Hi,
I realize for many (thinking farm strip flying) this is the default situation but for me it’s rather new.
I’m planning to make good use of the weather this weekend and fly out somewhere for the odd expensive lunch – preferably north, preferably an island. If the conditions are good, the desired destination is Ærø EKAE (anyone else out there? My student pilot friends from Lelystad will most likely also be there).
I usually fly to places where I can check the conditions (particularly wind) either for the airfield itself or for a nearby airport using their METARs and TAFs at least – or I can (in Germany) call up the guy who runs the “INFO” station (and I’m not advocating the mandatory full time “Flugleiter” here but that is actually an advantage).
Now, at a destination like Ærø, I have no such information available. Chances are, there won’t be anyone to phone up at the weekend. How do I make the go/no-go decision? My best bet is to review the general conditions (as you’d do anyway) and plan an alternate with a different runway direction (in this case, I’d probably choose Kiel EDHK) and have enough fuel to reach the alternate.
Once at the field, I suppose I would do – my first ever! – overhead join to be able to check the wind sock and know the landing direction. I must admit I’m not a very proficient user of wind socks, as so far I have complacently relied on the wind announcement I get when I turn final. It’s one thing to judge the wind (and landing) direction, but I’d also want to judge the wind velocity to determine if a cross wind landing is within limits.
Any practicable tips?
If you can hold the centreline with crossed controls on finals normally the wind should be within limits – if you’re still drifting sideways it’s no good :)
Absolutely no criticism of yours, but the fact that you are not totally familiar with how to work with a windsock speaks bands about the quality of PPL training
in Germany in terms of very basic flying and about its over-reliance on radio comms and Flugleiters…
Tip #1: Get all the information you can – but don’t worry TOO much. I tend to be the same, only to discover on almost every flight that it was a “piece of cake”. The trick is to know your limits and to judge the available weather information in the right way and to make a go/no-go decision then. If your limits are conservative you will be fine. If the weather forecast is 1500 broken then (in almost all cases I experienced) it will not be 500 ovc, although 500 ovc is still flyable up there. If the forecast is 500 ovc – stay at home and don’t “hope” it will be better.
I would use all available flight weather sources and general weather forecasts. I also use webcams and of course I would check the reports of the closest airport.
Another method to take off ALL pressure from yourself is to make yourself aware that you a) can always turn back and b) do not have to land.
The wind: You don’t need the precise wind velocity to know if a crosswind is beyond your limits. You will feel that. But you will have information about the general wind direction and really if the forecast was 5 or 10 knots – it will not be 35. But if it’s 15 you’ll be fine. Again, if you are conservative with your planning you will not exceed your limits.
Reminds me of my very first flight to Losinj Island in 1995. The forecasts were not as good as today and when I arrived at the island there was a 25 knot crosswind and it was bumpy too. Of course I found that stressful, but I knew that i had practiced xwind landings enough and i landed just fine.
But you know: You also have to fly through all this to build experience. There is no shortcut. For myself (!) i understood that planning flights on the “safe side” is mostly about psychology.
PS: I found it much easier in the beginning to fly a Xwind approach with a WCA then with crossed controls (wing down method). I think it makes no sense to fly the WHOLE approach with crossed controls. I used to do that as a beginner. too Then I did my aerobatic rating and the instructor hated it :-)
(Nobody has EVER taught me anything about windsocks either. I was flying for years already when I first understood what the windsock looks like in different wind velocities)
Absolutely no criticism of yours, but the fact that you are not totally familiar with how to work with a windsock speaks bands about the quality of PPL training
in Germany in terms of very basic flying and about its over-reliance on radio comms and Flugleiters…
You’re probably right about that, but my training was in the US. Different problem there: No wind.
I practiced cross-wind landings only when I returned to Germany but honestly focused on the flying part of it then (after receiving the info from the Flugleiter, yes).
For planning maybe you can use this:
Link
Ærø is fine. You’ll have a chance to see some wind turbines going there. There is a wind turbine on the south coast of the island. They are a good indicator of the wind direction. The wind speed you can get from nearby airfields. If you have skydemon leave the GPRS on. Often it will get the weather during the flight if you are in the lower levels.
Copenhagen information are very helpfull and if you ask them I’m sure they will help you.
As for the overhead join I don’t practise that a lot. In Denmark we have several unmanned airfields with gliders, parachute and motorized aircraft operating at the same time. I try to get an idea for the wind direction from wind turbines and then listening in on the local frequency while still talking to information. If there is traffic they will announce the runway used. I usually aim for base or a join to the downwind leg to avoid flying over the airfield with radio calls for every step : intentions, join, base, final, clear of runway etc.
At Ærø I think more or less whatever you do will be ok :-)
Odense EKOD is 90 degree to the runway at Ærø. Be aware of the opening hours there.
I’m not a very proficient user of wind socks
A tip: If you get overloaded and get second thoughts about what direction you should land in relation to what the wind sock shows, imagine that if you fly in the direction “into” the wind sock, then you’ll get “caught” — not good. But if you fly in direction “out of” the wind sock, you’ll be “free” — which is good.
Or even more simple: Always out of the sock :-))
Aero is very relaxed and doesn’t have much traffic.
When I went there, there was a lady operating the radio.
As an extra check I would keep an eye on the GPS ground speed. If you fly 70KIAS on final, and the GPS shows 100KTS GS, there clearly is something wrong ;-)
