My uncle's strip is new, its been smoothed out and we are waiting for the grass to grow.
Today he wanted me to take him there (I have landed before and was fine)

Seems to be it rained a lot last night and all that nice dirt had become a mud fest, landed and the plane was skidding all over and mud jumping all over, strip is wide so not a big deal, hardly touched the brakes.

For takeoff had to have 4 people push the plane at full power to get moving, take off run was long , slippery, jumpy and dirty

I need a 180

I tried softfield landing and takeoff, the little front wheel was getting stuck all the time and in the way.

Mud technique? I applied the same as offroading smooth movements and braking

Some people would paint their airplanes like that, just to look cool.

That looks awesome!

motoadve wrote:Mud technique? I applied the same as offroading smooth movements and braking

Much larger tires

I'd say get bigger tires or lower the pressure! I can't do either with my nose but mudd happens!

about to hit the mudd hole!!


On the way out I made sure I was off before the mudd!!!


Because this mudd was a combination of cow shit mudd and other stuff we had to haul up tubs of water to clean it off. I wasn't happy my brothers turned on the sprinklers!

Lower pressure yes , larger tires not at the moment but at least I have the ones with diamonds on the sides , might be a tiny help when sliding sideways.

We need to wait for the grass to grow, beause it was crazy stuff, mud was too deep.

Here' Mud

At least it should wash off easy enough. I once landed in a paddock that had been a recent cattle camp. Got absolutely covered in fresh cattle shit all over wings, on top of the wings (don't know how) fuselage and windshield was completely splattered. Still had to fly home which air dried it on - what a shambles that was to clean up!!!!

If the field is long or if there are no approach obstructions, you can fly much slower than stall speed in low ground effect (3') with full flaps and power. Just reduce power slowly when you get to the beginning of the field. No brakes should be necessary. On takeoff, getting the nose wheel completely out of the mud is key. Use whatever flaps the book says, but taxi and start the takeoff run with the control wheel full back until the nose wheel comes out of the mud. Then hold the nose wheel just off until the mains come off. Then push the control wheel hard to stay in low ground effect. It helps if you set the trim for neutral rather than climb so you don't have to fight the trim and that big engine. If the field is short, be sure to accelerate in low ground effect until Vx or Vy as appropriate is achieved. I always accelerate until near the obstruction. I just hate giving away free energy that I might wish I had kept later in the takeoff.

That is how I did it, runway is very long and wide 990 meters by 40 meters, but mud was too deep for my tiny tires.

I did something similar a few months back. I was solo so didn't have anyone there to push the plane but I was still able to get out. Washing it is the part that really sucks. I stopped by a mechanics shop later that day. When he saw the plane he asked me if I knew that it is an airplane and not a 4-wheeler.

Time for bigger tires

"You got to have Fat tires...Tires!"

Been there, done that, Big John...on one of not so dry, dry lake beds on the Tahoe circuit.
Quinner was probably laughing at the tracks I left all season long!

260Driver wrote:Been there, done that, Big John...on one of not so dry, dry lake beds on the Tahoe circuit.
Quinner was probably laughing at the tracks I left all season long!

Took us 18hrs but we flew out

I had a similar experience in the Skylane about 40 years ago. We regularly visited my folks in Sundance, WY, using the Schloredt ranch strip. At the time, it wasn't paved, although Lee paved it a couple years later. This was in the winter, and there had been some decent snow and freezing weather, but on the day we flew up there, there was a sudden spike in the weather, and the snow was melting, water flowing across the runway. We'd touched down early on the strip (it was only 2100' by 20', at 5000' elevation) and were rolling out when we hit the soft stuff, and literally buried the tires in the mud--really stopped quick!

Lee had a couple of the old steel landing mats in his hangar, so we dragged those out. We unloaded everything we could out of the airplane to make it as light as possible. We jacked up the Skylane's main gear by using Pop's VW jack under the step (probably not approved by Cessna), slipped the landing mats under each main, then stuck a 2x6 under the nose gear. Then I got in, cranked it up, dropped the flaps, and with full power, accelerated past the mats into the mud again but with enough momentum that it made it to dry ground.

We almost had a tragedy, though. One of the kids was assigned the duty to hold the dog, and he let go just as I was accelerating on the mats. The dog ran in front of the airplane to the point I lost sight of her, I pulled off the mixture to try to stop the prop, but the airplane's momentum kept it going--and then she ran out the other side, somehow missing the prop. Whew!

It certainly was a mucky mess to clean off.

Cary

My worst was with a Tri-Pacer in a hay field near Hershey, Nebraska. Pulled it by the tail tie down with a tractor to the section road for take off.

Three cedar shakes now for part of my survival kit. They are light, they are strong, the can dig and they are good ramps. No need to explain the exact detains of that learning curve.
KenW

We needed more than 3 cedar shakes for this one.

Oh man! That looks like a long day!