Just this August we tried to figure out if my new airstrip is o.k. to land on. Here is the result...

HOLY %$#@!

How bad did that pilot need to land there? Was it life or death? Was he getting paid a huge sum of money to be there? Was a go-around not possible?

With that said, I think a steeper slower approach would have put him (her?) closer to the threshold with a lower groundspeed without the float.

How long is it? Looks really short. What's the elevation?

The landing was planned like that although I hoped we would touch down a bit earlier. I still have to cut a few more trees and practice flying this plane on this airstrip under construction. The plane is not mine and I wanted to know if it is possible to land there.

So after this landing, I decided to make it a bit longer, cut a few more trees, grade and compact it.

Total length of this airfield on that day was 600 ft and it is basically on sea level, 3 knot headwind component, 2 POB, half tanks. Here is a better view:

I did enjoy watching that. All the pucker of a short landing, without the potential imminent demise of the viewer.

Guess they don't have any Twin Otters there Lost a contract on a similar size strip when a Twin Otter landed there ...

DonC wrote:Guess they don't have any Twin Otters there Lost a contract on a similar size strip when a Twin Otter landed there ...

Not yet. But you are welcome to land anytime, provided you advise early so I can cut a few more trees and call the fire fighters

DonC wrote:Guess they don't have any Twin Otters there Lost a contract on a similar size strip when a Twin Otter landed there ...

Looks a little long for a Twotter if you ask me...

Foxbat?! cool plane... I've seen some videos of those landing pretty short.... when I first got my plane, I used 3-4 times as much runway as I do now. Some of it was mods (more VGs).. but mostly a gain in skill, and above all getting to know what my plane can do!

Takes time to safely bring it in slower and slower. What's the stall on that bird with full flaps? Obviously practicing somewhere longer would be best....

There was some extra float there for sure....not terrible, and I'm definitely not judging!

Not a lot of room to spare on that strip, so you want to really get it dialed in! But I enjoyed the video, I've landed some spots that were real short and it surely gets the blood moving and is fun (as long as the outcome is ok!) Thanks for sharing!

GravityKnight wrote:Foxbat?! cool plane... I've seen some videos of those landing pretty short.... when I first got my plane, I used 3-4 times as much runway as I do now. Some of it was mods (more VGs).. but mostly a gain in skill, and above all getting to know what my plane can do!

Takes time to safely bring it in slower and slower. What's the stall on that bird with full flaps? Obviously practicing somewhere longer would be best....

There was some extra float there for sure....not terrible, and I'm definitely not judging!

Not a lot of room to spare on that strip, so you want to really get it dialed in! But I enjoyed the video, I've landed some spots that were real short and it surely gets the blood moving and is fun (as long as the outcome is ok!) Thanks for sharing!

You are absolutely right and no offense taken. The stall speed with full flaps is around 29 kts and we could have made a slower approach. I do need to practice, though and fix a few things on the airfield. It was a first landing and future ones will be better. Not as much fun for others to watch, though

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glacier wrote:If you have to slip on short short final you are flying too fast. Five mph less groundspeed on touch down could make this landing much less exciting.

Thanks for the hint. I did suspect that but was busy shitting my pants and cannot even tell you how fast we were going

Sporty.

What is the town you are near?

lesuther wrote:What is the town you are near?

Alicante. Or pm me if you need further details

I suggest experimenting where errors and condition changes won't bend you or the plane. When you are really doing a tight landing it should be a sure thing based on experience and, where possible, confirmed by measurement. I am confident of a landing before I do it. The approach profile and speed should be completely intuitive. Short landings should be consistently in stall within about five feet of desired touch down point with a confident margin at stop. Don't choose excitement over satisfaction. Take your time. Practice. You are off to a good start, but back it off and work on consistency. Mike

mike b wrote:I suggest experimenting where errors and condition changes won't bend you or the plane. When you are really doing a tight landing it should be a sure thing based on experience and, where possible, confirmed by measurement. I am confident of a landing before I do it. The approach profile and speed should be completely intuitive. Short landings should be consistently in stall within about five feet of desired touch down point with a confident margin at stop. Don't choose excitement over satisfaction. Take your time. Practice. You are off to a good start, but back it off and work on consistency. Mike

All clear, but I haven't had a chance Once my own Aeroprakt will be delivered, that is all on my priority list, of course.

If you weren't sure about it, why did you have half fuel and another person on board for the first time? I agree with others. Slower and steeper, if you are floating at all, you are too fast.

I'm assuming that the Almighty has future plans for you and your friend and allowed you to live this time. Keep testing Him, and He might change His mind.

I can consistently get my airplane down and stopped in less than 600', if that's what I want to do (of course, my airplane isn't likely to get out of a 600' strip, so that's a moot point). I can also place it within 20' of where I want to touch down, if that's what I want to do. I've been flying this particular airplane an average of 60-65 hours a year for about 12 1/2 years and a bunch of other airplanes, both similar and different from my current airplane, for more than 3 decades before that. But if I planned to go into a very short strip, you can bet I'd be practicing and practicing and practicing on a much longer strip, even with that background. In fact, before I go into relatively easy but shorter strips than usual, I practice. I want to absolutely know that I'm proficient--no guessing whether there's trees at the end or not.

I sincerely hope that you'll take my and others' comments in this thread to heart. It would be a tragedy to cut your life short, for no good reason other than to prove that you have superior piloting skills. It would be a much greater tragedy if you were to take someone with you. Fun and the adrenaline rush just aren't worth it. Remember the old saw, "The superior pilot is the one who uses his superior judgment to avoid having to use his superior skills."

Cary

Nice job! It would have taken an experienced pilot 10 practice approaches and 4 go-arounds in an empty airplane to pull that off. Even then, the experienced pilot probably would have wussed out. Congratulations, you are now an experienced pilot!