, but since there has been some talk about underpowered planes I though someone might learn something from my mistakes.
The flight in was beautiful, mostly smooth air, some clouds, and lots to look at. We arrived to see that there was a lot of snow along the river. I knew there would be snow on the mountains but I figured that because the river runs mostly north and south that the sun would be shining on it most of the day and therefore melt the snow along the banks. Everywhere else was melted except right were we wanted to go, the runway was the only spot with snow still covering it. I took a look at the runway and saw tire tracks from other planes that had landed, it also appeared that the snow was not very deep so I thought I’d take a look and if things looked good I’d land. Besides the fact that we wanted to stop and eat I had to pee really bad and that helps motivate me to get on the ground. I flew the approach and got low and slow over the runway and things were looking good, then I realized I was not in a favorable situation; the snow was deeper than it appeared.
I began to add power to abort the landing but quickly realized that I may or may not make it over the trees at the end of the strip. Rather than risk meeting the trees at 65 mph and 50 feet off the ground I opted to land. I was already just off the ground in a tail low attitude so I decreased power slightly and let the wheels settle in. Once they touched I added a slight amount of power and some back pressure to keep the tail down. The drag the snow produced slowed the plane faster than the plane wanted to and it jerked side to side while still pointing straight down the runway. I didn’t dare to stop till I reached a place free of snow just incase I couldn’t get going again; it took over half throttle just to keep moving. We parked, got out and wandered around after the frightening and incredibly stupid landing. “Why did I do that” I kept thinking to myself, “am I a complete idiot,” (no response necessary). I knew that as the day progressed the downstream wind would increase and therefore departure would become more difficult so I didn’t want to stay as long as we had planned. We sat and talked, snacked on some food we brought, but we didn’t cook the meal, and relaxed till our nerves settled.
My wife took this picture so I would never forget my error in judgment.
We got in the plane and prepared to takeoff. My wife said she was just going to cover her eyes and to let her know when we were off the ground. I taxied to the end of the strip, which thankfully was the uphill end. I turned around keeping a much speed as possible; as the nose swung around I applied full power, positioned the controls to keep the plane in a tail low attitude while still letting the tail off and prayed for success. The runway was long so if necessary I could reduce power and abort the departure. We picked up speed slowly but it would be fast enough if things didn’t get any worse (like a sudden gust of wind); as the speed increased the weight of the plane was shifted from the tires to the wings, acceleration increased and I pulled it off as soon as possible, staying in ground effect till best climb speed was reached, we then climbed away from the strip and continued downstream till there was enough room to turn around and head for home.
The rest of the fright was uneventful, except for a real “greaser” landing when we got home.
I am glad that things turned out well and I can say that I learned a lot from today’s experiences. Everyone makes mistakes that they can learn from but this was a preventable mistake that taught me a lot about things I should have already known.
Some of the things I should have considered.
Don't get that low and that slow it such a low powered plane.
Make decisions sooner while there is still a way out.
Don't push your luck, espically with a loved one onboard. You can kill yourself if you want, just dont kill anyone else in the process.
I knew where I wanted to go, but I need to be willing to pick a different place, maybe somewhere that isn't covered in snow.
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