Always Learning

The flight started in Chicago, where the winds had not yet ramped up to their forecast maximum of 19 gusting 29 knots (19G29KT). My destination, Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport (SGH), just east of Dayton, Ohio, forecast winds to max out at 15G25. This was wtithin my personal minimums, so I was confident I could complete the flight safely.

Fifty miles west of Dayton, I checked Springfield’s aviation routine weather report (METAR) using ADS-B and was surprised to learn the wind had increased to 22G33—stronger than I had ever flown in my lightweight Cessna 140. I considered landing short of my destination or turning around, but airports in my immediate vicinity reported the same conditions, and the stronger-than-forecast winds now stretched all the way back to Chicago. Although I had two hours of fuel remaining to find calmer weather, I decided to continue to my planned destination. I wasn’t too concerned about the landing; I had chosen Springfield because it had a runway aligned with the forecast wind. My concern was taxiing after landing.

Winds gusting to 33 knots will make taxiing more challenging. Control surface positioning is key to preventing your wing or tail from being lifted by a strong gust, possibly resulting in a wingtip or prop strike—or veering off the taxiway into a ditch.

Slowing down to walking speed will further help you maintain control of your airplane, particularly if the wind is blowing directly across the taxiway. This is because your airplane will tend to weathervane into strong winds while taxiing—making it difficult to stay on the centerline. Maintaining a slow taxi speed is important in a Cessna Skyhawk or Piper Archer, and essential in an airplane with a non-steerable, free-castering nosewheel (such as a Van’s RV–12) or in any tailwheel airplane. These airplanes will more easily pivot around their center of gravity to face the wind, and your primary tools to prevent that are slow taxi speed and gentle differential braking. Frequent taps on the brakes are far better than constant pressure on the brakes to prevent them from overheating and becoming less effective. When you are taxiing toward the departure end of the runway, make sure you leave enough room to stop the airplane before the end of the taxiway. A 33-knot push from behind adds a lot of force to overcome.

After landing at Springfield, I used every technique described here to keep my airplane on the taxiway in the howling wind. As I crept toward the FBO ramp, my airplane’s wings rocking back and forth, the ground marshaller directed me toward a parking spot that required a right turn. However, the wind from my left was so strong, I couldn’t turn the airplane right even with nearly full engine power and a lot of pressure on the right brake—the airplane just wanted to weathervane left into the wind. Tailwheel instructors emphasize it’s easier to turn into the wind than away from it while taxiing. I considered trying a 270-degree turn to the left to end up taxiing right, but realized in that moment that if I was having this much difficulty, I really should just point the nose into the wind, shut down, and ask for help getting the airplane secured.

Although I wouldn’t have embarked on this trip had I known the winds would be so strong, sometimes conditions arise while airborne we cannot predict before committing to flight. I now fully appreciate my instructor’s admonishments during primary training to slow to a walk while taxiing, which helped me ever-so-slowly reach a tiedown spot with the airplane undamaged.