Backcountry Pilot

[Green Hornet offline]

Butch,
You are indeed a breath of fresh air!
While reading this thread my wife came home from the gym and remarked how the weekend flyer's are out an about low leveling the neighborhood. I quickly summoned up
http://www.weathermeister.com/free/index.jsp
to ascertain if the weather could have possibly changed so dramatically in an hour. But alas it is an average of 1000ft ovc, with smoke and haze throughout the SF bay area. Granted some of these guys are flying IFR but I would bet that some are not and that is poor judgement IMHO.
Mark N6EA did not mention me by name but after taking the McCAll intro course I decided not to go it alone to JC. It was one of the most difficult choices I have made since I began flying 5 years ago. I have made friends on this site with men I have never met but have shared the bond of flight. So to say I was pressuring myself to go is an understatement. However not one of my fellow BCP did anything but support my decision and commend me for making that decision. Although my life experience did make it easier for me than most.
I won't go into a lot of details and some know I have shared a little over the past year or so.
I served as a door gunner on a Huey from 1966 to 1968 in the RVN. Every time I attend a reunion some old crew member will remind me of yet another time we were either shot down and crash landed because of some mistake like the tail rotor hitting a rice patty dike. It is difficult for others to believe that you can suppress these events but it is done in order to get up the next day and do it all over again.
As my instructor told me you have nothing to prove, JC & Idaho will be here when you are ready. The funny thing is I did think I could to it but I was concerned about all the traffic some 60 planes reported and the fact that 2 accidents had occurred while I was training. I believe when making these decisions to go or delay we need to take all aspects of the event into consideration. For example is the aircraft the correct choice for this type of flying, Like A64 I have flown a Mooney and I agree with his assessment that this airplane is not a good choice for a BCP. In some cases you don't have a choice and the mission supersedes chioces but a flyin is not a mission it is a get together that can be ruined by bad choices. So don't be like these guys flying over my house lost in clouds wishing they were on the ground. Remember to fly safe and that it does effect more than you!
BCAH for safety!

[Zzz]

Good topic about medicals evolved..split to here.

[Green Hornet offline]

Split off to keeping Medical Certificate thread.

[silvaire offline]

Back to bent airplanes. If you've ever read Doolittle's book I Could Never Be So Lucky Again you might think a better title would be 'I Can't Believe I Crashed That Many Airplanes and Lived to Tell About It!!' Another one is the Don Sheldon story - I think he crashed every airplane he owned at least once.

I guess my point is that as bad as you might feel for having bent up your airplane there's no reason to beat yourself up about it as well. You're in the company of some great flyers who have BTDT as well.

[iceman offline]

By the way does anyone know how the two folks in the Mooney made out. I heard, and I hope it's wrong, that the woman died....

[qmdv offline]

Went into Smiley Creek the other weekend and arrived about 1 PM and it was at about 85 deg F. 7160 ft elevation.

Big valley so not much worry about turbulance ect. I pulled the power a bit too much and came out of the sky like a sack of cement. Recognized a big problem in about a half of a second. Full power, nose down then rounded it off just in time. Made a real ugly landing out of it.

Got the plane tied up and sombody commented that I would probably like to try that again. I declined.

DA DA DA. That is density altitude and it probably couses more dents than anything else.

Think DA all the time.

Tim

[58Skylane offline]

Hey Tim, were you at Smiley Creek this last Sunday (7-20)? My friend JoeCub flew my 182 over there this last Sunday.

[iceman offline]

Good thing to remember at smiley when you're on final... It's 7000 ft up!!!!!!! and when it's hot It's astronomical DA....

[qmdv offline]

I left there Sunday the 13th and I got a quick reminder of its DA. Boy those 182's are tough.

Tim

[58Skylane offline]

I left there Sunday the 13th and I got a quick reminder of its DA. Boy those 182's are tough.

Tim

OH.

[AKGrouch offline]

Speaking of bent airplanes......yesterday (7/23) was the day that bidding closed on the remains of the buzzard that I ground looped on 5/10. Hated to turn loose of it and total it, but with the prop strike and all, I just couldn't see keeping it.....too many possible (and probable now) problems to rebuild. It worked out for the best though, I love the 1966 182J I am now flying. Starting to realize it's almost like a smaller 206(backbone bird in Alaska bush). It costs a bit more to operate, but it gets there so much quicker and can do most of what the buzzard could do and lots it couldn't do.

[Benton offline]

Then there is the element of risk. It would be safer to sit on the couch and watch TV. Pilots are at higher risk.

Hmmm, I remember the exact conversation I had with my wife before starting flying lessons ten years back, "Sweetheart, I may die flying, but this sitting on the couch is killing me for sure."

We agreed that I'd spend whatever I needed to, to be as safe as I could be and keep the life insurance paid up. She's come with me a few times over the years, but it's mostly 'not her thing.'

Benton 28jul08