INSTRUCTOR WITH STUDENT PLT IS GIVEN RWY 24 INFO BY UNICOM OPERATOR. ON FINAL THEY NOTICE A HIGH GND SPD. CHKING WINDSOCK THEY NOTE THAT THE WIND IS FAVORING OPPOSITE DIRECTION; RWY 6 RWY REVERSING FOR TKOF THEY HEAR UNICOM OPERATOR ISSUING FAVORED RWY AS RWY 24. CONTINUING ON RWY 6 THEY HAVE AN ENCOUNTER WITH OTHER ACFT WHO FINALLY CHANGES RWY.

Date: 1997-10 · Aircraft: Cessna 152

Anomalies: conflict-airborne-conflict|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-other-unknown|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy

Synopsis

INSTRUCTOR WITH STUDENT PLT IS GIVEN RWY 24 INFO BY UNICOM OPERATOR. ON FINAL THEY NOTICE A HIGH GND SPD. CHKING WINDSOCK THEY NOTE THAT THE WIND IS FAVORING OPPOSITE DIRECTION; RWY 6 RWY REVERSING FOR TKOF THEY HEAR UNICOM OPERATOR ISSUING FAVORED RWY AS RWY 24. CONTINUING ON RWY 6 THEY HAVE AN ENCOUNTER WITH OTHER ACFT WHO FINALLY CHANGES RWY.

Narrative

MYSELF AND A STUDENT WERE GOING TO TDF TO PRACTICE TKOFS AND LNDGS. WE WERE ADVISED BY THE UNICOM OPERATOR TO USE RWY 24 AND THAT THERE WAS NO OTHER RPTING TFC. WE ENTERED L DOWNWIND FOR RWY 24 AND LANDED. WHILE WE WERE ON FINAL WE NOTICED A HIGH GND SPD AND AFTER WE LANDED WE SAW THE WINDSOCK WAS FAVORING RWY 6. WE ALLOWED THE ACFT TO ROLL TO THE END OF THE RWY; WE THEN TURNED AROUND AND LINED UP ON THE RWY; MADE AN ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE UNICOM FREQ THAT WE WERE DEPARTING ON RWY 6. AS WE WERE CLBING OUT WE NOTICED THAT THERE WAS AN ACFT TAXIING OUT OF THE PARKING RAMP. AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME WE HEARD AN ACFT CALLING IN FROM THE NW REQUESTING AN ARPT ADVISORY. THE UNICOM OPERATOR ADVISED THAT RWY 24 WAS IN USE AND THAT THERE WAS TFC IN THE PATTERN. WE ANNOUNCED THAT WE WERE TURNING XWIND FOR RWY 6. THE INBOUND ACFT ANNOUNCED THAT IT WOULD FOLLOW US IN FOR RWY 6. THE VOICE ON THE RADIO WAS OBVIOUSLY THAT OF A STUDENT NEW TO RADIO COMS. THE NEXT THING THAT HAPPENED WAS THE SAME ACFT ANNOUNCED THAT IT WAS NOW DOWNWIND FOR RWY 24. THE ACFT THEN PROCEEDED TO LAND ON RWY 24. IN THE MEANTIME THE ACFT THAT TAXIED OUT TO RWY 24 HAD BEGUN ITS TKOF ROLL AND WE WERE ON BASE FOR RWY 6. WE STARTED OUR GAR WHILE MAINTAINING THE L PATTERN FOR RWY 6. THE ACFT; A C195 DEPARTED THE TFC PATTERN TO THE SW. WE CONTINUED TO OPERATE ON RWY 6 AND THE OTHER TFC CONTINUED TO OPERATE ON RWY 24. WHEN WE WERE ON DOWNWIND THE OTHER ACFT WAS ON THE RWY. THE CLOSEST WE EVER CAME TO ANOTHER ACFT WAS ABOUT 500 FT OF VERT SEPARATION. AFTER ABOUT 2 MORE TIMES AROUND THE PATTERN THE OTHER ACFT CHANGED AND BEGAN USING RWY 6. HAD THE UNICOM OPERATOR GIVEN US THE CORRECT RWY WHEN WE CALLED IN OR HAD HE MADE THE INCOMING TFC AWARE THAT WE HAD SWITCHED RWYS I AM SURE THAT BOTH OTHER ACFT WOULD HAVE USED RWY 6. HOWEVER; SINCE IT WAS EASIER FOR THE INBOUND ACFT AND THE DEPARTING ACFT TO USE RWY 24 BECAUSE OF THEIR DIRECTION OF FLT AND POS RELATIVE TO THE ARPT THEY CONTINUED TO USE RWY 24 EVEN THOUGH THE WINDSOCK AND THE ASOS INDICATED THAT RWY 6 WAS THE PREFERRED RWY. THE ASOS WAS RPTING 070 DEGS AT 5 KTS AND THE SOCK WAS RPTING THAT THE WIND WAS FAVORING RWY 6 AT THE SAME WIND SPD. WE DECIDED TO USE RWY 6 BECAUSE OF THE WIND FAVORING IT AND BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT AS THE DAY GREW LATER THAT THE SUN SETTING IN THE W WOULD MAKE SEEING DIFFICULT. I FEEL THAT THIS WAS THE RIGHT DECISION BECAUSE IT CONFORMS WITH WHAT I WANT TO SEE MY STUDENTS DO IN THE SAME SITS IF THEY WERE ALONE. LNDG INTO THE WIND EVEN IF IT IS A LIGHT WIND IS ALWAYS PREFERABLE IF THERE IS A CHOICE. THIS IS WHAT I TEACH MY STUDENTS AND I ALWAYS TRY TO PRACTICE WHAT I PREACH. AT THE TIME WE MADE THE DECISION TO CHANGE RWYS THERE WAS NO OTHER TFC RPTED INBOUND OR MOVING ON THE RAMP. WE ALSO DID NOT NOTICE THE C195 RUNNING ON THE RAMP. AS FAR AS WE KNEW WE WERE THE ONLY ACFT OPERATING AT THE ARPT AT THE TIME. OUR SWITCHING RWYS TO RWY 6 SO THAT WE WERE TAKING OFF AND LNDG INTO THE WIND; AS FAR AS WE KNEW WOULD NOT AFFECT ANYONE.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.