A little video of landing Highboy at HSF. Very cool little spot--400' of usable strip at 9,150 MSL. High enough that you've gotta be on your game, but steep enough that even I could land it!

You can't cheat and land short because there's a pretty good hump at the bottom.

Nice! Was that shot with your new VIRB?

That was sweet! If it was the virb, the quality is great.

Thanks, guys. This was shot on a GoPro. I was still figuring the VIRB out when I got to HSF, so I opted to use the cameras I was most familiar with.

Flew with the VIRB yesterday and today, and am happy with the results I'm getting. I captured a couple of shots today I hadn't previously been able to capture with the GoPro or the Drift. Still lots of settings to play with in order get things fully dialed in, but the image quality is pretty impressive and I love the time-lapse feature. One other nice thing about the VIRB is that I can use my existing GoPro mounts for it.

Good excuse to do some more flying to get the camera figured out.

Awesome! Where's the takeoff video?

I shot some cool takeoff video, both POV and also overflying BTV as he took off, but the fisheye lens flattened everything out so much that it looks pretty damn anticlimactic. You guys who have done Highboy know it's a long ways from being flat, but the takeoff video makes it look like there's hardly any incline at all. I'll include it in the HSF video I'm making, but it's not very dramatic. I should have done an in-cockpit video instead for takeoff--the amount of pucker factor I exerted on my seat cushion probably would have been more impressive than the outside view.

The camera also doesn't do anything to capture the difference in wrestling a plane in above 9,000 feet. Gives me even more respect (if that's even possible) for Pops and his 11K Bunker Hill landing.

To paraphrase Gordon Gecko, "Steep, steep is good"!

I landed a new site yesterday with my first generation Catto prop, (call it a climb prop, great for local "work", not near as good in cruise as the second one he sent) and after getting out and looking around (polite language for taking a whizz) and taking a few pictures, got back in and thought "now we'll see what this prop can do". I was parked straight uphill, just steep enough to be a maybe as to whether or not I may have to wrestle the tail around by hand if beyond the available thrust. I gave it full throttle, and was chagrined to find that, just like the cruise prop, it was lacking in enough static thrust as in getting me turned around on the steeper stuff.

Then I took the parking brake off and got the hell outa there in short order. I hear ya RP, on that foreshortening effect, or whatever it is (compression?) that makes the pics look tame. I mean, we were there, we know how steep it was.....looking at a picture doesn't do it, wherever it is, justice. Shooting from a 90 degree angle is the only way to show it, so that means a second plane and camera for an additional POV.

Man, I love videos like this, gives one a great insight to the terrain and challenges faced when landing at sites like this. You got some pretty capable and skilled pilots down there in the USA.

Cool looking spot. Looks like there's a road, too. Saves money with the helicopter outfit.

That was fun reliving that landing Ranch!
I drifted off the road also, not nowing the area (or the altitude for that matter) I thought for sure there was going to be a big rock in there somewhere.
First time I ever landing something with out being able to predict the out come....pretty much shit myself!
Good times!

Watch out for that sagebrush...it'll put a hole in your tail feathers right quick!
Don't ask me how I know, right AKT?
One of the most difficult places I've ever been in to...

The video is a little deceptive because the camera was mounted toward the end of my wingtip. My wheels stayed in the two track for the entire landing, but I'm guessing my tail feathers were probably still hanging out over the brush at times.

I agree about the challenge of Highboy. Between the shortness, steepness, and operating altitude, there's not a lot of margin for error. I haven't gotten to land at Mile Hi yet so I'm not in any position to judge, but the guy we were flying with said he considers Highboy to be more challenging.

No matter where it is, it's always fun to be out there sharpening our skills...as long as everything goes right. I also subscribe to the earlier comment about the availability of roads--I try to limit my mishaps to places where trailer access is readily available.

RanchPilot wrote:I agree about the challenge of Highboy. Between the shortness, steepness, and operating altitude, there's not a lot of margin for error. I haven't gotten to land at Mile Hi yet so I'm not in any position to judge, but the guy we were flying with said he considers Highboy to be more challenging.

Having been to both places, I'm inclined to agree with that guy... Highboy is tough.

RanchPilot wrote:The video is a little deceptive because the camera was mounted toward the end of my wingtip. My wheels stayed in the two track for the entire landing, but I'm guessing my tail feathers were probably still hanging out over the brush at times.

Sorry I misjudged you're landing, nice job!

No worries Terry--I've misjudged lots of my landings too!