BCP's now that we're in that season again I'm wondering about the wind limits and experiences of others. My wildest was a 70 knot headwind across the Cascades in a 145 HP 172, on an IFR flight with icing and crazy mountain wave. We got a 2000' block altitude. Definitely a NEVER again.
After five years of 25 flight hours a year my personal limits are about 15 knots.
Your experiences?

I have had a couple 80 mph at 2000 AGL and VFR, but only around 40 mph at the surface and it was mostly steady down the strip. I had the scout showing 17 mph in reverse once.

I don't do ice.

Wind at my home base is frequently 25G36 That wind will be straight down the runway. I'm good with that.

I'll scud run close to home where I know the terrain. 008 OVC will work.

IFR I want out of the clouds by the MDA or no go for me.

If it is CAVU but wind over 25Kt over the mountains I won't go. I have had some turbulence that scared the bajesus out of me. I'll pass on that stuff.

I can handle 15-20Kt xwind, it not to pretty and sometimes it takes more than one go at it.

I fly for fun. When the wx sucks you will usually find me working to make money so I can fly when it is nice. Ya see, with my job, when the wx is nice I don't work I fly. If the wx sucks in NW Oregon and I want to fly I wait for a nice day and fly to socal. That's how I roll baby.

God day...Rob

Coming back from OSH in my experimental a few years ago... Stopped in Mitchell SD for fuel and headed for Casper for more go juice. A front was building alot faster then both me and FSS had figured.. Ground speed dropping to the mid 40 mph half way across SD... Diverted to Chainberlain SD to top the tanks.... Surface winds were 25 or so..... Launched out of there for Casper or maybe even Rapid City.... In the course of 30 miles, groundspeed was down to 35 mph,,, so I crank up the 696 my buddy lent me for the trip,, Nexrad was painting orange with some red on it back at Chainberlain.... My buddy is a jet jockey and a boat captian and unlike me who sets all my stuff to MPH his was reading Knots.... My MFD was showing 29 mph and his displayed 23 knots..... So here I am, can't turn back and burning fuel like a F14 in full AB trying to proceed west... JPI Fuel computer was showing a no go to even get to Rapid City so I head for the closest airport thats west and not IFR....

Finally made it to Murdo SD... A 60 mile flight from Chainberlain that took 1 hour and 47 minutes.... Winds on the ground were right down the runway at a velocity that made me cringe... Taxiied to mid field were the "FBO" was and stopped ,pointed into the wind... Not a soul around and on the ground my ASI was showing 45 with some 65 mph gusts... In a plane that takes off at around 42 mph.. Spent a couple of hours with the motor running literally flying the plane on the ground to keep it from flipping over... Between gusts I was able to shut off the motor,,, Jump out and pound in my EAA style tiedowns.... Left wing first,,, then 15 minutes or so later the right wing,,, then the tail... Wind had subsided to the point where I didn't need the motor running and there I sat, miles from town and no one around.. I started to plan how I was going to rearrange the interior to make a place to sleep... At about dusk the one and only sheriff happened to just be driving by and saw me out there, he walked over and I was never so glad to see an officer in my life.... I told him my dilemma and he told me all the hotel rooms for 200 miles are booked ....

It was then he filled in the blank... It was Sturgis bike week.... God as my witness I had no idea that shindig was that big..... He made a few calls and actually found me a room in a basement of a motel.... Gave me a ride into town and to the hotel..... Both him and the owners were GREAT people, the hotel guy even gave me the keys to his wifes car so I could drive out for a 4 am departure before the winds could pick up again......... Made it to Rapid City with 40 minutes reserve of fuel..... Topped off the tanks and left for Jackson Hole....... I was soooooo friggin happy to have the toy safely back in its hangar... Went home and promptly sleep for 15 hours... The very next day I went to the Fed Ex office and express mailed a crisp 100 dollar bill to both the sheriff and the hotel owner... They earned that tip for sure...

A couple of years ago I was making 195-200 knots groundspeed in my 135 knot 182. Was riding a good December west wind from Pheonix back to San Angelo. Made it in 4 hrs flat.

Worst crosswind I've handled was just this summer in the same 182. I was going around a big t-storm system. Due to the uncertainty of the route I was going to have to take to get home and no other fuel around, I had to land at KOZA for fuel. ASOS reporting wind 070 at 30kts. Runway 16/34. I didn't know if the plane could hold it, but the only way I knew how to find out was to fly an approach and see how it felt. On my first shot, with lots of aileron and quite possibly all the rudder, I took it straight down the line and set it down one tire at a time. Was pretty squirrely on rollout. But I got a " Nice!" from my copilot and a "Helluva job." from the airport manager.

A total coincidence... a friend of mine with a 185 was arriving just after I landed. His brother was waiting at the airport to pick him up. He elected to fly right past the airport and went on to one of their ranch strips that was East/West. I probably would have done the same in his position.

I got fuel, checked wx, and had an uneventful crosswind takeoff and went on home. It was a good experience and let me know a little more about the capabilities of my plane and myself.

RWM made think of crosswinds. If it is too much for me, I have no trouble taking the taxiways and ramps. Do any of you use them?? These are always at non controlled places. and it is way safer then chancing a bender.

patrol guy wrote:RWM made think of crosswinds. If it is too much for me, I have no trouble taking the taxiways and ramps. Do any of you use them?? These are always at non controlled places. and it is way safer then chancing a bender.

I've never done it, but have been instructed to do so if I feel it's necessary. I definitely would use a ramp, taxiway, or infield (at an uncontrolled airport, of course) if that was the only safe option and I had to land there.

I was flying the Cessna 140 out to Banning, CA and came upon some nasty winds and storms for most of the trip. The worst leg was from KALS to KFMN, I had a heck of a headwind across Northern NM and when I could finally see the airport I was still about 30 minutes out (and staring at the fuel gauges). Ended up landing in a 38G44kt 30 deg left crosswind and it was near impossible to taxi. Had to get the line boy to come out and hold a wing (gave him a good tip).

Flew a rented XP into Ennis MT once where the crosswind was more than a skyhawk was rated for, especially for an 80 hour student. I ended up using an un-rehersed trick of lining up between a left runway light and the third one down on the right. I think my eyes were closed on touchdown but I've had worse. We then followed a direct bearing across the grass and taxiway to parking where my wife gladly hopped out to chain the wings down while I held the beast into the wind.

With a family on the way, we jettisoned our Mustang Ranch airpark property, dream cabin, and the notion of retreating to that windy place.

I second the 25mph max for me in the big mountains unless I'm going to be 3-5k' above them. I flew over Corona Pass (~11,700') at 18k' once because there was a guy at 16k' who was getting his stones tumbled when winds were 35 knots at nearby Berthoud Pass.

For a 182, crosswind landings up to around 20mph are more or less routine. At 30+ knots straight across component, they take some gingering since you run out of rudder for the slip, and it becomes a crab/slip combo so you have a little extra rudder in reserve. It has only happened a handful of times. The book says 17 mph max demonstrated, but I assume that is with full flaps. I'm sure that any of you with tail wheel expertise would do quite a bit better than me, though.

As for en route winds, I've seen ridiculous ground speeds in Wyoming, like 66-69 knots (for over an hour) going west and 180+ sustained coming back (130 knot cruise on average).

RWM wrote:

patrol guy wrote:RWM made think of crosswinds. If it is too much for me, I have no trouble taking the taxiways and ramps. Do any of you use them?? These are always at non controlled places. and it is way safer then chancing a bender.

I've never done it, but have been instructed to do so if I feel it's necessary. I definitely would use a ramp, taxiway, or infield (at an uncontrolled airport, of course) if that was the only safe option and I had to land there.

I fly out of KAEG (Albuquerque), a controlled airport. I've discussed with the tower landing on taxiways and/or off runways if dictated by high winds. They have no problem with it but it would be at my own risk with out their official approval.

I've seen 184mph ground speed in a cub with bushwheels and a borer prop going east across the prairies. I didnt even try a runway i landed in the nabours field and taxied straight in behind his bale stack. The wind was only 55 on the ground.

coming south through Kluane Lake valley with a real hard, steady wind coming over the ridge from the West I was riding a wave crest on the Eastern side. I had my Stinson pulled back to just a high idle, pointed the nose down so I was running 130 to 140 mph and was still climbing over 2000 fpm. I rode that wave until the valley opened up near Haines Jct. It was real smooth and calm but I was pretty puckered up waiting for the extreme updraft to chop off or go into a downdraft but it just sort of faded out. There has been turbulence severe enough to break wings in the area before.

Another time I left my moose camp late in the evening and headed for town, When I turned the corner into the main valley I hit some wind. Oh well, no big deal right? A bit later I noticed that I was just crawling along, air speed around 110 and GS about 40 or less, (no GPS).

Just as I thought, "this is getting pretty stiff" I looked down and could see full size cottonwood trees laying over nearly to the ground and lots of trash blowing off of them.

When I got to Haines the wind was nearly right down the runway and really cookin, I had called and called all the way in trying to find someone to help me but there was no one around. I would have gone back into camp but it was way too dark. I had to land.

I didn't try to fly backwards though I am sure I could have done it. I could go up and down without any forward movement but there was no way to set the tail down without flying off again. I just held the plane level a few feet off the ground and slowly flew to the very end of the runway where I was in the "shadow" of Sawmill hill and was then able to set it down and keep it there. By staying in close to the brush I was able to taxi to the ramp and get tied down. I left a bus parked crossways in front of my plane the rest of the night.

We have had winds over 100 here before, 70 or 80 once or twice a year.