Downdraft Dual

I am a lapsed pilot who last flew 47 years ago. Ive recently gotten back into the left seat and have picked up about 10 new hours flying with a CFI. The first few hours were intimidating, but confidence is returning every. Until, that is, a few days ago.

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, January 16, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A lapsed pilot, recently returned to flying, experienced a challenging session in gusty, cold conditions, encountering uncommanded airspeed changes, being pushed short on approaches, and a near-stall incident.
The pilot later recognized these confusing flight anomalies as clear indicators of windshear, which he failed to identify in the moment.
This incident highlighted the critical importance of promptly recognizing windshear and aggressively responding to maintain aircraft control, even if it necessitates an immediate change in landing strategy.

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Iam a lapsed pilot who last flew 47 years ago. I’ve recently gotten back into the left seat and have picked up about 10 new hours flying with a CFI. The first few hours were intimidating, but confidence is returning every. Until, that is, a few days ago.

At 31 degrees F, it was a cold December day for my dual session in a Cessna 172, with a solid overcast at 3000 feet, winds from 280 degrees at 11 knots and gusts to 19. My CFI and I remained in the pattern to fly touch-and-goes on Runway 30.