Comment "Lee waves!" on Claresholm Industrial Airport, Canada

Picture of dazuppa

Lee waves!

Been there yesterday, and man, wasn't that an example of mechanical turbulence... Brutal! My poor 172 was tossed around like a paper plane, yoke hitting the stops and ASI jumping from 60 to 100 in a blink of an eye. Twice got sucked down in a wind shear while on short final, adding full power to arrest the descent... Overall - three awesomely challenging circuits, totally worth visiting the place. And no one around that wonderful day (wondering why?)

Initially I thought that horrible turbulence was a result of the crosswind blasting over the airport buildings, but no - it was as "bumpy" all around, low and high, thanks to a bunch of irregularly-shaped hills just west of the airport, with a lee wave stuck aside of a mountain ridge nearby.

Besides that, a very nice aerodrome - easy to find, with clean approaches and lots of space around in case your engine decides to quit. Runway is in the good shape, and airport name is written on a main taxiway - very welcoming and friendly.

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