8GCBC wrote:Hi Bart,

Attempted once to touch down in San Luis Reservoir. But, it was way to windy. So I went to Merced (amphibs) and spent the night. This was '09, July. Then back to Oregon... It was fun.

Next time try Frazier Lake, it's just over the pass from San Luis res, they have a grass strip and a float strip....just NW of Hollister. Of course if it was too windy at San Luis, that probably meant it was foggy/overcast on the Frazier lake side anyways

born2flyak wrote:
"Roger that". I must say I would be happy to say hello in person and take you flying on floats. Floats are wonderful for me. I only have about 140 hours of SES, but Wow! Hope your boss sees the "light" (and water), you guys will have much fun on floats.

I try to get a new rating every year, a few years ago I got my SES, and my boss thought that was a waste of money since we don't fly anything on floats. A friend stopped into McGrath not long afterwards, and let me borrow his 206 on amphibs. So, I took my boss for a ride in it. He went and got his float rating a few months later. He knows as well as I do what fun it is and what a great toy it can be, he just hasn't viewed a set of floats as a business investment like I have, yet.

The cost of amphibs will make a grown man cry! But, very happy with the install from Wipaire! They made the operation painless! I love Wipaire.

As you mentioned the freedom is unreal! Keep the idea on the front burner!

bart wrote:

8GCBC wrote:Hi Bart,

Attempted once to touch down in San Luis Reservoir. But, it was way to windy. So I went to Merced (amphibs) and spent the night. This was '09, July. Then back to Oregon... It was fun.

Next time try Frazier Lake, it's just over the pass from San Luis res, they have a grass strip and a float strip....just NW of Hollister. Of course if it was too windy at San Luis, that probably meant it was foggy/overcast on the Frazier lake side anyways

That is a cool airport, it reminds me of the Maule Factory strip with the seaplane lane. Thank you for the guidance. Maybe, I will try it one day flying South to Torrance, CA.

-8

Hey, that ship in the OP vid (remember that vid?) has a sneaky bastard muffler!

denalipilot wrote:Hey, that ship in the OP vid (remember that vid?) has a sneaky bastard muffler!

It was pretty quiet as it went by before using the last 500 feet of beach...

hey we have a bowl back here in Ohio too. This video was our first day doing the bowl. Now that we have experience, we can do touch and goes where the touch and the go are in opposite directions.

http://ohiobushplanes.com/1/?page_id=155

Bart -

The dog ever get to go? Great edit with it hanging out waiting for you in the bed of the truck.

born2flyak wrote:I landed the 207 on a gravel bar on the Koyukuk River between Coldfoot and Bettles last summer. I was on a charter returning to McGrath empty, landed for no reason other than it was there. I landed upstream curving to the left, departed downstream curving right. No more of that! This particular 207 was wrecked in Hawaii in a former life (took a swim in the Pacific Ocean as a matter of fact) and had the rest of it beat to death in Alaska since then. .......

My C150/150TD was wrecked near Coldfoot back in 1995. It ended up at the boneyard in Omak WA, and an IA based there bought it & rebuilt it, and then sold it to me in 2008. According to a phone interview, the pilot stated that "while he was landing at the 550' long site, he lost directional control and the airplane flipped upside down" (accident report # ANC95LA175). The tail cone between rear window and tailfeathers was replaced, but not the vertical stab, so I'm guessing he went over onto a log or big-ass rock. Surprisingly, all the logbooks and a good part of the other paperwork (337's etc) accompanied the airplane-- as far as I know, I'm only missing a few pages from the engine conversion STC.

H2O AV8R wrote:Bart -

The dog ever get to go? Great edit with it hanging out waiting for you in the bed of the truck.

Yes he gets to go, now. I was hesitant to take him earlier, I didn't want him to get his foot caught between the seat cushion and drop down through the springs...I think that would be all bad. Just a few days ago I fashioned a little platform I could attach over the seat and stick stub, giving him more area to sit, and no holes to get stuck in.

Pretty crude, and probably not what I'll use forever, but it'll work for now...


Very stable and uses the whole seat crossbar for support...


Covered with some grippy floor mat type carpet to give him some traction...


This is on the trip out, he was shaking a little in this foreign environment...


Then we landed and he got to go play and chase squirrels.....


Once he realized that airplane rides equal fun times, he was much more relaxed...


In keeping with the thread topic, you can see the curved strip I was talking about earlier...

Bart..... That's an awesome post and pictures!

I take off on a curve most of the time on a beach. and used to get a pretty good slide going on occasion. A couple of things you should know. You are more likely to kick up a mostly buried stick/log or rock when sliding. Chingered up my horizontal one time where I would have been okay if I was a little straighter. Also inside curves are okay. Outside curves are not!

I'd swear that dog has an honest to goodness smile on it's face.

Awesome Doggy Mod!!!

Now get him some Mutt Muffs. He can associate them with the fun of the airplane squirrel chasing adventures.

SE6601KF wrote:I take off on a curve most of the time on a beach. and used to get a pretty good slide going on occasion. A couple of things you should know. You are more likely to kick up a mostly buried stick/log or rock when sliding. Chingered up my horizontal one time where I would have been okay if I was a little straighter. Also inside curves are okay. Outside curves are not!

I've never landed on an inside curve gravel bar, but I have to agree. None of my (outside) curving gravel bar landings have been very comfortable. There's a VERY fine line between "holy crap, that was close!" and "dammit, I shouldn't have done that!"

Here is an inside bend out sloped gravel bar take off from last weekend on the Nowitna River here in AK. You definitely want to pay attention on the sloped and curve landings and take offs. Should always drag the spot a few times before committing. I forgot to turn the camera on for the landing and the thunder storms started rolling in right at take off so didn't go back. Maybe this weekend.

Be safe, Paul

Awesome!

N419A wrote:Here is an inside curve gravel bar take off from last weekend on the Nowitna River here in AK. You definitely want to pay attention on the sloped and curve landings and take offs. Should always drag the spot a few times before committing. I forgot to turn the camera on for the landing and the thunder storms started rolling in right at take off so didn't go back. Maybe this weekend.

Be safe, Paul

It's entirely possible I'm ass-backwards, but that's what I call an outside curve. Anyhow, nice flying!

born2flyak wrote:


It's entirely possible I'm ass-backwards, but that's what I call an outside curve. Anyhow, nice flying!

Nope, your right, ummm.. your correct, yeah that's it, your correct! that would be an outside curve.

Agreed, and edited previous post for clarity.

Paul