Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 2; Flight Crew Total 163; Flight Crew Type 94
Situational Awareness
Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged
Weather; Human Factors
Preflight and runup was normal. Engine operation was good. Began taxiing on the runway. Full power was applied and engine instruments were all in the green (RPM; pressure; and temperature). Airspeed was increasing slowly initially at first; but RPM increased as airspeed increased and I reached rotation speed of 60 to 65. I reached my normal Vx speed of 65 to 70 MPH. I had seen the climb-out of another aircraft and it appeared to be windy so I decided to add a little more speed to that as a buffer for safety. I had briefed this prior to takeoff and was aiming for 70 to 75 for the climb out; for obstacle avoidance and wind buffer. I also had briefed and prepared for a wind shift as I got above the trees; as this is a standard precaution that I have regularly made at this airport (because of the location of the trees) and was prepared to expect it (as is regularly briefed for an eventuality such as this). This is a part of my normal before takeoff emergency brief. As soon as I got nearing the tops of the trees I felt the lift reduce and the stall horn began. The controls were sluggish and I knew instantly that I needed to lower the nose to prevent a stall. I lowered the nose and tried to nurse it back up but very quickly realized something needed to be done as the runway was reducing and I didn't feel comfortable in the lift being generated being able to take me over the trees. I made a quick decision to reduce the power and attempt for an aborted landing. I pitched over; touched down; and hit the brakes. I realized that the runway was coming to an end and the hill was going to slope down. So I attempted to turn the aircraft using the rudders and was successful in slowing the aircraft and not going down into the sloped hill. Then; managed to stop the aircraft at the end of the runway. Once the aircraft was stopped; the engine was running; I pulled the mixture; switched the mags to off; and turned off the master. Post-incident inspection showed apparently minor prop damage (a ding in the prop) and nothing else appeared to be damaged. Postflight discussion with the pilot of the initial observed aircraft and he stated that he also felt the wind shift and was struggling to climb. The climbout seemed a little low to me; but it was not readily apparent to me that it was solely because of the winds. I surmise that a windshear event occurred from the changing wind direction because of the trees. Luckily; I had briefed for this eventuality and knew what to do. Things that went right:- Proper brief prior to takeoff which covered a change in wind due to the trees- Proper speed-wind buffer: this resulted in the lift that WAS available at that time and contributed to a safe landing without exceeding the critical Angle of Attack.  - Managed to stop the aircraft with minimal damage; and no occupant damageThings that went wrong:- Initial observation of the struggling climb of the aircraft on departure should have resulted in more hesitancy to depart to begin with
C172 pilot reported flying the aircraft back to the runway after noticing poor climb performance shortly after takeoff.