AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2012 - 94

P&E

NEVER AGAIN
Clearing traffic on Runway 26, I poured on the power and the 180 seemed to leap into the air. The route was simple: Fly out to the Palmdale VOR, grab hold of the 081 radial (V386) and follow it to the SOGGI intersection (Palm Springs 329 degrees), turn right, and poof, I’m there. Nearing Agua Dulce (L70) at 5,500 feet, Charlie left the cool, calm air of the coast and started to bounce and wiggle as it entered the desert heat. The turbulence seemed to increase as I neared Palmdale. The desert was clear; however, I could tell by the blowing sand and dust below that the desert wind was howling on the surface. The groundspeed was now indicating a whopping 195 mph. That was a 50-mph tailwind. Wow! I was making great time. The air remained turbulent as I rounded the turn heading southeast at the SOGGI intersection toward Yucca Valley. The Hi Desert Airport was off to my left at an elevation of 2,500 feet. I spotted the airport and made a call on CTAF requesting the active runway. The agent got on the horn and told me they preferred that I use Runway 24, and “the wind is blowing at 30 knots with occasional gusts up to 44. Be careful of the crosswind. There is no other traffic reported in the area.” No other traffic! Of course not. Who would be stupid enough to fly in this kind of wind other than me? I entered the pattern and had to crab to remain parallel to 24. Turning slowly, Charlie was aligned on final. The airplane bounced and shook as I lowered the speed and applied two notches of flaps. I was looking out of the left side window in order to keep a straight 240-degree heading. The windsock was like a solid log tied to a pole displaying a 90-degree crosswind. I recall yelling out loud, “You’ve made crosswind landings before. This one is no different. Keep the windward wing low, steer it with your feet, and at the last second straighten and land.” Crossing the threshold at an indicated 70 mph, I came off the power. Suddenly, I felt the 180 falling out of the sky. Did the wind decide to stop blowing? Instinctively, I applied full throttle to make a go-around. Charlie responded quickly, bouncing on one wheel and then catapulting back into the air. I somehow regained control as the end of the 2,500-foot runway seemed to fly past.

Crossing ‘Charlie’
Strong crosswinds are nothing to fool with
BY RICHARD C. SCHNEPF

IN 1985 I HAD PURCHASED a low-time creampuff 1955 Cessna 180. N9370C was based at Camarillo Airport, roughly halfway between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, California. The 180 Skywagon is slightly bigger than its counterpart, the Cessna 170, but flies as well with no bad habits. The big 225-horsepower Continental up front provides great performance, and I suspect it will lift just about anything you can stuff in its cabin. Shortly thereafter, a friend called and explained that he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I was shocked to hear the bad news. However, Ken Doe was an upscale guy who never complained. He offered to sell me his publishing business, and I accepted. I intended to make weekly trips to the publishing office in Twentynine Palms, California. It was a 160-mile drive from our home in Thousand Oaks—five or six hours of driving, depending on freeway traffic.

The light immediately came on. I have the 180. I can fly the 140 nautical miles in an hour or so. I chose to use Joshua Tree Airport (now Roy Williams Airport), which was closer to the office than the Twentynine Palms Airport. I made several uneventful weekly flights to the desert. It was a Friday afternoon. I planned to fly to the office, take care of business, and return home on Saturday morning. Standing next to Charlie I stuck my finger to check the weather. Holding it above my head I found a clear azure sky with a slight breeze from the west. Perfect flying weather. This was before Camarillo had its control tower. There seemed to be no point in wasting time calling the weather man on such a beautiful afternoon. Besides, I recalled the prior night TV newscast stating it was going to be a beautiful weekend.

BONNIE HOFKIN

94 | AOPA PILOT August 2012

AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2012

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