Pilot isolate....+1.....photofly wrote:With a suddenly sick passenger: I can't fathom a reason why you'd want to risk a landing in a rural field following which the best possible outcome is to wait an hour or more for an ambulance to take you to the hospital-equipped town to which you could have flown directly. At a speed four times that of any road vehicle.
Bonus points if you radio ahead for an ambulance to meet you at the airport.
Double bonus points if you remember the "pilot isolate" switch on the intercom so you can concentrate on flying safely without distraction.
Gravel Road / Private Unprepared Landings Surfaces
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Re: Gravel Road / Private Unprepared Landings Surfaces
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Cat Driver
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Re: Gravel Road / Private Unprepared Landings Surfaces
Before you decide to land on a road you should make sure you always land with a main wheel on each side of the center line at the airport.
The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
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RatherBeFlying
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- Location: Toronto
Re: Gravel Road / Private Unprepared Landings Surfaces
There's far too many wind turbines out there for my taste, but it's the meteorological towers that are killing ag pilots.
In the US towers 300' or taller require strobes and high conpiscuity paint, so the met towers are 299'. Lots of lawsuits down there and some states are passing legislation to require strobes and marking for met towers.
Irrigators are really hard to see. You might land successfully only to have one drive over you.
In the US towers 300' or taller require strobes and high conpiscuity paint, so the met towers are 299'. Lots of lawsuits down there and some states are passing legislation to require strobes and marking for met towers.
Irrigators are really hard to see. You might land successfully only to have one drive over you.
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I_Drive_Planes
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Re: Gravel Road / Private Unprepared Landings Surfaces
This:
This is a video I made last fall flying into the old Lovell Cove airstrip on Takla Lake (much better in HD):
Though this strip receives periodic use no one I know had been in there for a while so I made a couple of inspection passes and went for it. I'll reiterate what Cat said:
This airstrip has more in common with a road now than an aerodrome. There's a set of ruts down the middle and outside the ruts it can be harder to tell if there are any pot holes or sticks, the ruts are also more solid than the surrounding ground. If you can't put your wheels pretty damned close to where you want them consistently then gain some more proficiency before landing somewhere that isn't an airport. You want to be able to use the best surface available (usually the very middle) and stay clear of any obstructions (much more prevalent off airport than on) if you let it get off to one side or the other you can get into trouble very quickly.
That flight to Lovell Cove was my first and only taste of off airport flying (so definitely take my advice with a grain of salt), and it left me wanting more. I'm hoping to do some more exploring this summer.
Oh and don't call PAN PAN there's enough f*ing chatter on 126.7 as it is
And this:Redneck_pilot86 wrote:Don't waste your time with all this precautionary passes at 1000 feet, then 500 feet, then 200 feet and 90 knots to figure out the length. Just drive over to your intended area, get out and walk it. You will see much more detail, have the ability to pace the length, test the firmness, see potholes, crown, lumps of grass, etc, all while not wasting a bunch of gas. If the walk doesn't turn anything up, go flying, do one slow pass to check winds, wildlife, traffic, then turn and land.
Also, don't use "short field technique" and don't use "soft field technique" they are both stupid things spoon fed from instructor to instructor with no actual experience. Anyone actually doing this type of landing uses a combination of the two, where you land as slow as possible with all the flaps you can, brake no more than you need to and keep the yoke in your gut until shutdown. Keep moving, and use wider turns when able.
Have fun! Real runways suck.
Read those posts again, then a third time to make sure they stick. My own suggestion would be to talk to your local charter operators. In my corner of the world there are quite a few abandoned, unlisted, and delisted strips that are still used with some frequency by operators supporting mining exploration, oil and gas, hunters, and biologists. Arrange to bump into some of those guys, they can be a wealth of knowledge.Cat Driver wrote:Before you decide to land on a road you should make sure you always land with a main wheel on each side of the center line at the airport.
This is a video I made last fall flying into the old Lovell Cove airstrip on Takla Lake (much better in HD):
Though this strip receives periodic use no one I know had been in there for a while so I made a couple of inspection passes and went for it. I'll reiterate what Cat said:
Cat Driver wrote:Before you decide to land on a road you should make sure you always land with a main wheel on each side of the center line at the airport.
This airstrip has more in common with a road now than an aerodrome. There's a set of ruts down the middle and outside the ruts it can be harder to tell if there are any pot holes or sticks, the ruts are also more solid than the surrounding ground. If you can't put your wheels pretty damned close to where you want them consistently then gain some more proficiency before landing somewhere that isn't an airport. You want to be able to use the best surface available (usually the very middle) and stay clear of any obstructions (much more prevalent off airport than on) if you let it get off to one side or the other you can get into trouble very quickly.
That flight to Lovell Cove was my first and only taste of off airport flying (so definitely take my advice with a grain of salt), and it left me wanting more. I'm hoping to do some more exploring this summer.
Oh and don't call PAN PAN there's enough f*ing chatter on 126.7 as it is
