This AM, 10:19, over the Snake River about 10 miles south of the Palisades Dam, just south of Karl Malones riverside pad, at 6K or so. A high wing, older Piper, looked like a 4 place, I think (it happened real fast), not a Cub, gold colored. EXACTLY on my heading, about 50 to 75' above me, I had a great view of the belly through my skylight! I spotted him way too late to do anything. Here's the real punchline though, as I got over the surprise and it penetrated how close we came, I instantly smelled a smell I had never smelled before in my plane, I thought I was on fire and started looking at the gauges and all around. Then it occurred to me what it was, the exhaust from the yellow bird. Hell it smelled like HE was on fire! I'd estimate his oil consumption at a qt. every 5 hours. It was a burner for sure. The damn smell scared me worse then the close call! Not his fault for sure, not mine, BOTH of us were no doubt gawking at the scenary and thinking we had the sky to ourselves, no big deal really but the smell will stay with me more then anything, it took several seconds to subside enough for me to be sure it was him and not me

We saw each other later a few miles further south, after he turned around, at least I think it was the same, we waggled wings, stuff happens, I'm pretty sure he didn't see me the first time as his floor was in the way.

wow, that was close. Glad the smell was the only lasting impression.

Glad you saw him. Rather funny (or sad), as some of the posters thought I was full of it when I mentioned my skylites saved my a$$ from nearly the same situation a couple of years back. It was a major reason I put mode S in my 185 for the TIS, while it only works certain spots, it is better than nothing. My wife, who was aboard when we nearly hit, was enthusiastic about anything to help spot traffic.

BTW, What you smelled was not the other plane, but rather the gates of hell opening up a crack to receive you. All dogs go to heaven, but pilots....

I can't imagine there weren't some other smells mixed in with the exhaust, but new underware is cheap.

Sure glad you avoided that bullet.

Thank god you missed him Tom.... I would have hate to see you as the lead story on tonights evening local news on channel 4,6 and 8... ..

Ps.Is Malones place upstream or downstrean of the South Fork lodge ?

Today, around noon I was driving to Spencer to eat Mexican. Between here and there, there is some rolling terrain and over a hill a quarter of a mile away a pickup started across the centerline and kept coming into my lane. I'm thinking I'm going to have to take the ditch which is deep but finally he looks up from his cell phone and gets back over----I gave him the finger as we met.

Been there, done that--and it's always memorable. Suddenly the big sky isn't so big.

A few years ago I was in the pattern for 9 at GXY when a 182 shooting a low approach on the ILS 34 approach broke off early and flew through the pattern exactly at pattern altitude--I could count the rivets on the side as he flashed in front of me. I had looked toward the left but didn't see him--he wasn't running landing lights or communicating on the radio, not that it would have made much difference. Dumb of him to go through at pattern altitude when there were half a dozen airplanes using 9, but dumb of me not to have seen him.

Two years ago enroute to Marble, I had climbed up over the saddle between Longs Peak and Milner Pass with maybe 1200' clearance when a 206 going the opposite direction whizzed by probably 200' north of me, slightly below me. I didn't see him until too late to do anything, and I doubt he saw me. Since it's not a usual route, I didn't expect another airplane, and I suspect neither did he.

Good guess that I've had a lot of close calls that I didn't even know about, as have most pilots who've been flitting for very long.

Cary

Stol wrote:Ps.Is Malones place upstream or downstrean of the South Fork lodge ?

Hmmm, I thought he just owned half of Swan Valley

After posting this I thought that everyone was going to think I crapped my pants, I didn't have time and it was one of those scary moments where you arn't scared since it happens so quick! As to the smell, man if that was a pickup truck it would have been leaving a blue stream of smoke behind it and rattling, not only a oil burner but other bad mechanical type smells, like running hot. I think the smell was so long lasting and intense because we were lined up dead nuts on our centerlines, and so I flew into his smoke trail, but it was like being in a phone booth (remember those?) with the exhaust pipe going in, not a whiff but a blast. I was kinda hoping the pilot would hear about this and get back to me, I would really like to know the condition of his engine, it did NOT smell right.

The big guys place is north, if I have the lodge location correct. The driveway work alone musta cost more then my whole spread!

courierguy wrote:I was kinda hoping the pilot would hear about this and get back to me, I would really like to know the condition of his engine, it did NOT smell right.

Did you have your heater on?? Maybe when his exhaust goes through your heater it changes the smell somehow?!?! Just a thought...

courierguy wrote:.....A high wing, older Piper, looked like a 4 place, I think (it happened real fast), not a Cub, gold colored. EXACTLY on my heading, about 50 to 75' above me, I had a great view of the belly through my skylight! I spotted him way too late to do anything. .....

You guys out in the boonies are too nervous. Sounds like just another close encounter of the third kind-- SOP for flying in the Puget Sound area.

A long time ago, in a place far far away....sorry.
I passed a Bonanza going the other way about 100 ft. below me and 100 to my right. Luckily I had seen him for about a minute so no change of underwear was required. As we passed damned if there wasn't a sectional chart in the window that must have blocked 80% of his vision. I doubt he ever saw me and I never did find out if he was a Doctor.

Like Hotrod said, it's easy to become complacent when flyin' in the boonies.
I "met" a beaver with maybe 100-200' separation in a pretty valley & we were both surprised. Plenty of time/room to miss each other but still a surprise. I said "hello there" & he said "yeah, g'mornin".
Most days I never see/hear another aircraft, but a reminder to always keep scanning!

Back in the '60s B52 bombers would often make flights over our small village in northern Ontario at abbout 300' agl. They flew the same route each time and it wasn't uncommon to see several per week. One day my dad and I were taking off from the lake in his C180 floatplane and just as we got over the tree tops one of those B52s came barrelling in. Needless to say it was quite a surprise to see it so close and dad cranked 'er over to give a bit more clearance. I still remember it vividly to this day.