“On a clear, crisp day, after a particular strong Southern California winter storm dropped the Jet Stream well south and at a low altitude, I flew my Mooney 231 from Santa Monica, California, to Scottsdale, Arizona. After Landing, I was sitting in the FBO talking about the 100-plus knot tailwind at 19,000 feet when another pilot told me he too had just flown from California in his Mooney 252. He said that he was going so fast that the DME kept going above VNE … so he had to keep the landing gear down most of the way to keep below the “Never Exceed” speed limitation of his plane.”
“I couldn’t close my mouth long enough to ask if he was kidding.”
Short Final
Key Takeaways:
- A pilot experienced an exceptionally strong 100+ knot tailwind during a flight from Southern California to Arizona.
- Another pilot flying a similar aircraft claimed he had to keep his landing gear extended most of the way to avoid exceeding his aircraft's Never Exceed speed (VNE), which he erroneously associated with his DME ground speed.
- The first pilot was left speechless and questioning the other pilot's understanding of basic flight principles due to this absurd claim.
See a mistake? Contact us.
