What is the maximum crosswind limit for a C150 or C152 aircraft?
Does this change depending on the class of licence?
Are there exceptions for emergencies?
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8$\begingroup$ The POH lists the maximum demonstrated cross wind, but it does not state a limit. The limit is where the rudder runs out and does not change based on your license. You can do anything you want in an emergency required to meet that emergency. $\endgroup$– Ron BeyerFeb 14, 2017 at 3:04
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$\begingroup$ Related but not quite the same and also related $\endgroup$– DaveFeb 14, 2017 at 3:59
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4 Answers
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Section 4 of the C152 POH lists the demonstrated crosswind component as 12KIAS. The 150 had a few variants so finding a published number is a bit more tricky. The Aerobat's are sometimes listed as 13KIAS, sometimes 15KIAS - but in general its the same sort of range as the 152(ish!).
You will only ever see "demonstrated" next to these numbers, it is not the maximum possible - I regularly hear of people landing 152's over that 12KIAS.
The number does not change due to your license privileges, it changes based on what the pilot is comfortable with /able to handle safely. Personally I would be wary of any crosswind over about 9/10KIAS.
In an emergency almost everything is an exception. Except aviate.
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Not an answer, but too long for a comment.
A recent FAA email pointed out this interesting fact about what is commonly referred to as “Maximum Demonstrated Crosswind”. From the Airplane Flying Handbook p. 8-17.
Maximum Safe Crosswind Velocities
Before an airplane is type certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), it must be flight tested to meet certain requirements. Among these is the demonstration of being satisfactorily controllable with no exceptional degree of skill or alertness on the part of the pilot in 90° crosswinds up to a velocity equal to 0.2 VSO. This means a windspeed of two-tenths of the airplane’s stalling speed with power off and landing gear/flaps down. Regulations require that the demonstrated crosswind velocity be included on a placard in airplanes certificated after May 3, 1962.
I’ve seen a lot of airplanes and I’ve never seen a placard indicating the demonstrated crosswind velocity. Probably because they were all certificated under CAR3 in the 1950s. The general rule of thumb I’ve used is that 10kts is no big deal, 15 kts is tricky.
Edited based on the comment by @Gerry
Using the information in the Airplane Flying Handbook, my old 182F has a VSO (flaps out 40°) of around 51 kts. So the Maximum Minimum Demonstrated Crosswind is 10.2 kts.
My 210L has a VSO (landing gear down and flaps out 30°) of 51 kts. So the Maximum Minimum Demonstrated Crosswind is 11.3 kts.
My Cherokee 140 has a VSO (flaps out 30°) of around 48 kts. So the Maximum Minimum Demonstrated Crosswind is 9.6 kts.
None of these has a placard or data in the POH.
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$\begingroup$ The numbers you've calculated are actually the minimum crosswind that's acceptable -- the Maximum Demonstrated Crosswind must be equal or greater than 0.2 * VSO. In My C172P manual, it states that the VSO (bottom of white arc) is 33 KIAS. That would imply a demonstrated crosswind must be at least 6.6 knots. In Section 4 Normal Procedures, under Crosswind Landing it states: "Operations in direct crosswinds of 15 knots has been demonstrated." So, in the case of the C172, the maximum demonstrated crosswind is 0.45 * VSO. $\endgroup$– GerryFeb 19, 2017 at 2:40
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In flight training, I landed a Cessna 150 K in a 90 degree crosswind gusting to 55 knots. It was actually a smooth landing and when I settled her down, i was a foot off the centreline. I am not a wonder pilot by any stretch. The place I learned taught you to fly in the worst conditions, you came out of there as a bush pilot. You knew what you and the aircraft was able to do. Yes the crosswind chart had these conditions well off the edge of the page. The plane didn't seem to know it. I just crabbed her in slightly upwind looking out the side window mostly. The instructor said very little. he liked it.
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$\begingroup$ Can confirm. A 150 will handle extreme crosswinds with a little work from the pilot. Just don't use flaps and don't stop flying it until you come to a stop! I almost beat that dust storm back to town. $\endgroup$– acpilotJul 11, 2018 at 2:11
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In theory, crosswind speed and direction is not the real issue when handling a crosswind landing in a C-150. (Well, within reason.) Just point your nose into the wind and watch carefully to make sure you are tracking down the center line. Everything will be perfectly fine right up to the moment that you actually want to land. It is that split instant when rubber meets asphalt that is going to tell you how good a pilot you really are. And the higher the windspeed and the steeper the angle it is crossing the runway, the better you need to be. And oh yes, pay attention to your aileron positioning. Don’t let the wind get under your upwind wing. (I think I explained this right...)
