contactflying wrote:Rob56- Are you related to the Rob who is a cropduster in Yuma? Most of my rough flying was spraying. The only 500 footers in a Pawnee was on steep hillsides. Lots of big rocks though. That was seeding, so not so heavy. I flew straight parathion in five gallon buckets to my Pawnee in my TriPacer quite a bit. Lots of forty acre fields used for spray strips. Lots of off field precautionary landings on the pipeline in bad weather. I would lay up and wait.

In the picture it looks like you were pretty slow, full flaps, and I expect the water slowed you a bit. I think you were hover taxiing a bit over the water. I hope so. I bet you didn't try that Vx stuff on takeoff. Ground effect is good stuff, and free. Slow is best on landing and fast on takeoff, however you do it. The apparent rate of closure approach just makes it so easy you can do it in your sleep. In the videos, I see guys putting the wing down quite a bit to make corners in rivers. That is dangerous. In ground (or water) effect, we don't want to put the wing down into something. Kids come back with crop in the booms doing that, if they are lucky. The airplane will make fifteen degree turns easy in ground effect. Just keep the wing level with aileron and drive around with rudder. Remember, ground effect is much more effective at three feet than at twenty, especially in a high wing. Six inches is best spraying and on takeoff.

piperpainter wrote:I like how you never answer the question on using brakes on a 500ft runway. You're absolutely wrong saying if you use brakes you're going to fast. Myself and many others would never get to go to some of the places we go. I guess if you like 5000ft runways, no brakes are great!! Hopefully your wife comes back again soon to pull you back to reality!! Brakes are a must! Good day!