Question for you chicken strippers (pun intended):
How serious is the slope and is a downhill takeoff required (turbo C182 in my case, for reference)?
My thinking is that if it's done as a day trip (as I would prefer), the best I can figure we'd get there around 8-9am, soak, and be outta there sometime before noon, but if the winds switch on us, I'd sure not like to be departing downhill but also downwind. Or maybe you guys are doing it as an overnight and leaving first thing in the morning before the winds go?
Always appreciated,
Mike
My two cents, and this is coming from someone who has been into Chicken Strip exactly ONCE more than you have, so take it for what it is worth.
It would have to be blowing damn hard from the north before I'd ever think about taking off that direction. The strip is plenty long with good slope to the south for a turbo 182. I'd bet that with enough wind from the north direction you could probably outclimb the strip gradient and the rising terrain behind it, but if the wind was blowing that hard to where it would be comfortable to do it, and it was blowing too hard to take off downwind, I'd probably want to wait until the wind mellowed out anyway.
One of the Chicken Strip regulars might be able to comment with a little more strip experience under their belt, but it seemed that the wind wanted to blow upslope anyway as the day warmed, as you would expect, making the takeoff to the south into the wind.
Flynengr
