With a calm wind approach speed of 70 kts, what should the speed be in gusts of 15 kts if not specified in the AFM/POH?

When determining the appropriate speed in gusty wind conditions, it is essential to apply an adjustment to the calm wind approach speed. Typically, a common practice among pilots is to add a factor to the calm wind speed to compensate for wind gusts.

In this case, when the calm wind approach speed is 70 knots and there is a gust factor of 15 knots, the adjustment involves adding half of the gust factor to the calm wind speed.

Calculating this:

• Half of the gust factor (15 knots) is 7.5 knots.

• Adding this to the calm wind approach speed of 70 knots yields:

70 knots + 7.5 knots = 77.5 knots.

In practice, this is often rounded to the nearest whole number, resulting in an approach speed of 77 knots in gusty conditions. Therefore, the reasoning aligns with selecting 77 knots as the appropriate adjusted speed under the specified gust conditions.