Is there a right way to change the runway?

I'm stubborn...very stubborn.


I flew into a non-towered airport today with two runways. It was mid-morning, so the wind had shifted at some point from calm to out of the south. The runways were 10/28, 18/36. Winds shifting between 170 and 200 at 6-7 knots. There were a couple other airplanes in the pattern for 1-0, and I imagine they had been there for the past hour or so since they were using that runway. And here I come, out of the Northeast, looking to set my struggling student up with the fewest worries. No tower, calmer winds, and so on. We set up the way we should for runway 1-8, calling inbound, saying our intentions to cross mid-field and enter back on a right 45.

One of the instructors already there jumps on and tells me "a couple aircraft are already using 1-0".

What do I do? Of course this had to be on an off-day, a day I'm not in the greatest of moods (a whole blog could be made into why no one should fly in a bad mood!)...So I reply "Winds are at 1-8-0, at 7 knots, I'm trying to switch it up to the more favorable runway"...and I bluntly add in, "go back to [insert home airport here] airport and get your crosswind practice there!" Shouldn't have said that, I know, but again...not off to a great start for the day.

"The wind is barely noticeable, you'll be okay."

Now we're attacking my skills? "Just trying to teach my student right, trying to use the right runway."

Eventually the couple of planes switched over and continued on as if nothing happened.

So I have a question today...did I take the right action?

I could have easily entered the pattern for runway 1-0 and dealt with the light crosswind/tailwind and gone on with the day. But at what point do we say there needs to be a change? Winds were forecast to be out of the south for the entire day, so at what point does someone finally say "let's make a change!"

Whether my actions were right or wrong (disclaimer: I'm still learning, as everyone should be, especially when it comes to flying!), should someone be met with an angry voice on the other side of the mic? Is that really constructive? I guess with every "family" there are going to be confrontations, I'm just sad to hear it when everyone is learning. My student, his student, everyone.

I've had the reverse happen to me. Being at an airport, winds changing, and someone else coming in and changing to the new runway. It's inconvenient, yes, but since when is an inconvenience a bad thing in aviation? Only when you don't accommodate for it?

Please, opinions are welcome, I'm open to new or better ways to handle situations! We are only able to make decisions to the extent of our experience, training, and the experience of others!

And to brighten my day (and hopefully yours), here's a photo that I added to my Instagram account (took it off the coast of Florida). I just discovered Instagram, and I'm going to sound like an advertiser here but it's pretty much amazing. Share photos, search and browse through other's photos - My excitement will probably wear off, after all I did just learn about it yesterday! :)

To more learning experiences!

Up in the Air

What are you doing?

It's funny what people will do when they are scared out of their mind or when they have no idea what they should do. I had a student once who was both scared out of his mind and didn't know what to do. He was my very first student (maybe the fact that we were both scared out of our minds had something to do with it?...Just saying...). I could tell from the start that he was scared - scared of this one maneuver - stalls. That's basically when the wings aren't producing lift anymore - that's not as bad as it sounds, at least when you're five thousand feet above the ground in a controlled environment. When practicing all you need to do to recover is lower the nose, sometimes all it takes is releasing a little bit of back pressure, and wait until you gain airspeed to return to normal flight. I can't remember anymore exactly which type of stall we were practicing, whether we had power-on or off, but I do remember his reaction. The first few stalls we did were a little nerve-wrecking for him, and I was ready to call it quits to give him a breather, but he insisted on doing a couple more.

We set the airplane up for a stall, slowly raising the nose, letting the airspeed drop off. All of a sudden, as if he had lost patience, he yanked the nose back quickly - which caused an immediate stall. He was so abrupt he shocked himself. As the nose quickly fell down through the horizon, he let go of everything and gave out a little bit of a shriek. Before I knew it we were pointed nearly vertical towards the ground.

I was never far away from taking control - but I also wasn't expecting him to let go of everything. Always watch closely when someone is scared or apprehensive about doing something. You really don't know how they will react. I couldn't expect my brand new student to recover from a situation he put himself in when he doesn't know what to do. If he doesn't know how he got there, he definitely won't know how to get back. That's the same for everyone in life.You can't fix something that you don't know how to fix, and you won't fix it until you know how to. Sometimes the best course of action to take is letting go, let go and let the person you trust handle the situation, or whatever it is that needs letting go. My student trusted in me, trusted that I could help him when he had no idea how to help himself . Sometimes we all need to do that. If we pay attention, we can eventually learn how to handle even the toughest situation.

Back to my student. Will my student need to learn how to recover from a situation such as the one he put us in? Of course. I don't want anyone whom I've taught get a pilot's license if I don't know how they'll react in a tough situation. Did my stomach twist a little when all of a sudden the nose of the airplane was pointed towards the ground? Yes, I was a little shaky until the end of the flight, but I didn't let go of the controls. At some point in my flying career, I'm sure I would have done the exact same thing - but that point is in the past, at a time when I wouldn't have known how to recover either.

To clear skies,
Up in the Air