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  • Airbus Beluga

    Would anyone know if there are any limitations placed on this aircraft for landing crosswind and what they might be?

    Thanks



  • #2
    wish I could help you, I'd say the odds of this one being answered are pretty slim, but you never know.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by screaming_emu
      wish I could help you, I'd say the odds of this one being answered are pretty slim, but you never know.
      You may be right but I thought I would ask after wasting several hours this year trying to get a few shots at what are usually pretty certain times. I spent two and half hours at EGNR/CEG the other day and in that time the only movements were one Jetsream one Citation and one Air Corps Lynx.
      Winds were averaging around 350 @ 20knts, runway in use 05. I have noticed in the past that it doesnt take much wind to force the use of plenty of rudder on these aircraft but I am no expert.

      Thanks


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      • #4
        From what I know, 20 knots shouldn't be too difficult for a large aircraft to handle. The piper warrior (small single engine plane) can handle up to 17 kts. That being said, the demonstrated crosswind component given by an aircraft maunfacturer isn't a limitation, but instead, that is how much the manufacturer's test pilot was able to do in testing. That may be because that is all the aircraft could handle, or that could be the highest wind that existed when they were testing it.

        So its quite possible that even when it is a whole bunch windier than that, they will come in and shoot the approach anyway. The only limitation per say that I can think might apply is something that is appied by the company itself.

        On the odd chance I come accross this info, I'll definately let you know.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by screaming_emu

          On the odd chance I come accross this info, I'll definately let you know.
          I wouldn’t expect 20Kts to be a problem but when you kook at the profile of the aircraft it makes me wonder. There is a huge acreage of fuselage for the wind to act on.

          Thanks.


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          • #6
            While I haven't been able to find any specific data on this acft I have watched it land in YYZ a couple of times. It didn't seem to have any difficulty handling the winds than the A343 or any of the B744's that were arriving at the same time.

            Air Canada's A343's are allowed up to a 27 knot crosswind on a dry runway and the manual shows this figure for "all A340's". One can only assume it is the same for the Beluga.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by ptbodale
              Air Canada's A343's are allowed up to a 27 knot crosswind on a dry runway and the manual shows this figure for "all A340's". One can only assume it is the same for the Beluga.
              Hey Dale, this might be more of a chief pilot type question, but say the crosswind was something like 26 kts and the captain of a flight said "thanks, but no thanks" and diverted somewhere else, do you think the company would get upset with that pilot? Unless certification is different for large aircraft than it is for small aircraft, the number in the manual isn't necisarily a limitation, rather just what that aircraft was demonstrated by the test pilots. So its not like all of a sudden anything above 27 knots becomes dangerous...

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              • #8
                I don't know any specs on the Beluga, but the advantage of living near an Airbus plant that is always experiencing high winds. Hamburg-Finkenwerder is located near the river Elbe, and as a result is constanly passed with strong winds, often in excess of 30kts, and even then, it is not unusual to see the Beluga land or depart at XFW. The large fuselage of the Beluga doesn't seem to be any problem at all. Rather, it sometimes appears that the small A318 has more problems under such windy conditions.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by DAL767-400ER
                  Rather, it sometimes appears that the small A318 has more problems under such windy conditions.
                  yup, the bigger the mass, the less problem...usually. Also, the higher the speed you fly, the less effect the wind has on the aircraft. Example, if i remember correctly, the Cessna 152 has a max demonstrated crosswind of 11 kts. Not much at all. I remember one day landing it in a 10 kt crosswind and I had the rudder pretty much all the way to the floor. Yet there was one day I landed the seminole, and didn't really notice there was a 10 kt crosswind until I thought about it on the ground. I knew there was a crosswind, but it really didn't seem like much.

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                  • #10
                    Thanks guys,

                    It looks like my guess was a little off but it was perhaps worth considering.


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                    • #11
                      While the Union tells us "a pilot is a pilot is a pilot" we know everyone has different capabilities. Twenty six knots is close enough to the max so I wouldn't argue with the Capt. Safety is paramount. Should the crosswind be somewhat less and the Capt refuses to land the Chief Pilot would definitely be called.

                      We have the same situation with low and high time pilots flying into different weather conditions. A low time pilot, less than 300 hours on type, has different limits. In the case of stations like YHZ and YYT where there is a lot of fog we will switch low time for high time pilots to ensure the flight operates.

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                      • #12
                        Thanks for the quick answer. Sounds pretty fair. The way things work here at UND is we have wind endorsements. Say you go up with an instructor on a day where the winds are 25 kts and you have a 15 kt crosswind. If you repeatedly demonstrate that you can handle that, your instructor can give you an endorsement for that amount of wind, then you can solo as long as the winds are below that.

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                        • #13
                          777 definitely is the winner of handling crosswinds, maximum is 40 knots.

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