Wind Limitations

Submitted by Michael on Wed, 10/14/2009 - 16:42

Ask a Pilot

Hey Folks,

Where do you draw the line on wind speed and gust spreads? Our company used to have it in the ops manual 40 in the flatlands and 30 in mountainous terrain, but they removed it and deferred to the RFM. Our RFM only references wind limitations for tie down and hangaring the aircraft. I want to take calls that I can safely complete, but I don't want t put myself in situation where the outcome of my landing is in doubt. The problem I run into is where is that line? Is 34 knots too high? houw about a 14 kt gust spread? Where do you draw the line. I've been in winds that made me a little uneasy and been in wind shear that made me VERY uneasy, so basically I'm looking to learn from those with more experience.

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I use those that you

Submitted by flyems on Mon, 10/26/2009 - 16:33.

I use those that you referenced. I suspect they were universal at one point and then in hopes to insulate themselvse from pilots who wrecked and said they were within company limitations, now the company can say the pilot failed to excerise good judgement and their liability is insulated and they fire the pilot to prove they dissaprove of his reckless actions. I think 30 kts is a great place to start really considering not going and a 13+ gust spread is another.

Wind limitations

Submitted by johnfjones3 on Thu, 10/28/2010 - 10:03.

I think that trying to define numbers for wind limitations enroute are dangerous. However, every aircraft I ever flew had wind limitations for starting, stopping, hovering, and the like. Once those limitations are met, it's a no brainer, you're not flying.

What makes the decision matrix difficult is the almost incalculable number of variables that make wind decisions complex.

Mechanical turbulence at a landing site, even with 20-30K wind may make the site unsuitable. Extreme gust spreads encountered enroute may make patient treatment difficult or impossible. Updrafts and downdrafts encountered around an isolated rain shower or verga might just scare the doo-doo out of everyone and lead to a "abort" decision.

I've had flights over flat ground in steady state 50K wind and it was almost a non-event (other than seeing 80K and 190K on the GPS).

So, here's the deal: The crew needs to be able to talk professionally and make a decision based on the many variables wind presents.