The Delta "wind check"
 

OK, guys, I'm trying to be serious:D.

Why do Delta pilots routinely ask for a wind check? Is it a procedural requirement? Does it have to do with the particular aircraft you're flying? Perhaps some type of limitational requirement? Is it just an old military habit? The rest of us smile every time you guys as for a "wind check," but if there's a good reason, I'd be curious to hear what it is. Enlighten me!

Didn't know we did that any more than anyone else. Doubt there's any reason but the higher percentage of anal, controlling military types who think it matters beyond the gust adjustment or crosswind limits.

Nice feeders by the way.

Because Selma Hayek takes the wind out of our sails.

Or because we have wind additives to our approach speed due to gusts and crosswinds.

Do you mean that you have wind additives to your "ref" speeds? Or do you add to your approach speed as well? I'm pretty sure everyone add wind corrections to ref speed.

What type of plane do you fly? Do you have any procedural wind or gust additives?

You want to when or why I would ask for a windcheck?

When my navigational display shows a 15 knot tailwind on final yet tower is calling 10 knots headwind down the runway ---- or the ATIS I just received called winds 30018G26 (for example this morning in Austin) but tower said 300/9 cleared to land --- I become very suspicious of what they tell me.

I am not a military guy, just someone that likes to know what I can expect. How many times have you seen an ATIS be off or old, just like to think a head.

Nice pic!

CRJ200; "A speed additive of five kts. is the minimum factor, and ten kts. is the maximum. Vref factor is adjusted for wind gust by dividing the gust factor by two, and adding it to Vref."

So at what point do you quit believing the tower? In other words, when do you make the decision to go around should the winds exceed limitations? Would you land if the tower reported a 10kt headwind even though your PFD indicated a 15kt tailwind?

How do you guys determine your Vref factor? And how much different would it be given the stated conditions?

I guess my question really is, "If the conditions are not likely to be rapidly changing, is it really necessary to clog up the frequency by asking for a wind check? (If you listen, you'll notice that the tower will typically annouce any significant changes in wind speed and or direction) And even if the conditions are rapidly changing, who's to say that they're going to be the same 30 to 60 seconds from now when you land? At some point, don't you have to make your best assessment and go with it?"

I remember a few years ago it was somebody asking why AA pilots (not Delta) always ask for a wind check. He received the same responses. Someone automatically responded about ex-military guys being too anal. Someone else tried to explain exactly why they did it. Many reasons, some valid, some maybe not. If the original post was intended to learn technique I applaud your desire to better yourself. There are many valid reasons to ask for winds on short final.

If you don't want a wind check, don't ask for one but there's no need to ridicule someone else for asking about information over the runway of intended landing. I don't know too many areas in aviation where having too much information will hurt you. Maybe the guys who refuse to ask for wind updates think it's not macho and their coolness factor diminishes. Most of the exceptional pilots I know save the coolness test for the bar and want as much information as possible when flying. The weak pilots are the ones who think they need no help to handle it all with one eye closed, one engine out and a worthless copilot. Like Clint said, "A man's got ta know his limitations."

#1. You're assuming that DAL is the only flight crews that ever ask for wind checks.

#2. You're comment about the necessity of asking for a windcheck is baseless and unprofessional. There are plenty of legitimate reasons why someone may ask for a windcheck. The last thing they need is for others to think that they're doing it for no good reason.

#3. You're missing the point. When things don't look right, it's best to be prepared and to start thinking about what you're going to do if winds suddenly change.

In my scenario, if my equipment is saying tailwinds and tower is calling headwinds, I know there's a shear. How bad? I don't know, it depends on how rapidly or slowly the direction changes. But knowledge is power and it helps me know if there's a potential problem that I'm about to fly into.

#4. I have no idea why anyone other than myself has asked for a windcheck. I've only done it a couple of times. But I assume the others had good reasons, just as I did.

#5. I almost forgot, tower is required to give you winds in a landing clearance, and well, they're human just like us, they forget.