Question about flying during Hurricane season in southeast..

[dtfl]

Last time I checked engines don't flame out in hurricanes.

Email the guys in the wing I fly with (although I do NOT fly with those folks...I fly Tac Airlift)

www.hurricanehunters.org

They fly into them all the time and trust me...it's nothing special. Like a buddy said..."it's like that Christmas where you get up expecting a bike......and you open your gifts and you get clothes"

 

[Midnight Flyer]

this question is from the moron who usually posts flamebait in the regional forums to get people all worked up...

That's right.
JDREsquire1224 hasn't even responded to any of the above posts in this thread..he just starts crap then leaves. typical punk kid.

 

[brokedash]

Guys, I'm coming to you with some questions because I hope I can get some good responses. I've been having some good talk on other boards, but I think the experiences you bring to the table would be the best. I'm wondering about flying jets during hurricane season. I have a few friends in the business and they said even though there might be a tropical storm warning, that sometimes you'll be dispatched into a storm. I was wondering how you fly into a hurricane in a jet? I know the maximum crosswinds on landing are like 20 knots mostly, but what happens if you get that swirling wind going and you have a crosswind/headwind/tailwind? It'd be a like a 3 headed monster that I don't think charts can prep you for. As an FO I'd probably defer to the captain. A problem I'd worry about if I were flying a jet would be flameout. A couple others would probably be windshear and stuff like that, but I think the windshear would be less likely that flameout. Also, don't worry about anything if you are a prop flier, because I won't be flying props. I'll just tell whoever I fly for soon that I want to fly a jet and I'll probably be in a pretty good one.

What's wrong with props? They do a better job than jets in some places. Sounds like you've got a nice dose of SJS going on. BTW ever consider a prop pilot at a regional has more experience and still might be able to teach you a thing or two even if his bird pushes propeller blades?

 

[Browntothebone]

That's right.
JDREsquire1224 hasn't even responded to any of the above posts in this thread..he just starts crap then leaves. typical punk kid.

Don't you just hate people who do stuff like that?

 

[Talon757]

In my prior life as a C-141 pilot we were occasionally planned to fly out in the pacific through where a typhoon was going to be. We checked the weather notams in flight planning, the radar summary charts, the upper wind charts, and every other piece of information we could find. If the storm was dead in the middle of where we were flight planned we would contact the Pacific Airlift Control Center and request a different flight plan. On occasion we were on a ramp in the middle of bufuwazoo with bad HF radio conditions and no communication was possible. In that case we got out the whizz wheels and drew up a manual flight plan, filed it, put on whatever extra fuel we needed and went around the thing. If the worst happened and we saw the thing dead ahead on the 300 mile radar scope anyway we figured the fuel required to fly around it. If we had the fuel we flew around. If we didn't we went back. That's the long version. The short version is: you do whatever you need to in order NOT to fly through a storm like that.

 

[JDriver]

Last time I checked engines don't flame out in hurricanes.

Email the guys in the wing I fly with (although I do NOT fly with those folks...I fly Tac Airlift)

www.hurricanehunters.org

They fly into them all the time and trust me...it's nothing special. Like a buddy said..."it's like that Christmas where you get up expecting a bike......and you open your gifts and you get clothes"

Is your avatar a picture of you shooting those darn storms up after the hurricane hunters hunt it down?

 

[dtfl]

Is your avatar a picture of you shooting those darn storms up after the hurricane hunters hunt it down?

You mean after they TRACK it down? Hunting implies tracking then killing.

And......you know better than that!

 

[FlyAuburn]

Used to work for a company who had to fly in right after hurricanes to set up shop. Any Corporate flight department for a major insurer is pretty well experienced in these sorts of operations. State Farm used to have routers and telephone systems to handle 5,000+ lines to a sat link which were palletized down to fit in a fleet of Learjets. That was back in the 1990's, they probably handle 25,000+ lines today and have their own sat link.

Hurricanes are flat. Over ~ 25,000 feet they are nothing other than a curiosity as you fly over in smooth air. On arrival the most significant hazard is debris on the runway. The winds (the day after) are steady in one direction and if you don't like the landing weather, wait 6 hours and the winds will have shifted.

As others have mentioned the infrastructure is too destroyed and folks are too wrapped up in other projects to expect a 121 flight to be operated in or out the day before, or day after.

Again, the airplane is happy. The problem is the infrastructure on the ground & debris. If you tear up your airplane by sucking, or running over, debris you are stuck. Forget getting parts & mechanics. Folks do not come to work when their car is floating in the pool. Worse, after Katrina the locals showed up at the airport and started taking every part that they thought was worth any money. One client of mine was very worried as they saw two of their Corporate jets get picked clean using their satellite imagery.

Flameouts? We ran with the ignition on through some of the very wet bands which radiate out from the storms, but that is not much different than your procedures in any heavy rain. You will be surprised how steady the wind is.

Nobody is going to dispatch you in the thick of the storm. The day after is no big deal. Three days after and your biggest problem is finding a cold beer and dealing with the mosquito's that take advantage of the warm weather and lots of water.

By the way, if anyone sees a Airboat in Louisiana powered by an Garret/Allied Signal TFE-731, PM me and we can probably get you a reward. There are a bunch of airplane motors on Airboats, ever wonder how they got there?

good post. :beer:

 

[JDriver]

You mean after they TRACK it down? Hunting implies tracking then killing.

And......you know better than that!

You are right....But seriously, is your avatar a pic of the new A/WC-130J gunship?