Spring and summer are coming, and trending warmer. Some can avoid heat of day flying and doing so is good density altitude management. To some extent, wind can be avoided by early and late flying as well. For those who are obligated to fly in the heat of day, there are ways to manage the wind. Wind results from the sun's heating of the earth: it is going to happen. In the low altitude world where airspeed is life, managed wind is free airspeed with no increase in groundspeed. In the low altitude world where both vertical and horizontal space available is often limited, free airspeed can be traded for altitude or maneuvering aid. Thus wind can aid both vertical and horizontal limitations.

Pipeline patrol and Ag work, especially windy spreader work, requires wind management. Ground reference maneuvering in the pattern requires wind management. I always felt obligated to teach wind management fully. Wind management has been covered extensively here, so I will just list areas where the wind is our friend.

1. We takeoff into a headwind component when practicable. Down drainage egress (gravity thrust) is sometimes of greater energy value, however.
2. At low altitude, pattern and lower, airspeed is life. Wind management can increase the safety of maneuvering flight.
3. Slower groundspeed and shorter radius of turn is the best energy management when base can be flown into a headwind component.
4. Slower groundspeed and shorter radius of turn is the best energy management in conjunction with the energy management turn to target into a headwind component. This turn is critical to safety where available vertical and horizontal space is limited.
5. Engine driven prop blast at slow airspeed increases the lift of the inner wing, rudder, and elevator over what would be available at less power.
6. We land into a headwind component when practicable. That free relative wind provides lift at slower groundspeed. The slowest practicable airspeed, along with the headwind, allows the safest touchdown groundspeed. Throwing that free groundspeed reduction away by increasing airspeed is not good wind management. Groundspeed should be less, not greater, in a headwind component.
7. The airplane wants to do the safest thing in airspeed reducing wind shear. It wants to pitch down to prevent stall.
8. The airplane wants to do the safest thing in airspeed increasing wind shear. It wants to pitch up so long as it has zoom reserve with the extra airspeed.
9. The airplane wants to do the safest thing in downdrafts. It wants to pitch down to prevent stall.
10. The airplane wants to do the safest thing in updrafts. It wants to pitch up so long as it has zoom reserve with the extra airspeed.
11. Spending more time in updrafts by pitching up and less time in downdrafts by pitching down leads to higher altitude and faster groundspeed at the same power setting. This is basic on course thermalling. The wind management percentage of total energy is greater in lower powered airplanes.
12. Flying near and parallel to a ridge provides free ridge lift not at the expense of airspeed.
13. We should expect downdrafts when downwind of a pass. We should expect venturi lift in the pass (saddle.)
14. The airplane wants to do the safest thing in all turns. It wants to pitch down to prevent stall.
15. The rate of climb in mountain wave is tremendous, thousands of feet per minute, energy. We want to avoid downdrafts on the down side of the wave and the rotors that may be there.
16. We cannot teach that the wind is our friend if we do not believe that the wind is our friend. Instructors and their students who avoid the wind miss a lot of free God given energy.

Thanks Again Jim !

High altitude orientation says the airplane becomes a part of the air mass and therefore the downwind turn problem is a myth. So long as no target exists and only heading exists, high altitude orientation is right.

Low altitude orientation says it is really dumb to make our downwind leg upwind of the runway in a crosswind. When traffic is not a factor low altitude orientation will make our downwind leg downwind of the runway so that the turn to base and the base to final turn are both upwind turns and not dangerous downwind turns. Traffic pattern turns are turns to target not turns to heading. Traffic pattern turns are low latitude orientation.

Why does it hurt some pilot's feelings to turn right at an uncontrolled airport. They think somebody might be looking. So they make the more dangerous downwind base to final turn and limit bank and pull back on the yoke and yaw the nose around to line up. And nobody is around to see the the crash. It is not really their fault. The system taught them to think they were turning to heading at altitude where there was no dangerous downwind turn. They system taught them to pull back on the yoke in all turns to maintain altitude. The system taught them to limit bank rather than turn at 1g by allowing the nose to go down naturally at whatever bank was needed to nail a target. The system also taught a dangerous solution to all these technique errors at low altitude: go around. No, I'm not saying the go around is not the better solution after all those errors. I'm just asking why we don't teach different techniques that do not make all those errors.

Both the S turn and turn about a point maneuvers on the flight test are called ground reference maneuvers. Why then does altitude have to be maintained requiring bank limitation requiring instrument reference rather ground reference? Neither maneuver teaches good technique for turning at low altitude, and both maneuvers have to be abandoned in winds that really help those of us with low altitude orientation who don't make level turns about a point. Does the way the 360 degree or 720 degree turn is taught help us turn in valleys where ridges close in? We need to get our heads out of the clouds as teachers of flying. While we are extremely safe up high, we are very unsafe down low. Labelling down low as "maneuvering flight" and taboo doesn't teach safe maneuvering flight techniques.