kevbert wrote:Interesting thread so far! Perhaps more interesting for me than most, because I too had a minor mishap at Big Creek about two weeks ago.
I was flying into backcountry strips east of McCall with my Dad in my 172. I arrived at Big Creek without incident, and we stayed on the ground until about 1130AM. When we were getting ready to leave, I checked the temperature (80 deg. F), calculated the density altitude (8400 ft.), then checked the performance charts to verify that I could get out of there. Everything looked good, and since the windsock was limp, I took off from runway 01 since it's little higher than the 19 end of the runway.
As expected, I lifted off just before the half way point and started to slowly climb. All of a sudden, at about 50 feet off the ground, I could feel the airplane drop. I instinctively started to pull back on the yoke, and the stall warning came on for an instant, so I immediately pushed the nose forward a little. I could see I wasn't going to make it so I cut the throttle and put it down on the remaining runway. I had a little over 600 ft. of runway left, and I braked hard and skidded for 200 yards to the end of the runway. I didn't want to go over the embankment at the end, so I aimed for the far left corner thinking I would put the wing into the trees if I had any speed left. I was down to about 10 mph when I hit the white rocks that mark the corner of the runway and I came to an abrupt stop. We got out of the plane and immediately felt the wind. I looked back up at the other end of the runway, and I could see that the sock was still limp there! However, there was a 15 mph tailwind for the last part of the runway, and I hadn't been aware of it or I never would have taken off. The wind had to come from somewhere, and in retrospect, I had to have flown into a downdraft that then became a tailwind.
One of the main wheels had hit a pretty good sized rock, and that is what stopped us. That put a side force on the nose wheel which was in the rocks, and the jolt broke one half of the nose wheel, and the tube was torn. There was no other discernable damage to the aircraft, despite being joyfully inspected by every pilot that wandered by! Ray Arnold of Arnold Aviation in Cascade showed up in a turbo 206, and said he would find me a wheel. My dad rented a cabin to spend the night. The next day Ray brought a loaner wheel and he even installed it for me while I pushed down on the tail, but it was pretty late in the day, so my Dad and I spent another night and then came out the next morning.
I'm confident that I did the right thing by deciding to abort the takeoff. One big factor in my speed of decision making was that I had been practicing the week before on MS Flight Simulator by pretending that I had lost an engine on takeoff and I had been trying to figure out how high I needed to get before I landed straight ahead vs. trying to turn 180 deg. to land. (for the record, I decided I'll never turn 180 unless I'm at least 1000 ft. AGL). As a result, it was natural to act quickly and decisively. So, I'm happy with how I handled the crisis, the only thing I wished I would have done better was to have never taken off.
I learned a couple of good lessons. The rule about doing mtn. flying in the morning is a good one, not just for density altitude, but also because of unpredictable winds once it starts to warm up. I hadn't given the winds the weight they deserved. Carefully check the far end of the strip for wind conditions. I glanced at the sock down at the other end before taking off, and I thought it was also limp, but I didn't really study it or look that closely. I'm not sure if I just saw what I wanted to see or if the wind started after I started my takeoff roll. I'll be studying it with binoculars next time!
I was pondering duct taping the wheel together, stuffing the tire full of pine needles, and flying it out if I didn't get a wheel in a few days. My thought process was that the airplane was airworthy, although it wasn't quite as groundworthy, and I didn't want to be there so long that a weather system moved in. I would have left my Dad there because he has a sister in McCall that could have easily driven in to get him. However, I got a replacement wheel, and the point was moot. But now that I've experienced the anxiety of being stuck at a relatively remote airstrip, I can fully understand the incredible emotional need to get the plane out of there ASAP!
Should of just put your dad in the back seat and flew out. Get gas in McCall and then flew home to fix it.
I know last year the FAA investigated a photo that was on supercub.org. I wouldnt be surprised if the FAA calls you ( 182 guy ) with all the attention this thread is getting. I saw it linked on another board also. Better start thinking of how you determined it was airworthy with out a ferry permit just in case they call.
