by "WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
Published 05/17/2017 at 15:25
by "WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
Published 05/17/2017 at 15:25
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That airplane’s direction of travel is perpendicular to the building. KORD reporting winds 190 @24G30, landing westbound...
"Eric @ opposite-lock.com" (theyrerolling)
05/17/2017 at 15:29, STARS: 1
Those crab landings always feel so weird.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
05/17/2017 at 15:34, STARS: 1
They do, but the alternative would feel even weirder. You can point the nose in the direction of travel, but have to drop a wing into the wind to compensate. Now *that’s* uncomfortable! :)
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
05/17/2017 at 15:34, STARS: 2
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Hurricane conditions in Flight Simulator X.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
05/17/2017 at 15:34, STARS: 1
I flew thru ORD once on my way to Toledo. As we pushed back from the gate in our Embraer commuter, the winds were rocking the plane. The captain came on the intercom and said, “It’s too windy. I’m not flying today.” The airline made arrangements to bus everybody to Toledo, but I rented a car and drove. I was on my away to a college job interview, and the school paid for it.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
05/17/2017 at 15:40, STARS: 2
When I flew gliders, that was the only option since you couldn’t just “power into the wind”. And with really long wings, the amount of dip it could tolerate was minimal. I always had nightmares of cartwheeling down the runway to my death.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
05/17/2017 at 15:42, STARS: 2
Well, if the captain doesn’t want to go, I wouldn’t want to go, either.
At least you were traveling eastbound - so probably generally with the wind. I recall a few drives down I-65 through Indiana back in college where it was easy to tell which semitrailers were empty v. full - - because the empty ones had their right side wheels a few inches off the ground...
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
05/17/2017 at 15:45, STARS: 1
Do they have castering gear to compensate? I’ve landed a single engine Piper Warrior with about 18-20 kts straight across the runway, and basically ran out of aileron travel. Got it down, but was still drifting a bit even with full control travel.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
05/17/2017 at 15:48, STARS: 1
Nope — thankfully they have a single centerline wheel, so right as you touch down you rudder it hard toward the runway with opposite aileron to avoid raising a wing from the yaw. Very complex, especially for a 13-year-old. The touchdown is definitely a jerky experience as you change your track.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
05/17/2017 at 15:50, STARS: 2
Same with hang gliders. The upside is the ability to land just about anywhere and if the winds are right, zero groundspeed landings. It’s hard to beat floating straight down and landing without a step. Getting the glider back to the hanger area while fighting the wind is not nearly as much fun.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
05/17/2017 at 15:52, STARS: 2
Want a timewaster? Go check out videos for STOL competitions. People landing Cubs and Aeroncas at almost zero groundspeed into 20-30mph headwinds, right between some cones. Crazy.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
05/17/2017 at 15:56, STARS: 0
I particularly liked the antics of the Mad Dog and the 757—
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
05/17/2017 at 15:57, STARS: 0
Yeah, I’ve seen a few of those, and it’s amazing what they can get those airplanes to do (and some of the mods they make in order to improve STOL performance).
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
05/17/2017 at 15:59, STARS: 1
That sounds like pretty much the same thing you do with any airplane, I guess — wait until the flare to kick out the crab, and drop the wing to hold the centerline.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
05/17/2017 at 16:06, STARS: 1
True — I was just commenting that giant wings and no power mean that everything is exaggerated (you could fly around all day — messily — with just the rudder). And on the ground, you’ve got about 5 degrees of roll before you dig in a wingtip. Thankfully landing speeds are 20-30mph so it’s nice and slow. Good times!
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
05/17/2017 at 16:10, STARS: 0
Yeah, I’d be worried as heck about that wingtip digging in!!!
"jimz" (jimz)
05/17/2017 at 16:22, STARS: 1
Can you decode those numbers? I’m guessing it doesn’t mean 190 kt winds in Chicago.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
05/17/2017 at 16:31, STARS: 0
Sorry for the pilot speak. :) 190 is the direction - basically out of the south, and aircraft are landing to the west, so it’s almost straight across the runway. Speed is 24 knots, gusting to 30 knots, or 28MPH gusting to 35MPH.
That’s a stiff crosswind component - - one that typical single engine aircraft generally can’t handle.
"ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback" (armadaexpress)
05/17/2017 at 17:25, STARS: 0
That was incredibly entertaining.
"jimz" (jimz)
05/17/2017 at 20:41, STARS: 1
thanks :)
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
05/17/2017 at 20:55, STARS: 0
I left work at 5 pm, and the winds were just a little bit stronger - 30 mph gusting to 40. ATC had given up and were landing to the southwest — which cuts their capacity in half (2 runways v 4)