While standing (if you catch my drift) in the bathroom, looking out the window, it occured to me I had never flown the summit of a certain 8900' peak I look out at every day, usually several times a day. The drought of snow down lower this year, so far, kinda made it stand out more then usual. 11 miles later, over the summit and looking back at my neighborhood, I found a couple nice bowls that would make perfect ski landing sites. I made a few mock approaches and then got out of there and flew home, where I had to put the wheels down (lift the skis up actually) to land as I don't have enough snow!

This peak is on a nearby Indian reservation, and getting caught screwing around there would mean losing the airplane, and that is why it has always been off my radar as far as fooling around there. I sure was tempted yesterday, but I restrained myself. Not really on the land, on the snow, would be the justification? After landing back at my place, I started to pull the plane back into the hangar, and found I could barely move it. Thinking maybe I had somehow left the parking brake on, I checked and it was off. I pulled again, same deal, real hard to move.....finally after close examination, I noticed I had a flat tire ( in my defense, it was somewhat hidden by the ski). I have new more powerful brakes, and most have gotten on them pretty good, and have finally gotten all the air out of them (an awkward caliper placement due to the skis makes initial bleeding tough), and had failed to run a high enough air psi to keep the tube from rotating.

Now the attention getter here is, the ski/wheel junction is somewhat dependant on having air in the tire, and while I'm not sure what would happen if landing on skis WITH a flat tire, I would rather not find out at 9K high somewhere I shouldn't be anyway (not that I even considered it, not even for a second). I also don't know if the tube rotated/lost air on landing or before taking off, meaning whether I had the problem while over the res or not, doesn't matter as I didn't land anyway. Doing the right thing pays off

courierguy,
Doesn't an "alleged" flat tire constitute grounds for an emergency landing on reservation land?
Just trying to help.

dirtstrip wrote:courierguy,
Doesn't an "alleged" flat tire constitute grounds for an emergency landing on reservation land?
Just trying to help.

Nope. "I thought I had a flat tire so I made a precautionary landing on top of a mountain in winter" sounds even more foolish when followed by the words, "your honor."

The rough engine story is a better one. Or smelled smoke. Both difficult to disprove and convincing to pilots, judges and juries that there was an imminent potentially life threatening emergency.

courierguy wrote:While standing (if you catch my drift) in the bathroom, looking out the window,

Yeah, I catch your drift, but I wonder if you SHOULD'A been paying attention to what you were DOIN'!!

I already played that card, about 30 years ago on this same res. A fast moving thunderstorm and the ultralight I was flying made me want to set down to let it pass, and I caught the tail on some sagebrush. By the time I hiked out, hitchhiked, (pre cell phone of course) and got back with my pickup, they were getting ready to load it up on a flatbed. The reason for my landing seemed to make zero difference to them, and thats cool, it's their nation and all that. I managed, barely I felt, to get out of their with my bird, maybe they were just messing with the white guy. 15 years ago I went down again in a Lycoming powered Avid Magnum, too much air in the fuel system, and that time they (res cops) were incredibly helpful, mostly by keeping the media away! And, no talks of impoundment. Murpheys Law here I think, I stay off the res, if I have a real live emergency well then thats another matter....as I do fly over it, on the way to other places, a lot. I want to keep on good terms with them. One way is by taking aerial pics of the new casino they are building and sending them to the tribal council