Winds 27 G 35 in a C150 and the 25 hour student pilot

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Posted

I was going strong flying everyday trying to earn my PPSEL back in 2005. I was learning to fly at Felts Field in Spokane WA in a C-172N. About 25 hours into my training I got tagged to be a Flight Engineer for work and had to go to Oklahoma for 8 months for school. After I got into the routine of the school I went out to the local airport looking for a plane and a CFI so I could keep flying on the weekends. I found a redneck CFI from Northern Texas and local airport had a beat to death run down C150 for rent for cheap. I flew a few times with him and got a solo endorsement for a few of the local airports. He was busy and didn't have time to teach on the weekends so every weekend I went out as a student pilot solo in that old C-150 and beat up the pattern and flew back and forth to the next airport 12NM away. It was that summer that I think I really learned to fly and also that summer that I did some pretty dumb stuff.

After a few mos in Oklahoma I should have known that God flips the wind switch at about 11am. For some reason I had the hankering to go fly so I headed out and went and played around. I lost track of the time and suddenly realized the ground was going by really fast below me. I thought oh crap the wind has came up and made an immediate 180 back for the field. As soon as I made the turn I basically stopped. I was following a small two lane highway back and the cars were going WAY faster than I was. After the roughest and slowest flight back the airfield I've ever had I was finally on approach.

Of course I was a student and had been taught to fly the pattern the same way every single time. I was smart enough to make a straight in but not smart enough to leave the flaps up. As I got close I started trying to fly speeds I normally did and lowered the flaps on schedule. Pretty soon I was full flaps about a mile from the runway and wide open on the tired ol C-150 and not going forward anymore. I wish I would have had a GPS back then because I'm pretty sure I was going backwards on the approach at one point.  After what seemed like an eternity I finally crossed the threshold with a whole bunch of power in. My landing roll was about 20 feet. I had to keep "flying" the plane down to the first taxi turn off. When I turned off the runway I had the ailerons positioned right but it still almost tipped me over. I got turned back parallel to the runway and slowly taxied it to parking. By now the wind was gusting to 35. I had the seat cushion so far up my butt I could not breathe.

Thank god no one was around that day they would have been like WTF! Lessons learned... when your a brand new student pilot dont screw with the conditions your CFI puts those limitations in your endorsement for a reason and when it's gusting to over half of your approach speed DONT use flaps!!  :hammerhead:

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Posted

I was going strong flying everyday trying to earn my PPSEL back in 2005. I was learning to fly at Felts Field in Spokane WA in a C-172N. About 25 hours into my training I got tagged to be a Flight Engineer for work and had to go to Oklahoma for 8 months for school. After I got into the routine of the school I went out to the local airport looking for a plane and a CFI so I could keep flying on the weekends. I found a redneck CFI from Northern Texas and local airport had a beat to death run down C150 for rent for cheap. I flew a few times with him and got a solo endorsement for a few of the local airports. He was busy and didn't have time to teach on the weekends so every weekend I went out as a student pilot solo in that old C-150 and beat up the pattern and flew back and forth to the next airport 12NM away. It was that summer that I think I really learned to fly and also that summer that I did some pretty dumb stuff.

After a few mos in Oklahoma I should have known that God flips the wind switch at about 11am. For some reason I had the hankering to go fly so I headed out and went and played around. I lost track of the time and suddenly realized the ground was going by really fast below me. I thought oh crap the wind has came up and made an immediate 180 back for the field. As soon as I made the turn I basically stopped. I was following a small two lane highway back and the cars were going WAY faster than I was. After the roughest and slowest flight back the airfield I've ever had I was finally on approach.

Of course I was a student and had been taught to fly the pattern the same way every single time. I was smart enough to make a straight in but not smart enough to leave the flaps up. As I got close I started trying to fly speeds I normally did and lowered the flaps on schedule. Pretty soon I was full flaps about a mile from the runway and wide open on the tired ol C-150 and not going forward anymore. I wish I would have had a GPS back then because I'm pretty sure I was going backwards on the approach at one point.  After what seemed like an eternity I finally crossed the threshold with a whole bunch of power in. My landing roll was about 20 feet. I had to keep "flying" the plane down to the first taxi turn off. When I turned off the runway I had the ailerons positioned right but it still almost tipped me over. I got turned back parallel to the runway and slowly taxied it to parking. By now the wind was gusting to 35. I had the seat cushion so far up my butt I could not breathe.

Thank god no one was around that day they would have been like WTF! Lessons learned... when your a brand new student pilot dont screw with the conditions your CFI puts those limitations in your endorsement for a reason and when it's gusting to over half of your approach speed DONT use flaps!!  :hammerhead:

Hey guy, had a lot of fun things like this happen to me at about your level of experience. I got away with a few things, some of my friends didn't and paid the cost. I decided to go up one day from a little crop duster strip in a 150 and just check out the conditions. I knew I was in trouble when it took me three attempts to even tune my xceiver to unicom for an airport 30 miles away. Made my pattern (no flaps) and had the stall warner beeping steady at thirty feet up. Went almost full power and rejoined mother earth with wobbly knees. Sat out the rest of the day and finally flew back to the duster strip. Times like these either make you or break you (literally). Been told I could write a book or two on some of my more glorious moments. Truth is, I really don't want people to know just how stupid some of us can be. You brought back a memory or two (or 15, maybe 100 give or take a thousand). Hang tough guy, it ain't over 'till it's over' (original expression of mine). :angeldevil: Jim

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