Len wrote: > and when winds get to be 25kts - even less- I would rather be > in things built by Boeing. > > but the fact is an awful lot of pilots-probably most including > me just do not have the skills to safely fly a coupe in such conditions.
Len, I can't argue with you on any of your points. Those windy days make me sick. I mean that seriously since I'm afflicted with motion sickness. Learning to fly has mostly cured me but the turbulence that sometimes comes with strong winds can make flying on those days nauseating for me. But, I went out deliberately to learn and master the skills needed to handle those conditions. I started with gentle crosswinds and worked my way up. I don't remember if I ever did a deliberate practice session at any crosswind component higher than 25 mph. One day (after working up to it), I choose an airport about 50 miles away that was directly across the 25 mph wind. As I was the only plane in the air, it was easy to do a few landings with a right crosswind, then a few with the left crosswind and so on. I didn't "enjoy" the ride that day, but I valued the skills that were polished. When I landed for a cross country flight fuel stop on an airport with about 25' foot wide asphalt and a 30 mph direct crosswind, I found it to be just the same as my practice sessions at 25 mph direct crosswind. I wouldn't want to ride along in a Boeing 777 with a pilot doing 30 kt. crosswind component landings when he hadn't practiced with anything greater than 10 kts. They can have pretty wild rides in strong crosswinds, too. http://tinyurl.com/yet2jn What is the demonstrated (and allowed) crosswind component for a 777, anyway? You don't get the skills without studying the subject and practicing, practicing, practicing. P.S. an extra advertisement for learning to fly: Before learning to fly, I couldn't ride across town as a passenger in a car without getting nauseated. Learning to fly and flying along getting bumps and shoves that I couldn't see coming taught my brain that surges didn't mean imminent death. It wasn't easy. My first lessons were short with hours to recover before we went up again. Eventually, my brain lost its fear of surges and now I can ride in almost anything. That, all by itself, was completely worth everything I've spent on flying! Ed
