In the early 1970s, I took my daughter on a flight from Orange County to Oakland in an American AA-1. A headwind required us to make a fuel stop. I decided Bakersfield would be a good place to refuel, relax and have a bite to eat. The tower cleared me to land on two-mile long Runway 30R, but then asked me to switch to the shorter 30L because a heavy military transport was arriving. “No problem,” I thought. As I landed and rolled down 30L, I saw on my right a huge, dark airplane rolling past on 30R. There was a slight right component to the wind coming from about 330 degrees. Then, suddenly I found my airplane had turned 90 degrees to the right 288
Too Close For Comfort
In the early 1970s, I took my daughter on a flight from Orange County to Oakland in an American AA-1. A headwind required us to make a fuel stop. I decided Bakersfield would be a good place to refuel, relax and have a bite to eat. The tower cleared me to land on two-mile long Runway 30R, but then asked me to switch to the shorter 30L because a heavy military transport was arriving. "No problem," I thought.
Key Takeaways:
- The author recounts a dangerous wake turbulence incident while landing a small plane, caused by a heavy military transport, which violently turned their aircraft 90 degrees.
- This experience taught the author to avoid large airports to prevent wake vortex risks, minimize air traffic delays, and reduce costs.
- The article emphasizes that despite improved air traffic control awareness of wake turbulence, pilots of smaller aircraft must remain vigilant, identify potential threats, and not hesitate to communicate concerns to controllers for safety.
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