07/11/07 Free at Last, Free at Last…..2.0 TT
Well after numerous delays, some my own, some weather, and who knows what else…I am finally checked out at my flying club.
The thing that was holding me up was my cross-wind landings. I had done o.k. but the club is a little on the cautious side and rightfully so. Everyone owns the a/c so we all have a vested interest in keeping them operational.
I almost got wx’d out today as a storm rolled in just before my flight. I was watching it from my deck as it came by. I was worried as I live directly west of the airport about 15 minutes. Well the storm was fast moving so by the time my fligth was scheduled, the storm had alreayd passed the field. Whew !!!! Another disaster averted.
We departed KFCM and headed NW to KCFE as the field is uncontrolled and setup for a nice x/w practice day. The rw is 35/17 and the winds were 29015 (I think) with some gusting. It was about a 15-kt direct x/w so my flight was a workout indeed. The other thing I failed to mention was the rw is 50ft wide….yikes. Gusty winds, small field, never landed there before.
We did 5 or 6 landings and each one got a little better. After that I was getting whipped and it was time to head back to Flying Cloud. I checked the wx at KFCM and the winds were 29010+. I called up hte tower and told them I had the information and they told me to contact them 3nw for landing 28. Just as I got off the line, the CFI I was with asked if I felt like landing 36…and here I thought I was done. I thought well, I can ask they won’t give it to me. I contacted tower and asked for the x/w on 36. There was a short delay and the controller came back with, “Uh…enter the left downwind and we will try and work you in.” Then she said, “Cessna N#####, please verify you have hte ccurrent information” which I prompty told her, “Yes, I do.” I think she must have felt we were crazy landing on 36 when the wind was right down the 28’s. Oh well, we flew the pattern and the final landing of the day on 36, turned out to be my best.
Somewhere along the line, something clicked.