A Windy Day in Puyallup

September 8, 2019 — Eighteen hours after the biggest thunderstorm Seattle's seen in years, Derek and I wanted to make use of the break in weather and go flying. He's never been to Piece County Airport (KPLU) in Puyallup, which happens to be the closest airport that still counts as helicopter cross-country time. Decision made!

No $100 hamburger this time — we're just planning to fly down, take a couple of laps in the traffic pattern, and head home. We were surprised by some pretty gusty conditions in Puyallup, but that just made for some fun flying.

A 20 kt tailwind on downwind is super noticeable when your target speed is ~60 KIAS. Derek thought it felt like a speed boost every time we turned from upwind to crosswind to downwind — and he loved it!

As always, we're happy to have you along for the ride.