Passion for Flight

Grand Canyon National Park Near Gallup, NM, a violent storm digs into the sand of the desert a few miles east of our southeasterly route. Strong gusts pitch up plumes of sand past 13,000 ft MSL, above our altitude of 11,500 ft MSL. This is the second close-up sandstorm today. We avoid the sand just as we did earlier, by staying over forested terrain. Half an hour later, we approach Grants, NM, the second and final stop of the day. Wes, the FBO, says “Wind 220 degrees at 20 kts, gusting to 27.” Oh my, the single runway at Grants is 13-31, so this is a severe 90 deg crosswind. As a safeguard for that situation, we have planned as alternate the Double Eagle airport in Albuquerque, which lies 55 nm east and has two runways. But before we give up on Grants and go to the backup plan, we call back for verification. Wes says “The winds are bouncing around. Wind is now 170 degrees at 18 kts, gusting to 24.” For runway 13, this is an easily  managed crosswind. We line up for