A couple of days ago I flew with my instructor for a check-out ride in a new plane (read about it here). Today is the first time since my check-out that I am going to fly the Zodiac. The most intimidating part about it, is the fact that my instructor won't be with me this time and the winds were also blowing pretty good.
I got to the airport about 20 minutes early and I saw that the plane was just landing. A student and his instructor had the plane scheduled until the time I was going to fly it. They got out and said the plane was flying just fine today and the winds were not too bad since they were coming almost straight down the runway.
I got to the airport about 20 minutes early and I saw that the plane was just landing. A student and his instructor had the plane scheduled until the time I was going to fly it. They got out and said the plane was flying just fine today and the winds were not too bad since they were coming almost straight down the runway.
The winds were being reported by the airport to be from the south, 180 degrees to be exact, and the speed was 11 knots. Luckily the runway, referred to as runway 20 or runway 2 if coming from the other direction, faces mostly north to south.
Just to make this easier to understand, the runway numbers are determined by the magnetic direction they point. So runway 20 means the runway is pointing in the direction of 200 degrees. Just add a "zero" to any runway number to get the magnetic heading of the runway. Landing the opposite direction is runway 2, which points toward the north with a magnetic direction of 20 degrees. Getting back to the winds reported by the airport, they were coming from 180 degrees. Planes need to take-off and land into the wind, which means the runway most facing that direction will be the preferred runway. So, 200 degrees is closer to the wind direction of 180 than 20 degrees. The difference between the wind direction and the runway direction is the crosswind. 200 minus 180 equals 20 degrees of crosswind. 90 degrees of crosswind would mean that the wind would be blowing perpendicular to the runway. The closer to 90 the crosswind is, the more difficult the take-off and landing will be and more skill is required. I was comfortable with a 20 degree crosswind.
I did some final pre-flight checks, taxied to the runway, and off I went. I didn't go anywhere this time up. Instead I just circled around and landed and took right back off again. I really wanted to work on my take-off and landing skills to get a better feel for the new plane. I did this circular pattern of taking off and landing about seven times before calling it quits to get some dinner. I am happy to report that all went better than I expected and my confidence in flying this plane has been boosted. Maybe this weekend, I will be able to take to the skies with one of my favorite passengers, Jill.
Just to make this easier to understand, the runway numbers are determined by the magnetic direction they point. So runway 20 means the runway is pointing in the direction of 200 degrees. Just add a "zero" to any runway number to get the magnetic heading of the runway. Landing the opposite direction is runway 2, which points toward the north with a magnetic direction of 20 degrees. Getting back to the winds reported by the airport, they were coming from 180 degrees. Planes need to take-off and land into the wind, which means the runway most facing that direction will be the preferred runway. So, 200 degrees is closer to the wind direction of 180 than 20 degrees. The difference between the wind direction and the runway direction is the crosswind. 200 minus 180 equals 20 degrees of crosswind. 90 degrees of crosswind would mean that the wind would be blowing perpendicular to the runway. The closer to 90 the crosswind is, the more difficult the take-off and landing will be and more skill is required. I was comfortable with a 20 degree crosswind.
I did some final pre-flight checks, taxied to the runway, and off I went. I didn't go anywhere this time up. Instead I just circled around and landed and took right back off again. I really wanted to work on my take-off and landing skills to get a better feel for the new plane. I did this circular pattern of taking off and landing about seven times before calling it quits to get some dinner. I am happy to report that all went better than I expected and my confidence in flying this plane has been boosted. Maybe this weekend, I will be able to take to the skies with one of my favorite passengers, Jill.
Flight Info:
Wind: 180 degrees @11 knots
Visibility: 10 miles
Ceiling: Clear Skies
Route of flight: Stayed local to KMGY
Wind: 180 degrees @11 knots
Visibility: 10 miles
Ceiling: Clear Skies
Route of flight: Stayed local to KMGY
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