How much wind will you guys fly in?

CC268

CC268

Final Approach
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CC268
I have had to cancel or re route my flights elsewhere due to how windy it has been here in AZ. Obviously if the wind is straight down the runway it may not be too much of a concern, but if it is mostly cross wind it can be an issue (for a newb like me). Recently I was supposed to go to Wickenburg and the winds were something like 160 @ 15G21 (Runways are 5 and 23) which is basically all crosswind (and more than the demonstrated crosswind in the POH). I had a cross country about a week ago down to Ryan (by Tucson) and it was a 40 degree crosswind almost identical to the Wickenburg winds (15G21). I actually made the approach (I knew I wasn't going to land, but I knew it would be a good time to practice compartmentalizing crosswinds - rudder to stay straight, aileron to stay over the centerline). I actually did really well and I probably could have landed just fine, but I played it safe.

Anyways...just curious as to when you guys call it quits in terms of the winds. To some extent I want to safely push myself so that I do become comfortable with crosswinds, otherwise I will be cancelling a lot of flights or having to divert elsewhere.
 
In the beginning, I would call it when the crosswind was approaching double digits.

But now crossing 300 hours, I'll do anything that's within the published safety limit of the Skylane.
 
Crosswind work and gaining proficiency is an excellent post-PPL task.

I did about 6-8 hours of it with an instructor within my first 40 hours after PPL and am comfortable with both crab and kick and forward slip. Landing on one wheel and maintaining control as you slow down is a good confirmation of skills and a real thrill when done correctly.
 
Demonstrated crosswind components are simply a number that happened during certification. It's not a "limit" as such. The real limit is whatever wind you can maintain directional control. I've landed 172s in 30+ knot crosswinds. I think their demonstrated is 16 or 17. It's something you definitely want to work up to as you gain experience.
 
Ive landed 23 gusting 29 at 45 degrees and still had rudder. And I think I did a landing with 35 wind at about 60 degrees a long time ago. If you have enough rudder and know how to do it, it can be done. Taxiing is sometimes worse than the landing. Getting tied down isn't much fun either. Neither is walking to the FBO. But I managed to do them all in my Husky. Ive passed on plenty of stuff like that too.
 
I have just over 100 hours and I'm happy for up to 14kts of direct crosswind so in my 182. It's the gusting that I still don't like too much because it can change on you in an instant and doesn't leave much time to react.
 
coloradobluesky said:
Ive landed 23 gusting 29 at 45 degrees and still had rudder. And I think I did a landing with 35 wind at about 60 degrees a long time ago. If you have enough rudder and know how to do it, it can be done. Taxiing is sometimes worse than the landing. Getting tied down isn't much fun either. Neither is walking to the FBO. But I managed to do them all in my Husky. Ive passed on stuff like that plenty too.
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The beauty of the Husky is, if the wind gets too strong just land crosswise on the runway!
 
In a 172 or 182, when I run out of rudder, I go somewhere else.

Steady state (Rwy 36) is easier (270 at 22); if the gust factor has a big spread (270 at 12, gusts to 22), then, for me, the work is harder and riskier.

If I've been doing a lot of landings with bigger X-winds lately, I'm more confident and skills are sharper.
 
LDJones said:
The beauty of the Husky is, if the wind gets too strong just land crosswise on the runway!
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I've thought about that, but those aren't long enough. I landed in straight on 40mph once. Stopped in like 50' and then took off in 100' or so. But you know, you dont know exactly where you are going to touch down. You need some leeway. Didnt want to taxi in that at all. Some airports have fairly long grass areas adjacent to the runway that I could land on and then taxi onto the taxiway, ramp or runway. Or old closed crosswind runway remnants etc. Big deserted ramps, maybe.

I couldn't get into my home base once late at night and went over to a Class D where the wind wasnt so bad. Had to get a taxi late at night when NOTHING was open. Just sat in the plane for over an hour waiting.

If the FBO Is open one trick is to ask them to bring the fuel truck and park it so it you tie down in the lee of the truck. That helps. Hope you have some gust locks!
 
My flight schools limit was the max demonstrated, so 13 and 17kts respectfully. I've done as high as 20kts in a GA plane and about 30kts in a commercial aircraft.
 
Careful....There is a gotcha for strong winds right down the runway. You can land just fine and then flip it when turning off.

Probably not a factor for winds (including gusts) around 30 knots or below, for a 172/182/etc.
 
Depends on the circumstance. I'll put up with a lot more to start a trip than to just putter around. I'll land whatever's there to get back of course.

Actually, my situation has changed dramatically. I used to fly a Cherokee, so if the wind got bad I just came in fast, lots of wind to keep elevator and rudder authority until I was in ground effect. I'm based off a 5K foot strip, so using a little more was never a worry. Now I fly a Mooney. I come in too fast it'll float to the next state. Might be I have to land elsewhere if the wind gets too bad. We'll see.
 
Stewartb said:
Too many variables to have a meaningful discussion. Don't get caught up in numbers. One day a wind that's half the velocity of what you've handled in the past may kick your butt.
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The more I fly the , the truer this statement becomes. Practice, practice, practice.

Cheers
 
I fly GA for fun, and *usually* anything north of about 20 knots means the overall flight won't be as fun as I'd like. I don't have a hard number, though.
 
kayoh190 said:
I fly GA for fun, and *usually* anything north of about 20 knots means the overall flight won't be as fun as I'd like. I don't have a hard number, though.
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Pretty much the same here. If it's >20 and gusty, I really consider saving it for another day. I do enjoy the challenge, but some days I don't want to work that hard.
 
I landed a C-152 in a bit of a crosswind with winds reported 23G28 or something about that line (Could have been 18G23). Anyway, this was during a cross country and I figured I'd see how it goes on approach and final then go around if it didn't feel right and divert. Surprisingly, I left the flaps at 20deg. and landed just fine. However, If I knew ahead of time the winds were going to change that badly I probably would have waited for the weather to get better before leaving my home airport. It made me remember that saying about how the best pilot exercises their best judgment ahead of time so as to not end up in a situation where they have to exercise their best skill. (I can't remember the exact saying)
 
A lot of super pilots like to point out that demonstrated crosswind is not a limitation and that they've done 2 or 3 times that themselves. :rolleyes:

Do yourself a favor and don't push the envelope. Super pilots are self certified. They just announce themselves on the internet. No proof required. Remember that.
 
TK211X said:
I landed a C-152 in a bit of a crosswind with winds reported 23G28 or something about that line (Could have been 18G23). Anyway, this was during a cross country and I figured I'd see how it goes on approach and final then go around if it didn't feel right and divert. Surprisingly, I left the flaps at 20deg. and landed just fine. However, If I knew ahead of time the winds were going to change that badly I probably would have waited for the weather to get better before leaving my home airport. It made me remember that saying about how the best pilot exercises their best judgment ahead of time so as to not end up in a situation where they have to exercise their best skill. (I can't remember the exact saying)
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This was very similar to my cross country to Ryan except I knew that the winds were gonna be heavy down there (my instructor had me go anyways though - not that it was a bad decision).
 
Doesn't really matter as long as I have another plan B runway at that airport, or another airport.

I'll give it a shot and if it doesn't look good just go around and land on another runway/airport
 
I'm in North Dakota, so the answer to the question in the thread title is "a lot." Otherwise I'd never leave the ground. But my home airport is blessed with a grass runway nearly perpendicular to the main, asphalt runway. Being comfortable operating on a soft field with a gusty headwind makes it a lot easier to get in the air without becoming a test pilot by exceeding the plane's demonstrated crosswind.
 
Shawn said:
Regardless of conditions, Every landing is a go around until proven otherwise.
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True. It sucks when a gust picks you up in the flare, though.

One got me at Palo Alto the other day, and somehow, I managed to pull a greaser out of my ***. It was straight ahead, or else I would have definitely gone around. I don't like saving more than one variable at a time.

And I even had a witness....
 
When I heard the AWOS say gusts to 60+ I went somewhere else. Didn't try it, even in a jet.
 
I fly a gyroplane out of Santa Maria, Ca and my wind limit is thirty five knots with a ten knot gust spread.
The main runway (12/30) is 150 feet wide so landing across the runway is not a problem if it is too much of a crosswind.
We have a seventy five foot wide cross wind runway of 2/20.
I have taken off out of San Carlos with a twenty knot cross wind component and that is probably as high as I would go because the takeoff is optional.
I have landed for fuel at King City with fifty knots straight down the runway and the most challenging part was getting the aircraft secured at the pumps and walking to the restroom.
When I sign someone off for solo they generally have a ten not limit with a three knot crosswind component. It depends on the aircraft,the student and the airport.
 
The wind is the friend of the airplane
 
TK211X said:
I landed a C-152 in a bit of a crosswind with winds reported 23G28 or something about that line (Could have been 18G23). Anyway, this was during a cross country and I figured I'd see how it goes on approach and final then go around if it didn't feel right and divert. Surprisingly, I left the flaps at 20deg. and landed just fine.
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Based on my personal experience, a C-150/152 will handle crosswind better than a C-172. I have run out of rudder on the C-172 we had, but have landed in higher cross wind components in our C-150 and still had rudder left. I have landed (and taken off) in some pretty high crosswind components (mid 20's, sometimes with gusts) but these days I don't unless I get caught out and don't have much choice. Too risky (and could be embarrassing!). Like they say, you have to fly until you have it tied down. That high a wind takes a lot of the fun out of flying.
 
Sundancer said:
Steady state (Rwy 36) is easier (270 at 22); if the gust factor has a big spread (270 at 12, gusts to 22), then, for me, the work is harder and riskier.
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Absolutely. Gusty crosswinds can be quite treacherous, and where I've flown, most of the time when the winds are more than 15kts it is quite gusty. For that reason I avoid flying when I will have to land with a >15kt crosswind, unless there is a very good reason (like an instrument checkride). Even if most of the time you can handle it, the risk is that a sudden gust will blow you into the lights or even the trees before you can recover.

I agree with those that say that you need to keep your crosswind skills sharp through practice, but really don't like trying to push your comfort zone ever upwards. At a certain point that depends on the airplane, you are simply lucky that you haven't encountered a gust that you can't recover from.
 
bikert said:
A lot of super pilots like to point out that demonstrated crosswind is not a limitation and that they've done 2 or 3 times that themselves. :rolleyes:

Do yourself a favor and don't push the envelope. Super pilots are self certified. They just announce themselves on the internet. No proof required. Remember that.
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No, it's pointed out because it's a fact. It's not a limitation. The limitation can only be defined by the particular pilot. Being conservative early on is prudent.
 
Crosswinds, gusts, etc are very different in different planes. I'll fly a Skywagon in more wind than a Cub. Airplane weight and the wing loading change how the plane reacts to gusts. Even if you fly just one plane you'll notice that it behaves differently when lightly loaded compared to gross. So there's the rub. I want heavy wing loading for landing and lighter wing loading for taking off.
 
I suspect I will always be conservative because I have a low fear threshold and I don’t want to damage the aircraft or hurt the people on board.
I have often found that the gusts can be as much as thirty degrees off of the main wind and the wind can change dramatically from one end of the runway to the other.
At SMX they use runway 30 up to an eight knot tail wind and I find this adds to the challenge of making an elegant landing.
 
I fly within published aircraft limitations. Crosswinds don't really bother me anymore, it's a skill that always needs polishing.
 
Max Demo is/would be my limit, depending on the aircraft I'm flying. I've flown in 50G60 before and it is flat out NOT fun. Not just the wind and sizable xwnd component (approx 35-40ks), but the mechanical turbulence just kicks the **** out of everyone.
 
Rex Kramer said:
Max Demo is/would be my limit, depending on the aircraft I'm flying. I've flown in 50G60 before and it is flat out NOT fun. Not just the wind and sizable xwnd component (approx 35-40ks), but the mechanical turbulence just kicks the **** out of everyone.
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I've found landing a plane like a 172 beyond its max demo really isn't that hard, as I recall it a rather low max demo.

For me it's the chop, flying my own plane just to get the crap kicked out of me, my pax and my aircraft just isn't appealing, also for water ops if it's getting windy many of my larger lakes and rivers have some chop on them, and that's not fun ether.
 
149 kts on the nose is about my limit, thankfully it was not a crosswind.

 
champ driver said:
149 kts on the nose is about my limit, thankfully it was not a crosswind.

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Ugh. Reminds me of this. Going to to IAD in a 172. Took about 6 hours with a pit stop. We were at 6000ft and it was smooth as glass.

slow_zps5swjbkn0.jpg
 
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