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| I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. Photo taken on ground. |
During the roll, I remember glancing at the windsock briefly and I saw the windsock to be half up, at around 7 knots with gusts up to 13ish knots at the time. It was also a direct southerly, meaning a direct 90 degree crosswind from the right which is unusual in Hong Kong as we are usually affected by a northerly wind from the left. The wind speed was also above my personal limitation of a 10 knot direct crosswind if gust factor was taken into account, however I figured today would be a good day to test those personal limitations.
At Shek Kong, we have trees on both sides of the runway, and therefore the wind at the beginning of the roll can be very different from the wind at the end of the takeoff roll, and after climbing above the trees I saw the nose drift off to the right, into the wind even more. I also felt a rather rough bump as my aircraft climbs into and out of mechanical turbulence, it was a very bumpy day indeed with this southerly wind. As I turn crosswind I realise that I had a strong tailwind behind me, and I cut across to downwind without a lot of "wings level" time, note that Shek Kong is a tight circuit also due to high terrain. Just as I roll downwind and after I make my downwind call, there was a warbling sound that started on my right earcup, distraction #1. I did the unwise thing of "jiggling" the headset jacks to get it to sound a little better, however it was little help and I kept flying. Abeam threshold, throttle 1800 RPM and Flaps 10, over 3-ponds throttle 1500 RPM and flaps 20 when within white arc.
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| My Ground track, as you can see the downwind is cut from crosswind |
The runway rushes towards me and I close the throttle and transition my eyes down to the far end of the runway as I begin to roundout and flare, simultaneously I was applying left rudder and keeping my right wing down to compensate for the crosswind from the right. Personally I like this method for crosswind control as I am not a fan of flying uncoordinated too far out and it works just fine for me, I touch down gently on the upwind main gear first and then the downwind main gear and nose seemed to touch down less than a second apart. I found I did not hold off enough, nevertheless it was an acceptable touchdown.
Flaps up, re-trim and full throttle. "Shit!" I say to myself as a trickle of sweat ran down my cheek, I ignored it and flew the aircraft into and out of the mechanical turbulence on climbout. Once again I cut across from crosswind to downwind due to the southerly wind and I do a quick downwind check. Brakes, undercarriage, mixture, fuel, instruments, switches, hatches and harnesses! It was a very warm and humid day and even with the cabin air vents pointed towards me it was a scorcher in the cockpit, distraction #3. I spot the other 172R on base leg and I was already on late downwind, so I slowed down early in order to ensure sufficient spacing and turned base slightly late. With two other aircraft in the circuit it was a very high workload situation, however I felt as if though I was on top of the game and I am relishing the moment, and the next few moments will arrive as one of the most humbling moments of my aviation life.
On short final I was caught by a gust of wind from the right, the nose of the aircraft veered to the right due to the weathervaning effect and I was distracted and did not remember to slow down to 65 knots on short final and I flared and held off as if I was at 65 knots on short final, the aircraft floated and I was once again caught by another gust! The nose veers even further to the right and I was already compensating with left rudder, I add more left rudder and in an effort to "save" the aircraft from touching down with any side-load I have made a crucial mistake and I jerked the yoke backwards causing the aircraft to pitch up and balloon. Instinctively I noticed my mistake and relaxed the back pressure and re-established the landing attitude, however I was coming in with excess speed and I touched down on all three wheels at the same time. I shook my head in disappointment as I reconfigured for takeoff.
"Howard! Relax!" I didn't know why I was so tense at the time, perhaps it was because of my lack of experience on a high wing Cessna 172 as I am actually very accustomed to strong, gusty crosswinds due to the nature of where I originally trained in Melbourne. After another uneventful, but unsatisfactory circuit I came in on final for my last solo landing of the day and this was a scare that I will not forget.
Once again, at the same point on short final I was caught by a gust of wind, once again I forget to reduce my airspeed to 65 knots for short final because of this gust. I idle the throttle and start the roundout and flare, simultaneously applying crosswind correction and this time it seems to be working out so well. Out of the blue I see the nose drifting off to the right again! "Shit! Another gust!" I whisper under my breath, I correct this time accordingly and I thought my landing was going to be great because I didn't jerk the yoke up in the fear of the ground. However I forgot one thing: I was fast, too fast. Anyone who has flown a 172 will tell you how much of a difference 5 knots can make to your landing and I float.... and float.... and I got rather impatient and I simply did not hold off for long enough. I touch down on the upwind gear first, however just as I touch down that brain of mine decided to hold off so I move the yoke back! I went back into the air and I released a bit of the crosswind correction as I come down on all three wheels at the same time again! This time with side-load! "Shit! Shit! Shit." I screamed to myself through the mic of my headset. I glance at my airspeed and my suspicions were right, I was much too fast even after touchdown!
Analysis:
The combined distractions of the unusual southerly winds, warm temperature and headset interference ultimately led to the consequences of forgetting to reduce speed on short final to 65 knots and either a balloon or an insufficient hold off. In retrospect, all the mistakes made during this flight boiled down to my inability to slow down on short final to 65 knots, so here are the lessons learned:
- 65 knots on short final! Do not hold 70 knots all the way in! 65 is enough even for gusty winds!
- AVIATE FIRST, FLY THE PLANE!
- Train as you fly, fly as you train!
And I think the most important lesson from this flight is the safe management of distractions. When operating as a single pilot, distractions are inevitable however a good pilot must learn to manage distractions safely and remember the most important thing is just to FLY THE AIRPLANE! Everything else is secondary.
Hopefully this week I will be sent solo into the training area over Tolo Harbor, and most importantly.
Have fun, fly safe!
--
Howard
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