Now that's windy

skyflyer8

skyflyer8

Line Up and Wait
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skyflyr
Question for you mountain flyers: How often does it get this bad?

I flew at zero knots groundspeed in a 172 today in Green Bay, WI.... but it was nowhere near as windy as out west. I was sort of in awe of the giant SIGMET posted for severe turbulence across the Rocky Mountain states today.

DEN UA /OV DEN/TM 2225/FLUNKN/TP CRJ2/WX BLSN/RM DUE TO BLSN AND ICE, NMRS CRJ2/7 ACFT RPTG CRACKED/BKN WNDSHLDS ON T/O

ASE UA /OV ASE/TM 1912/FL400/TP C560/TA M25/WV 315137KT/TB CONS MOD/RM WV SPEED 85V137KT

DEN UUA /OV DVV 230050/TM 2041/FLDURC/TP A320/RM MOD-SEV MTN WV 375-380-P/M 1000FT-P/M 20KTS-COULD NOT HOLD ALTITUDE-ZDV :hairraise:
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Latest Denver METAR reports winds at 350, 33 gusting to 40. I found a mountain pass reporting 90 knots. And I was whining about our measly 17 knots causing a wind chill of around 0F today. Boo hoo. I'll take that over mountain waves and cracked windshields any time.
 
WE had winds from the west at 35 G 55 last night. KNUW/76S
 
High winds + big mountains = bad.

The winds off the mountains can get real entertaining this time of the year. About a month ago, the rocky flats area had gusts to 95kts.

33G40 is nothing. Late last night the winds here in Golden were 45+ kts easy with gusts to something offensive >70, maybe 80 kts. I know because I was outside in it at the time. By 2am it was just completely unfunny and not overly safe. The standing lenticulars were very intimidating looking. You had to watch upwind, as in carefully peek your head around the edge of the RV, and wait for a lull then cautiously expose yourself. Tie it down or it's gone. A 4x8 sheet of plywood went flying by and wasn't showing any signs of slowing down for anything or anyone. Lots of other objects were banging by too. The blowing snow and dirt stung when it hit you in the face. I definitely got rocked to sleep last night...and abruptly woken up when a gust hit me broadside seconds later.

Supposedly it got to 100mph somewhere near here last night. I'd believe it.

It's time to buy the meterology station to mount up on the roof to get some solid numbers.
 
fgcason said:
It's time to buy the meterology station to mount up on the roof to get some solid numbers.
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...Solid numbers, followed by finding pieces of the weather station strewn around your yard, maybe stringing along a roof shingle or two. :rofl:
 
When we took the Stinson to FL back in 2000, Pete woke me up somewhere east of Jackson and west of Cheyenne. He says, look at the airspeed indicator. 90kts, whoopee do. Wake me when we get to our next stop. Then he says, look at the GPS. We were tooling along at about 195 kts ground speed. Holy Smokes, Batman!! That woke me up. 105 kt tailwind, smooth as glass. Glad we weren't headed w/b!

And as we got closer to Denver, I noticed a lenny. The thing was about 100 miles long, and layered like a wedding cake. Gorgeous.
 
skyflyer8 said:
...Solid numbers, followed by finding pieces of the weather station strewn around your yard, maybe stringing along a roof shingle or two. :rofl:
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Yea, that too. :rofl:

Never skimp on proper attach points. Mounts will bolt directly into the roof support steel cross beams.
While I'm up there with the drill, I should probably install tiedown attach points on this buggy and stake the whole place to the ground before I have to explain to the Tennesse Highway Patrol what I'm doing camped out in their neck of the woods.
 
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DeeG said:
When we took the Stinson to FL back in 2000, Pete woke me up somewhere east of Jackson and west of Cheyenne. He says, look at the airspeed indicator. 90kts, whoopee do. Wake me when we get to our next stop. Then he says, look at the GPS. We were tooling along at about 195 kts ground speed. Holy Smokes, Batman!! That woke me up. 105 kt tailwind, smooth as glass. Glad we weren't headed w/b!
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You couldn't have headed westbound if you wanted to... You could have POINTED westbound, but you'd have still been going 15 kts eastbound! :eek:
 
fgcason said:
High winds + big mountains = bad.
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Its only bad for you silly power pilots who want to cross the ridge or make it through the pass, and think you need to hold altitude.
 
I have seen a 44 kt wind at Saratoga Wy. one day. I landed there because I didn't think I would make Rock Springs. I had a 71 mph groundspeed in my 182. Another time going the other direction I had ground speeds of 195 mph. I made it from S49 in Or. to RUE in Ark. in nine hours with three fuel stops. The landings at those fuel stops were interesting in the wind. Bob
 
tonycondon said:
Its only bad for you silly power pilots who want to cross the ridge or make it through the pass, and think you need to hold altitude.
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I don't particularly care about holding altitude flying mountains..within reason. It's banging, or more to the point, being slammed into the ground that bothers me.

The 100mph winds that blasted through here the other night was all downslope off the foothills. Violent gusts >50kts, all the signs of severe turbulence, scary lenticulars. I didn't even want to walk across the street in that. I've never flown enough airplane handle that kind of stuff...and not sure I'd want to if it was on the ramp in front of me cause I cheeeken.
 
Frank----- My favorite flying hat is one that doesn't have that little bump on the very top. I have found that it hurts like hell when your head hits the top of the airplane, with your seat belt on and you thought it was tight. I don't enjoy those flights either. I don't like pulling back the power because I'm afraid the airplane can't take this up and down side to side action. I'll take a smooth flight any day. Bob
 
Bob Bement said:
Frank----- My favorite flying hat is one that doesn't have that little bump on the very top. I have found that it hurts like hell when your head hits the top of the airplane, with your seat belt on and you thought it was tight. I don't enjoy those flights either. I don't like pulling back the power because I'm afraid the airplane can't take this up and down side to side action. I'll take a smooth flight any day. Bob
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I'm right there with you.

Seatbelt tight, runup, seatbelt secure. 10 minutes later, check again. The seat cushions will settle as they warm up and from bodyweight. That's the difference between seatbelt straps and ceiling...sometimes...

I was flying down the front range one afternoon in severe clear. It started taking more power to hold altitude. Then I ran out of throttle around the USAFA. Fooling with the mixture helped a bit more but not enough. All of a sudden I'm lifted out of my seat just E of Pikes Peak. The VSI sat there between -1500 and -2000FPM for about 30-45 seconds, as I headed for lower terrain. Granted I had been watching the weather closely for days and was intentionally scooting over next to the hills as an experiment but -2000 is a bit unfunny. Approach thought I was crazy going N and S up and down the area while intentionally getting closer to the rocks that day.
 
My brother in law was flying over the mountians between NC and TN yesterday and call me when he refueled. He said over the mountians he got 30kts ground speed for 90nm untill he could desend to 3000msl where his speed picked up 80kts. The normal 4.5hr flight took almost 7.5hrs. Good thing my 172 had long range tanks
 
Thanks for the link Troy! I thought it was a little unusual myself!
 
I have been flying out of KCOS for about 15 years, and teaching mtn flying there for about 7 years, and have seen unbelievable winds coming over the hills.

At those times, expecting to get through Hayden, Weston, Hagerman, Independence, or Monarch Pass and several of the other heavily traveled passes is a foolish effort. Marshall Pass is a reasonable alternative to Monarch when the wind is blowing.

La Veta Pass (SW of KPUB ) is probably the most deceiving... It doesn't look like the typical mtn pass, and develops incredible up and down drafts. It sits in the wind shadow of Blanca Peak (14345').

Usually, if the mtn airports are reporting winds in excess of 20kt on the ground, then I will opt to wait for another day, as the passes will be twice that or more.

So unless you are flying equipment which can get up into the FL's, the prudent decision is to go well south, well north,(100nm either way) or just sit tight. It's rare that winds like that last more than a day or two.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Colorado Mtns, many of the passes have now got AWOS-3 's located at (or near) their summits.
 
colomtnflyer said:
I have been flying out of KCOS for about 15 years, and teaching mtn flying there for about 7 years...
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I could use some mountain flying instruction!

colomtnflyer said:
For those of you unfamiliar with the Colorado Mtns, many of the passes have now got AWOS-3 's located at (or near) their summits.
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On the day I posted those PIREPs, I noticed one of those mountain pass stations was reporting winds at 90 knots. :hairraise: I don't remember which one.
 
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