Yeah, the crab into the wind is sometimes a pretty “interesting” view I can tell you 
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After getting my PPL, I went to join a local flying club at Biggin Hill and so had to do a checkout with one of their instructors. In addition to having to deal with the infamous “bump”, there was a notable crosswind. Three very tricky touch ‘n’ goes later, I was given the seal of approval. 
“Biggin on the Bump” is surrounded by valleys. So, on approach, the ground rush is exaggerated exponentially. When you are moments from touching down, it takes extraordinary conscious effort to overrule your unconscious need to pull up as the ground lurches upwards at you.
When you have to ask the person in the right seat to lean back while you’re on finals…that’s a cool feeling.
My brother flies out of a tiny place in Western Colorado that’s on top of a small mesa. Same deal: on final, the edge of the mesa is rising up at you until you cross the edge.
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It was a bit “sporty” coming into Seattle tonight on account of the wind.
Glad it wasn’t my leg!
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I was on a SWA flight from Dallas to OKC about 25 years ago. We made it to OKC but flew in a few circles above the airport. The captain/pilot said on the PA that the wind conditions on the ground were so bad that attempting to land was out of the question. We flew back to Dallas and waited 4 hours then flew back to OKC where we were then able to land.
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The irony here is that Dallas is the wind shear capital of the U.S.
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Have I ever told the story of flying from HOU to ABQ and getting diverted to El Paso, then Santa Fe, then finally ending up at the Los Alamos Missile Range?
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Wimp. It was just a spring tornado.
Those $30 SWA fares are amazing value.
Flying into Steamboat Springs, CO has the same experience. Freaked me the fuck out as I saw the ground rapidly rising to meet us right before touchdown.
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Also Billings, Montana. The airport is on a cliff overlooking the town, so you come down slowly over the city streets, until you get to the cliff and BAM you’re suddenly on the ground.
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When we finally landed in Los Alamos, the pilot said “there is some good news and some bad news:
The good news is, they let us land here, even though we’re not supposed to be here
The bad news is, we’re out of fuel
The good news is, we can get refueled here
The bad news is, we can’t take off with all of you on the plane.
The other bad news is that we don’t have a way to get you off the plane.
The good news is, the fire department is coming with a ladder truck.
More good news is, we’re gonna get you to Albuquerque tonight.
The bad news is we’re gonna have to put you on a bus”
It was quite the adventure.
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Great story
And we were supposed to land in ABQ about 7:00. We finally landed in Los Alamos about 9:00. By the time they got us off the plane, and on to the bus, it was about 10:00. We drove right through Santa Fe, passing my hotel. We get to ABQ about 11:00, and I have to drive back to Santa Fe…to the hotel we passed on the bus two hours before. It’s a funny story now, but that night I wondered if that trip would ever end.
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As someone who is terrified of flying and is also flying to Seattle in July, I’m hoping Alaska Airlines will start offering tranquilizers by then.
I was on a trip to Cabo in the early 80’s (before it was “discovered” and had a real airport) that came on the tail end of some Pacific hurricane, and it was an adventure on par with HH’s Santa Fe trip. It’s more than I can type here, but the next time we’re together I’ll relate it to anybody who’s interested. Suffice it to say that more than once I thought about how pissed off my wife was going to be when I died in Mexico.
Billings scared the shit out of me.
And I have no experience as a pilot, but I will say as a passenger, hearing an engine go out within seconds of takeoff once from Love Field nearly made me piss my pants.
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Connect through Denver and get some edibles to take the edge off.
At least that was 4 hours less you had to spend in the state north of Texas…
Speaking of that, yesterday was absolutely gnarly with the wind. Our departure out of Lubbock was nasty as the surface winds at the airport were getting up to 30+ mph- it was a west Texas windy kind of day. Later, our approach into Vegas was lousy- low visibility due to blowing dust, howwwwwwwling winds from the west getting up to 40mph at times. The guy I was flying with was working his ass off/wrestling a snake in the cockpit on the approach.
There was also a well defined wall of dust blowing across the south rim of the Grand Canyon that stretched a good 60 miles and was impressive on our descent into Sin City.
Yesterday was a firm reminder that Mother Nature is in control and will slap you upside the head if she wants.
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