Hey Guy's - Few weeks ago I was flying my Maule MX180C from KFTG (Denver) to KOTM (Ottumwa, IA) and got just south of Omaha and hit the worst blowing snow I've seen. The problem was the ceiling was around 3000ft AGL and the blowing snow (from a storm the day before) was blowing almost to the ceiling creating a wall of white. Diverted to Plattsmouth, NE. Wind at KPMV (my diversion) was 26G35kts about 4 degrees off the runway. Got it on the ground but Taxiing was hairy to say the least.

Great airport manager let me park it in an empty hangar for the night.

All's well that ends well.

Jim

Good on ya. We all hate it when even plan B runs amok.

EB

Had you been watching the forecast? Did you have any indication that you were flying into a snow storm?

More importantly, did you wheel land or three point it?

There's snow and there's Spring snow. We're getting to that dangerous time of year that always rimes a little plane or two.

jaudette, I bet you are glad for the practice, and now that you know what landing in a bit of wind is like, the anticipation of doing it again is not near as stressful as before??
Good On YA
GT

Zzz wrote:Had you been watching the forecast? Did you have any indication that you were flying into a snow storm?

More importantly, did you wheel land or three point it?

M6RV6 wrote:

When you plop down at a 3 point attitude you are there! Wind blowing you where it may?
How could you land a TW airplane in wind that is blowing faster than the takeoff speed of you plane if you did not keep the tail up?
You can come to a complete stop if need be in a wheel landing if you need to, never putting the tail down and never increasing the AOA to lift the aircraft of the ground, and have complete control until that time!
I think if you ever land where you have to have some human anchors hold on to your struts so you can put the tail down then you will see the difference.

JMHP
GT


Discretion is the better part of valor. Why would you, not how could you, is the question.

Zzzz, Are you stirring it again??

Hell... Sounds like a typical fun filled day in the frozen Arctic wastelands!!!

That pilot stuff does work.

Gump

Similiar deal happened to me a few weeks ago. I thought it was gonna be partly cloudy, and that I'd make it in before a warm wet system came in. Was VFR on top circling the field with no holes in sight. Picked up an IFR clearance to shoot the approach into Durango. I've lived here for 15 years, been IFR for 5, never flown an actual instrument approach into Durango. I would not have tried it in the winter except for the temps above the clouds where well above freezing.

Wouldn't you know it, all that shit works and before you know it I was staring right down the runway. I'm gonna practice my approaches more.

Brad

jaudette wrote:Hey Guy's - Few weeks ago I was flying my Maule MX180C from KFTG (Denver) to KOTM (Ottumwa, IA) and got just south of Omaha and hit the worst blowing snow I've seen. The problem was the ceiling was around 3000ft AGL and the blowing snow (from a storm the day before) was blowing almost to the ceiling creating a wall of white. Diverted to Plattsmouth, NE. Wind at KPMV (my diversion) was 26G35kts about 4 degrees off the runway. Got it on the ground but Taxiing was hairy to say the least.

Great airport manager let me park it in an empty hangar for the night.

All's well that ends well.

Jim

Had a similar landing a month ago, flying a 185 from WI to MT. Landing at BIS it was 27G41kts about 4* off Rwy 31. Felt SLOW on final & looked over at speed, it was 80! Slowed up some & crawled my way up close to the taxiway exit & set it down. Getting to the ramp was near to impossible. takeoff roll was impressive.

I wish I could have accurate daily wx reports! I pretty much have to go on what I can see...

Durango Skywagon wrote:Wouldn't you know it, all that shit works and before you know it I was staring right down the runway. I'm gonna practice my approaches more.

Although I probably only fly IMC 5% of the time, I do quite enjoy those times when I do have to do a full on IFR approach and the runway appears in-front of me. Rather satisfying

Hey Guy's - Thanks for the replies.

I did check the weather prior to my departing Denver. The satellite did not show anything over Omaha. The flight rules when I left were MVFR at my destination, but the TAF showed clearing conditions upon my arrival. I looked at flight rules along the route and all (except my destination) were VFR. I do recall blowing snow at Lincoln, but never thought it would go so high AGL.

My landing at KPMV was a 3pt. I don't ever do wheel landings in my Maule. It's a 2002 model and has been prop-struck twice by prior owners (both promptly had the engine rebuilt, put on a new prop, and sold it). Both prop strikes occurred during wheel landings. The wheel landings are obviously not to blame - But with the spring aluminum gear, there is a greater opportunity for them to splay. I've always done 3-pt's, it's what I'm comfortable with.

Another thing - When I landed at KPMV, the engine quit on rollout. I just thought I had it too lean. So the next day when I flew to KOTM, on final, I had the mixture all the way rich, carb heat on and the throttle set at Idle. The damn this quit about a 1/4 mile from the runway. The prop was windmilling so I pumped the throttle and it fired up. The conditions were -21C; 30.40 & 100% humidity - By my calcs, the density altitude was -1800MSL+. All I can think is that even with the mixture all the way rich and the Carb heat on, the engine still wasn't getting enough fuel. The return trip was uneventful (other than a ridiculously ugly landing in Hastings, NE).

I'm going to have my mechanic check it out anyway - Even in those conditions, the thing should idle. Your thoughts are welcome!

What is your idle set at?? I think barring other serious problems I think that is the most common cause??

At -21C and 100% humidity, you're dealing with a couple of very real possibilities.

Atomizing of the fuel is difficult at very cold temps. When I learned to fly in AK over the winter of 72-73, we often had to pull on the carb heat just to get the engines to run smoothly, because the warmer air helped to atomize the fuel better.

The icing chart (http://www.aopa.org/images/asf/epilot_a ... 5icing.jpg) shows a wide variance, but at 100% humidity, that's the most likely issue, carb ice. That's why we add carb heat well before reducing power to land, while there's still plenty of heat available, because once at idle, there's not very much heat left in the carb heat muff to melt any ice.

Glad it worked out for you, but my guess is there's nothing wrong with your airplane unless the carb heat deflector isn't fully closing to divert heat to the carburetor.

Cary

Very true had that same thing happened to me as well

jaudette wrote:Hey Guy's - Thanks for the replies.

I did check the weather prior to my departing Denver. The satellite did not show anything over Omaha. The flight rules when I left were MVFR at my destination, but the TAF showed clearing conditions upon my arrival. I looked at flight rules along the route and all (except my destination) were VFR. I do recall blowing snow at Lincoln, but never thought it would go so high AGL.

I asked that not to criticize, but because the rapid nature of very dynamic weather really scares me. While weather truly is one of the things we can't control, I like to think that it moves slowly enough for me to be make decisions in time, especially with modern weather data.

Left Sitka one PM in the 185 headed for Port Alexander. No Pax on board. Rounded a corner low to head down the coast. Complete white out in seconds. No snow showers near town, but I just blundered into one at 140 knots. A standard rate turn seemed way too slow to fix the problem, so I cranked the turn hard right. Compass not worth a crap, thinking I Am surely done now. Rolled level praying for something that approximated a 180. A long long 15 seconds until busting out in the clear. Arm pits pretty damp on the way back to town. NEVER assume the weather will give you sufficient time for plan B.
damn, two posts in one day. Better go watch Fox.