David-aviator
Well Known Member
...40 to 60 degree left cross wind.
I should not have been flying yesterday but had a commitment with some guys at a Young Eagles event 40 miles from here and decided to keep it. My job was not all that important, cooking the hot dogs, but it was a reason to fly so off I went.
The wind has been out of the northeast here for a week with that huge high over NE Canada. Its been cool, cloudy and gusty every day by noon. It is a part of the mess on the east coast that won't go away, its still raining this morning in South Carolina.
The wind picked up by noon and I considered parking the 8 and begging a ride home with one to the guys in his pick up but what the heck, Columbus took a chance and look what happened. The plan was to use 20 flaps, 10 knots more speed than normal and ask for the wide runway (100') at Spirit.
Much to my relief, it all worked out. Wheel landed left wing low at 70 knots, let is slowly slow down staying reasonably straight with rudder, lowered the tail and got on tail wheel steering. The wind may have calmed a bit just as all this happened but still was somewhat of a challenge with the constantly changing velocity and direction.
It is risky, landing and taking off a tail dragger. I never thought about it with the 7A or any other trike but the tail wheel operation is a full time job. On the first take off the nose really took off to the left because I was not paying close attention outside checking the engine parameters, the A/F ratio gage in particular for Dan Horton.
The operation requires full attention especially when the wind is misbehaving. I am thinking of removing that gage so as to not have to look at its unreliable data.
I should not have been flying yesterday but had a commitment with some guys at a Young Eagles event 40 miles from here and decided to keep it. My job was not all that important, cooking the hot dogs, but it was a reason to fly so off I went.
The wind has been out of the northeast here for a week with that huge high over NE Canada. Its been cool, cloudy and gusty every day by noon. It is a part of the mess on the east coast that won't go away, its still raining this morning in South Carolina.
The wind picked up by noon and I considered parking the 8 and begging a ride home with one to the guys in his pick up but what the heck, Columbus took a chance and look what happened. The plan was to use 20 flaps, 10 knots more speed than normal and ask for the wide runway (100') at Spirit.
Much to my relief, it all worked out. Wheel landed left wing low at 70 knots, let is slowly slow down staying reasonably straight with rudder, lowered the tail and got on tail wheel steering. The wind may have calmed a bit just as all this happened but still was somewhat of a challenge with the constantly changing velocity and direction.
It is risky, landing and taking off a tail dragger. I never thought about it with the 7A or any other trike but the tail wheel operation is a full time job. On the first take off the nose really took off to the left because I was not paying close attention outside checking the engine parameters, the A/F ratio gage in particular for Dan Horton.
The operation requires full attention especially when the wind is misbehaving. I am thinking of removing that gage so as to not have to look at its unreliable data.
