Crazy Crosswind Takeoffs and Landings

[rightisright]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P9OAng32F0#t=199

A compilation of takeoffs and landings this winter at BHX in England.

Question for you aviation types: why does that runway look like it belongs on a motocross track?

[Aesop]

Best YouTube comment:

Why are there no gorillas throwing barrels at the planes? The runway is wavy, the crosswinds are nuts and the rain is there..... I don't see any sand traps or water hazards either. If you're going to be a sadistic runway designer- DO IT RIGHT!

Clearly, the Birmingham Airport was designed by the guy who later pioneered British dental care, and later their National Health System.

Civilized countries would have hung him for crimes against humanity long since, and shut the airport down as a public safety measure.

[Jericho941]

Not sure if it's the case there, but the ground just does that naturally in some parts of England. You can flatten the road out as much as you want, and by the end of winter it'll have already become visibly "wavy" again.

I can't remember why exactly that is. Something to do with the soil absorbing rainwater unevenly, freezing, and then thawing. I think.

[JustinR]

I've never seen such an obviously flawed runway. While it may be due to the soil conditions, knowing that in advance means they should have dug down to bedrock or used different construction techniques. It probably would not pass muster with the FAA, due to the fact that the hump would cause significant performance degradation on takeoff. It also causes a visual illusion on landing and leads to pilots flaring too high or too much, as was evident several times in the video. And clearly crosswind technique isn't being taught to these MPL wonders. The 737 drivers I can excuse, but there was some sloppy piloting there, despite the high wind. And oh yea, who didn't design the fracking runway into the prevailing winds???

[Termite]

And clearly crosswind technique isn't being taught to these MPL wonders. The 737 drivers I can excuse, but there was some sloppy piloting there, despite the high wind.

Cory Fruge, whose parents own DI's Cajun Resturant in Basile, Louisiana, flies Airbus 330s for Delta. He was telling me how there are fewer and fewer "stick & rudder" pilots in the airlines anymore. He says he shudders to watch most do cross-wind landings. He said that he has seen pilots land heavies with as much as a 15-20 degree crab. Talk about hard on tires...........

[MarkD]

Question for you aviation types: why does that runway look like it belongs on a motocross track?

Not an aviation type, but that appearance could be a result of using a long telephoto lens, which compresses the distance. Those may be gentle rolls, but compressed together they look like a washboard.

Not saying the runway ISN'T all eff-ed up, but it may be an illusion.