Of Crosswinds, Turbulence and Decisions...

The freaking weather has been crap lately here in the PNW. Lots of storms, with strong gusty winds. Even though an airplane is highly vulnerable during Take-Off (low airspeed, low altitude, etc), it is a far more manageable task than, say, landing under the same conditions. This is probably related to the fact that Take-Offs are optional; you can always make a decision to stay on the ground if conditions are beyond the capabilities of the aircraft, or your own. On the other hand, landings are mandatory. Once you are airborne, you must land, one way or another. After checking the conditions at the airfield, I make the decision to Take-Off. Winds are 35 mph, with gusts to 45 mph, but it is lined up with the runway, more or less. Nothing too challenging; I just add about 10-15 mph to my Take-Off speed, watch for turbulence near the ground, and that's it. Landing at the destination is uneventful; winds are calm.

Upon departing from Seattle, the following warning is issued to us: "Cessna 62348, traffic is 10 miles, same heading, crossing 4000, a heavy Scandinavian Airbus 340. Caution wake-turbulence. Climb at your discretion to avoid wake turbulence and maintain 7000 ft". This means that as we climb, we will cross right through the horizontal tornado that the heavy Scandinavian beast leaves behind as it flies. This wake turbulence stuff is particularly bad during take-off. The Scandinavian Airlines A340 just took-off from SeaTac. Wake turbulence has a tendency to sink, so after a few calculations I decide to increase my climb angle, and try to fly over this stuff. I look out in the night sky, knowing that somewhere out there, probably really close, there is a small tornado eagerly waiting to flip my airplane upside down, or worse, break it up. Thankfully, my plan works, and we leave the area behind. During cruise at 7000 I prepare for the 2 plus hour flight back home. I am comfortable and warm. The sky is clear above, and a thin layer of fog covers the ground below. The GPS unit provides reliable navigation, until the internal battery decides to go sour, and I have to complete the rest of the flight navigating the old-fashioned way; radio beacons.

I reduce power, open the warm air bypass into the carburetor, to prevent fuel from freezing inside the engine, and allow the nose to drop a few degrees to initiate a descent into the terminal area. The flight has been smooth until now. As the airplane crosses through 3600 ft, on my way down to 2500, a small bump marks the beginning of the turbulence that would continue until the end of the flight.

We are level at 1500, looking for the airport, which is actually hard to locate at night, with the city lights. The GPS says we are about 2 miles to the Northwest of Troutdale airport, so I start a shallow descent to get set up for landing. As I keep looking for the airport, I notice a man-made structure in front of the airplane. This is not a good sign. I check the altimeter, and it reads 1200 ft. This thing, whatever it is, should not be there, I look down, to the side and I see a house and a side street. The cars look bigger than they should, and I immediately apply full power, and start a steep climb. I guess I'll never know how close I came to the hill. As I level off at 1500 ft again, I look outside and there is the airport finally! I cut the power out, and start setting up the landing: Flaps 10 degrees, speed is 85 mph, landing checklist is completed. Once I am lined up with the runaway, its just a matter of fighting the crosswind that wants to push me to the left of the runway. I prefer to use crab technique (pilot talk for pointing the nose into the wind). I hold that all the way down to just about 10 ft above the runway, kick the left rudder all the way to line up the aircraft with the runway, and lower the right wing. Not too much though. We touched down firmly, but not hard. Ideal for gusty conditions. This flight is over, and the next waits around the corner. I kiss the airplane goodnight and head home with a feeling of respect for how challenging, beautiful, mysterious, rewarding, professional, technical, poetic and inspiring this field of aviation is.