Today (Sunday - March 11, 2007) was a bit different than most, as far as my flying goes, because the winds were predicted to be out of the northwest at 15 mph with peak gusts to 25 mph. Dad and I arrived at the airport and saw that indeed, the windsock was showing a stiff crosswind at about 15 mph with stronger gusts, just as the weather service predicted. Now what makes this day different is that since we are based at a new airport, the field has a cross runway, and one that happens to be northwest/southeast, and will allow us to take-off and land with relative ease. Still, though, we sat in our warm car, sipping coffee and contemplating some more if we wanted to fly in such a strong breeze which we normally would not.
Ok, let's do it. I pre-flighted the aircraft, started the engine and taxied to runway 31. The wind was still kicking from the north-northwest as I positioned the aircraft on the runway and applied full throttle. It seemed as if we were practically standing still, yet we very quickly had an airspeed well over 60 mph, and with a gentle pull of the control yoke, we were airborne in only a few hundred feet. So far, effortless, despite the strong winds and all thanks to an airport having an additional runway for just such breezy days.
While climbing to the west, away from the airport, we were commenting on how relatively smooth the air was. Not "calm wind" smooth, but relatively smooth for the wind that day. Also, the weather did not call for any turbulence at altitude and that held true for much of the day. We leveled out at about 2,000 feet MSL (feet above mean sea level) and over-flew the town of Milford, NJ. Continuing, we saw that areas along the Delaware river still had ice where there was standing water, and homes further west had measurable snow left in the shady areas of their yards. As we approached our first destination, Queen City airport in Allentown, PA, I descended just a bit to clear Lehigh Valley International airport's airspace. We then spotted Hellertown to the north, then the outlet shops at Saucon Valley, just south of I-78. Finally, we traversed the last mountain ridge before the airport at about 500 feet, then circled the field. Of course the wind was still blowing hard, and we chose this airport because it too has an additional runway that runs northwest/southeast, perfect for the wind direction today. I entered the traffic pattern, reduced the throttle and put in 10 degrees of flaps. After a quick base leg turn then another quick turn to final approach, I applied 20 more degrees of flaps and reduced the throttle. What seemed like an eternity due to the headwind, we slowly approached the runway. Reducing the throttle some more, I flared and touched down within a few hundred feet, nice and slowly. If you don't have to land with a cross-wind, flying in a stiff breeze is actually simpler, and is gentler on the airplane's landing gear, too.
We taxied to the general aviation ramp and as the attendant greeted us, we said we were just staying a short time. I needed to use the "facilities" and did so in a hurry. After a brief rest, we decided to fly to Chester County-Carlson airport in Coatesville, PA. We haven't flown there in a while, and wanted to check their restaurant again. We always remember the great coffee and amazing desserts they feature at the Flying Machine Cafe on the field.
After taking-off of Queen City airport, we headed west just a bit toward Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom amusement/water park, then turned south on course. This took us over Bally, then just west of Pottstown. We could see the amish farm country just beginning to appear to our west as Chester county is rather nearby Lancaster county. Entering the traffic pattern at Chester county airport was, let's just say, a nuisance, due to many aircraft landing in front of me, and the fact that one of the aircraft was a corporate jet who was on an extremely long final approach. No problem though, and after a few circles of the airport, I entered the pattern and landed without incident in the 45 degree crosswind. We taxied directly behind the jet that had just landed and used most of the 5,400 foot runway, then parked almost directly in front of the restaurant. Entering the cafe, we were quickly seated in the "solarium like" seating area. We both ordered a cup of coffee and their succulent carrot cake, and just like we remembered from years back, it hadn't changed in quality and taste. Finishing our snack, we exited the cafe to use the facilities and check the weather once again. We knew we needed fuel, but weren't sure that our home-base airport would be open when we returned, so we decided to head back to Queen City airport. After a quick take-off and circling to the left to abide by the noise abatement procedures in effect at Chester county airport, we were soon headed back north towards Allentown.
Upon landing at Queen City airport, we taxied to the exact same place we were parked the first time that day. Fuel prices are relatively inexpensive here @ $3.85/gal, about $1 more per gallon than car gas. We had to wait a while before being fueled due to some paperwork that had to be done, so we took the time to relax and chat a bit. Soon, though, we were fueled and on our way, back to our home-base airport in New Jersey. Upon reaching the airport, we saw the wind was still kicking a bit and of course decided to use the cross runway that we used to take-off from in the morning. It was my first time using this rather short (1,800 feet) runway that was half the width of the standard runway. Of course, no problems were had, and we landed in a few hundred feet, directly into the wind. We commented how it was good that we flew back to Queen City for fuel because our home-base airport's office was shut-down, and they do not offer 24 hour self-serve fuel.
We taxied to the tie-down ramp and into position, shut her down and did most of the post-flight, cockpit cleanup inside of the cabin. Why freeze in the blowing wind when most chores can be done in a nice, warm cabin. Finally, though, we had to exit the plane and tie it down. So what began as a day predicted to be breezy turned out to be a day most memorable, with myself gaining much confidence and knowledge on how to handle these kinds of conditions.....See you after the next flight !!!
