interesting wind factor,(for me that is)

[flyerme]

took off this morning and wind sock barely moving ,wind forcst 6.8 knts.I climbed to 1000ft,turned down wind set cruise at 60 knts and noticed the GPS reading a ground speed of 79knots? made a 180 into wind and watched it drop to 28knts ground speed.was nice and smooth but x wind had me around 30deg weather cocking.I decided to land as to beat the wind to the ground(was a x wind on the strip). also hit a patch of hot!! air.I was rugged up with the beanie on my noggen and felt the hot air in the cab,I opened the vent and was very suprised at how warm the air was..

 

by the way for those of you whome dont follow my threads Im still building bump tolorance and also set a 8 knt wind max,or I stay in the ground so was rather flusted when the lighty appeared to hover over the paddock,,..the kmh reading was 148kmh GS up wind and 52kmh gs down wind...

 

So was the wind blowing 20 -30 knts? or GPS playing tricks to keep me on my toes..lol

 

just for a giggle ,I took the missus for a fly and was a lil bumpy so didnt stay up that long and she commented on the ground "what bumps?" also took my old man for an hrs flight and found it bumpy too but didn,t want to look like a wuss so didn,t say anything till we landed and his comment "BUMPS? Felt as smooth as a ...........",, ..anyway went up late morning yesterday for an accuall bumpy ride, 2 circuits and felt relitvly relaxed . and proud...take it easy guys

 

 

[rdarby]

What did the forecast say? NAIPS gives wind speed and direction for several different layers, and the wind can be completely different every few thousand feet. If you were up at 10,000ft you were in a whole new world.

 

 

[flyerme]

What did the forecast say? NAIPS gives wind speed and direction for several different layers, and the wind can be completely different every few thousand feet. If you were up at 10,000ft you were in a whole new world.

10,000,ft geez Iv never flown higher than 3500ft..lol accuall hight was 1100ft. forecast was for local winds of 6 - 8 knts NTH/EST on the ground.As I mostly fly local with in 5 NM of base I use a local weather report (willy weather) and have done so the last 12 months every day with an accuracy of 98% taken from the closest airfield (murray bridge in my case )however according to my Pa 10 NM away was blowing heavily over his strip NTH/Est..and he estermated well over 10knts...any way was interesting.

 

 

[Keenaviator]

Sounds like experienced a low level inversion. The air within the first few hundred feet of the ground cools overnight but the air above is still hot. The wind you found above this is the 'real wind' and it will get to ground level as the ground warms up again matching the air temp above this inversion. This is very noticeable in trikes on summer mornings. Laurie.

 

 

[cscotthendry]

The winds close to ground level can be greatly influenced by ground features. The wind can swirl and change direction in the wake of hills and also due to thermal activity. Rising air in thermals causes local breezes that can add or subtract from the constant wind in unpredictable ways.

 

At my airfield, we are close to a sizeable hill (well, they call it a mountain) and it is not unusual for the windsocks at either end of the main runway to be giving different indications.

 

In regard to the bumps, stick with it and try not to let the bumps ground you too quickly. I had great difficulty (read FEAR) with turbulence when I was flying a trike, so much so that I ended up selling it and going 3-axis. I still get a little anxious in the bumps when I first get in the air. If I stick with it on the flight, it eventually loses it's fear factor and I settle down. Unless you fly into a thunderstorm or in the lee of a mountain when the wind is doing 40KTs, the bumps are very unlikely to tip you over, or cause you to lose control, or damage the aircraft in any way.

 

You probably already know this but the faster you fly the plane, the harsher the bumps will feel. If it's out of your comfort zone, try slowing down a little, if your airspeed range will allow it. That will make the bumps feel more like going up and down hills than bumps, and it's kinder to the airplane.

 

 

[flyerme]

The winds close to ground level can be greatly influenced by ground features. The wind can swirl and change direction in the wake of hills and also due to thermal activity. Rising air in thermals causes local breezes that can add or subtract from the constant wind in unpredictable ways.At my airfield, we are close to a sizeable hill (well, they call it a mountain) and it is not unusual for the windsocks at either end of the main runway to be giving different indications.

 

In regard to the bumps, stick with it and try not to let the bumps ground you too quickly. I had great difficulty (read FEAR) with turbulence when I was flying a trike, so much so that I ended up selling it and going 3-axis. I still get a little anxious in the bumps when I first get in the air. If I stick with it on the flight, it eventually loses it's fear factor and I settle down. Unless you fly into a thunderstorm or in the lee of a mountain when the wind is doing 40KTs, the bumps are very unlikely to tip you over, or cause you to lose control, or damage the aircraft in any way.

 

You probably already know this but the faster you fly the plane, the harsher the bumps will feel. If it's out of your comfort zone, try slowing down a little, if your airspeed range will allow it. That will make the bumps feel more like going up and down hills than bumps, and it's kinder to the airplane.

yeh im also at the bottom of a hill (jabuk-marmon range) and I always set a slow cruise of 60 kts incase of bumps(recomended cruise is 70knts and max of 75 in turbulance,,sounds like your on the money as an hr later wind was blowing heavily here on the ground.Also I very often have different directions with my 3 wind socks.

 

 

[boingk]

Yeah the Goulburn strip has crazy conditions at times as well. Hell, flew into Bathurst the other day and had an AWIS reading within 5 minutes of nil wind, variable 9kt 180' / 90' magnetic and 4kt 90' magnetic! Felt it, to, as I was departing downwind.

 

As for altitude, things definitely smooth out. Try drawing an erratic zigzag at the bottom straight edge of a piece of paper, with a big bump every now and then. Now draw a line above it a bit that is the wind, following the contours of the zigzag. It'll likely smooth them out a bit. Draw another, and another, and another... and eventually you'll have a smooth, straight line. Low level and high level flying are a lot like that - the higher you go the smoother it often gets.

 

I like high cruises around 3,000ft over terrain and have often cruised at 6,000~8,000ft where possible. Great views, smooth air, increased TAS and the feeling of flying over layers of broken cloud is just magic.

 

Cheers - boingk