Nashua, NH last week at 13k to take advantage of 50kt tailwinds. Came home two days later down at 4,500ft with 20-25kt headwinds. In both cases it was near calm at the surface.
 
eman1200 said:
Diect tailwind there, headwind back. Everything else looks good wx wise. Would u fly?
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Did it Sat and Sun with winds aloft up to as much as 48 knots - 8NC8 (think KRDU) to KCLT and return. No problems but not fun down below the top of the convection.

Below the top of the convection, aka cloudbase, there was plenty of convective turbulence and on Sat, plenty of lee mountain wave along with the convection.

All of NC west of KRDU is frequently subject to mountain wave effects when the winds are out of the northwest after a cold front passage. Right now we're getting a front every 24 to 48 hours and that was certainly the case Saturday. Regular excursions between 500fpm up and down with very little in between. PITA to hold IFR altitude - easier to go VFR and trim for an airspeed and let her go. My glider genes tell me to slow down when going up and speed up when going down, but that's another story.

The key to an enjoyable flight on such post frontal days is to fly before 11:00 am or within the last 2 or 3 hours of day light. And/or getting up above the convective layer which on both days was about 7,000 feet - very typical for the NC piedmont this time of year. They were also beautiful days just like today!

...plus what Tim said.
 
eman1200 said:
Diect tailwind there, headwind back. Everything else looks good wx wise. Would u fly?
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My wife and I flew from Florida to Arizona, across the Rockies in a 172. We had 30kt+ headwinds a good part of the way there, then when we returned after 5 days, the winds largely turned and we had strong headwinds coming home to.

You are lucky. Tailwind there; ok. Maybe the winds will turn before your return trip and you might have tail winds both ways. Just pick you landing spots carefully and pay attention to fuel burn.
 
hey guys, sorry about the 'post and run' this morning. I was just making sure it wasn't a big deal, which it wasn't. took my first "real trip" with a passenger today, flew from Wilgrove (8A6) near Charlotte to Moore County (Pinehurst, KSOP) to play a round of golf. it was awesome! we had upwards of 140kt ground speed on the way out and about 60-70 on the way back. no issues other than a squelchy radio which I missed a call from Fayetteville Approach but I heard the next call. my passenger was completely calm the whole way, even on a squirrely final on the return trip.

so, basically: get the plane ready, fly to a new airport, tie down for the day, rent a car, golf, return car, fly home, tie down, pay, drink guinness. fun stuff. thanks for the feedback y'all!
 
glad it worked out. A couple of weeks ago I was doing about a 45 kt climb and 60-65 groundspeed cruise in a warrior on the way to atlantic city
 
Shouldn't be a problem, 30 knots of winds isn't all that uncommon above 5,000agl. You should always be careful however especially with higher winds when it is just above the surface at about 1000agl, considering you're usually slow and configured means wind shear could have a very bad affect on your aircraft. However, even with the winds up higher you should be careful of the so called "mixing layer" where different wind speeds at altitude cause waves which can produce mod-sev turbulence.

Besides that, enjoy the ride down and get comfortable for the ride back :D
 
eman1200 said:
hey guys, sorry about the 'post and run' this morning. I was just making sure it wasn't a big deal, which it wasn't. took my first "real trip" with a passenger today, flew from Wilgrove (8A6) near Charlotte to Moore County (Pinehurst, KSOP) to play a round of golf. it was awesome! we had upwards of 140kt ground speed on the way out and about 60-70 on the way back. no issues other than a squelchy radio which I missed a call from Fayetteville Approach but I heard the next call. my passenger was completely calm the whole way, even on a squirrely final on the return trip.

so, basically: get the plane ready, fly to a new airport, tie down for the day, rent a car, golf, return car, fly home, tie down, pay, drink guinness. fun stuff. thanks for the feedback y'all!
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Nice work!
 
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