I flew on the 14th after almost three weeks being grounded due to weather and work scheduling conflicts. I mentioned last entry that I hadnt flown for a couple weeks but my log book proved otherwise. It had been since March 22nd.
When I took off the winds were coming from 270 at 10 knots gusting to 15. Not nearly as bad as the day before. Taking off from Brewton airport (12J) I had a couple of options as far as the choice of runways and I used runway 30 almost directly into the wind. The Navy was in the pattern training as usual but they are always very accomodating to us General Aviation pilots. I announced my intentions and they got out of the way to let me out of the area.
I say I announced my intentions, I was eventually successful announcing but apparently the KX170B radio in my panel is no longer transmitting. Fortunately I had my handheld in my flight bag and was able to pull it out and communicate with the aircraft in the pattern.
I flew from Brewton to Monroeville (KMVC) and landed on runway 03 there. I failed to consider the winds being almost at a direct cross in Monroeville when I started my flight. I guess I assumed they might be different there, or I just didnt consider it at all. I wont say that I am super proficient at crosswind landings but I have done my share of them.
As I approached on final to 03 in Monroeville I had 10 degrees of flaps in. I decided not to use more because of the crosswinds. I was also coming in with a little extra power because of the gusting conditions. At about 250 feet off the ground a strong gust of wind hit my airplane from the left and turned the Cessna 150 wings almost perpendicular to the runway. I have made steep turns but never this steep. I lost over 100 feet of altitude in seconds while trying to level the wings. I added some power and put the 150 down more to the right of the centerline than I am comfortable with.
I parked the airplane and got out to visit a friend for a short time. This really shook me up. I had to sit around for a bit to get my nerve back to go up and head back to Brewton.
Take off back to Brewton was uneventful. With full power it was much easier to control the crosswinds. And of course, landing in Brewton was a breeze with the runway options .
Now, I have radio issues to resolve.
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Good story. Just reading it made me nervous - and I'm on my couch! Exciting stuff, those crosswinds! Especially in the kite-like 150. Boy, that'll test your nerves. What I do is, I'm always evaluating the ride down final. And I'm not afraid to bail and try something else if necessary. With a westerly wind (or so), perhaps it might have been better to use runway 21 at MVC? Gotta hate those gusts though, they're no fun.
A trick I use in the helicopter is this: As soon as I take off I start thinking about the landing. I mean like right away. I don't like surprises. Then again, in the helicopter I can pretty much land in any direction.
I used to take my 150 our and deliberately see how much crosswind I could handle. I'm not ashamed to say that I have used every lateral inch of runway at one time or another. But hey, that's what it's there for, right?
Oh, if the weather was always "clear, blue and 22." ...And calm.
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