Something this site needs

Rikki0

You know, one of the things I love about flying is the comraderie of the aviation community. Now I'm a pretty new pilot and a new member. I very much appreciate the help I have already received on a couple of topics and greatly appreciate the site as it is. But come on. We all have flying stories we would love to share ( like the time my former instructor and I forgot to remove the chocks as we were leaving the Southern Flyer Diner in Brenham ( a Mooney driver saved us but he did it with a big grin on his face and humiliated us both thoroughly, but in a good natured way ). I know we could put that stuff on the general forum but that's really not what it is for and would just spam it up. What do you guys and gals think about PoP opening a forum just for flying stories? To me I think it would be fun to read about the exploits and misadventures of our fellow aviators and would further build on the comraderie we all feel. A place to shoot the bull and just have a little fun. Might even help to make some new friends. I would appreciate any feedback. If we get enough positive comments we might get POS to open a new forum. Thank you most kindly.
Mike.

BillCampbell

I agree, hence I posted Just the Joy of It a couple of days ago. All of the technique and technical parts are useful and necessary. But talking about flying is also. Good trips, bad trips, interesting trips and boring trips are the roses of what we do for fun and poverty (I don't make a financial profit from flying, though there is great profit of the spirit). We need to stop and smell those roses. To get interest in aviation, or bolster young interest we need to restore the awe and romance of traversing the footless halls of air.

BillCampbell

At least to this point in time, we have the young and the ...not so young. I did my first hour of dual instruction in 1969. I flew Cessnas initially and then started flying Pipers in the mid-70's. I have flown patterns and basic airwork repeatedly over the years to keep from getting lazy in my flying. I currently have an Archer II with an autopilot which does the mundane on long cross country flights. I bought it in Phoenix a couple of years ago and flew it home to OKC in just over six hours with a fuel stop in TCC. My second landing in it was a night approach to my home field. I have also flown it to Los Angeles (KRAL) and back. The fastest I have gone in it is 175 kts GS with an indicated of 125 kts. I love 35M and it is the best Archer I have flown since 03S which was destroyed by Mother Nature many years ago. Did I mention landing with the B-52? Well that is a story for another time.

JimC

I learned in 1965 in a J3, and most of my time is in a J3. I've not done much pattern work. Due to search and rescue flying years ago, the majority of my landings have been off-airport. Probably makes me a bit sloppy when I am in the pattern.

BillCampbell

Speaking of sloppy in the pattern, reminds me of a flight I took with a friend several years ago. He lived in a rural area and had his own grass strip. He hated to fly anywhere near controlled airspace or talking to ATC. He had a long cross country to fly and asked if I would go with him. I planned the flight into Beaumont Port Arthur Regional, he nixed that and we went to Beaumont Municipal, no tower there. The folks there were great. However, we had to borrow their car (not the usual ratty old courtesy car) and drove for about 45 minutes to the location he needed. This place turned out to be virtually across the road from BPT, I sat and watched the arrivals and departures while he did his business meeting. We returned to my home airport and I turned the plane over to him for the approach and landing. Seemed reasonable as it was his plane. We entered the pattern at the wrong spot. We then flew to wide on the downwind. The tower was handling about five planes in the pattern plus us. He then flew an extended downwind and I started hearing the comments from the other planes in the pattern. He turned final at about two miles and reduced speed to a drag it in pace. One plane holding short was cleared for immediate departure. I had been saying keep your speed up to no avail. We finally drug across the threshhold and touched down. Instead of staying on the center line to the exit taxiway, he slowed even more and was rolling along the left edge of the runway. I was now urgently encouraging him to get to the taxiway as quickly as possible and stay on the centerline until then. About this time, I heard the plane behind us declare a go around for traffic on the runway. I guided him through the taxiways to the the terminal. I jumped out and trotted into the terminal building and he made his way back to the runway. I went into the terminal so no one would recognize me as associated with that plane. It was interesting and I did not fly with him after that. He only picked me up at my airport if I could be there before the tower opened in the morning, but it was open when we returned.

Piper Tech

I'll bring it up this week and see if its possible to get a stories topic. I think it sounds like a good idea, and think I could learn something too.

Tom

BillCampbell

As I said earlier the B-52 story was for a later time and this thread seems to have legs... so. I began my pilot training at the base aero club at Ellsworth AFB, S.D. in 1969. We were returning from the practice area which was east of the base over the Badlands. As we approached we were cleared by the base tower and turned final. At which time the tower called and announced "Be advised, B-52 ten miles out on final approach." My instructor suggested landing long. As we passed over the threshhold the tower called again, "Be advised, B-52 landing." I was in a Cessna that had a small metal mirror mounted on the center post and I could see a glimmer reflecting in it. I looked over my should and clearly saw the bright gear light on the BUFF. We landed long and took the high speed exit toward the club ramp. We were maybe 1-200 feet up the ramp when the 52 went by on the runway. To this day I can still clearly see the black under side of the old D model and the drogue chute trailing behind. It was then I realized just how scarey this truly was. To this day I am the only person I know who has landed a C-150 in front of a B-52.

JimC

I've not done that (thank God), but back in the 60's on a number of occasions while flying my J3 along the Mississippi River south of Memphis at about 400' AGL, I've had B52's overtake and pass underneath me. I've always hoped that they knew I was there.

JimC

BTW, I've often been told that I fly my Cherokee like a J3 (I don't know if that is a compliment or not). I often slip the Cherokee down final at idle power with full flaps. Do many of ya'll do the same and combine the three?

BillCampbell

I have always watched larger aircraft passing under me with a certain awe. Last Spring flying into Ryan at Tucson I had an F-16 pass just off my left wing then turn right and slide mystically into Davis-Monthan AFB. Several years ago my wife and I were flying over Oklahoma City and we were advised of traffic one o'clock departing Tinker AFB and watched four F-4's climb up past us off the right wing. Just beautiful. You are right to wonder, hopefully ATC takes care of that.

BillCampbell

We have so much wind in Oklahoma that I often only use two notches of flaps and just above power off. Worst landings I make are on "calm" days, give me 15-25 with gusts higher and I am a spot landing eagle. Calm days too ugly to even describe.

JimC

Bill, I was flying a nordo J3 at 400 feet about 80 miles away from the nearest radar. The Buffs were at about 250 feet. There ain't no way ATC could have been of any help. :-)

My direct crosswind limit in a J3 is about 27 kts gusting 33. Above 25 kts crosswind component in the J3, you have to accept that the tires are going to be scrubbing sideways. Limit's a lot lower for me in the Cherokee.

BillCampbell

I was thinking more about ATC telling the BUFF, "Traffic X diretion, target appears to be heading Y direction, primary return only, altitude unknown" That should have gotten the aircrew's attention, it always get mine. You should paint up like a large, a very large bird on the radar and my understanding is Center has multiple radar locations though they still have coverage gaps.
Cross wind in the Cherokee should be about 17-18kts demonstrated.

JimC

There were a lot more radar gaps in the 60's than now. I doubt that ATC was painting me.
I know what the Cherokee max demonstrated crosswind component is, but it doesn't have much relevance to actual aircraft capability :-)

BillCampbell

JimC wrote:

There were a lot more radar gaps in the 60's than now. I doubt that ATC was painting me.
I know what the Cherokee max demonstrated crosswind component is, but it doesn't have much relevance to actual aircraft capability :-)

I fully agree with the relevance to capability.

Maj Geezer

The year after 9/11 I was determined to show the terrorists that they can't intimidate us and I went up. Was doing some commercial maneuvers to the south of our field,I39, when I heard a couple of brief position announcements. I tried to reply but no response. As I came out of a chandelle or what I tried to make look like a chandelle, I was face to face with the BUFF. Not dangerous but still big. He went his way and I mine. My fellow liars at the airport told me not to worry that he knew I was there long before I knew he was there ... probably so. As for the crosswind, Algan just told me to ignore the top 10 knots and all is well... he was right just fly the plane.

Piper Tech

I checked and we are going to see if this has legs for now before making a new topic category. I will make it a sticky and monitor to see if activity continues.

BillCampbell

9/11 was the event which caused me to decide to get my instrument rating. I was concerned then, and I am still concerned, that eventually politics will prevail over common sense and we will either be IFR or OTG (On the Ground). Which leads me to another story. I was on a return trip to OUN (Norman, OK) from JSV (Sallisaw, OK). There was an interesting slate gray overcast. I called FSS and talked to a briefer. He assured me there it was 10K or better, I expressed my doubt as to that cloud height. I said I would just file IFR and not worry about it as it was nothing more than a cloud deck. He refused to file the plan. I took off and as I was climbing through 4600, I was thinking no way is this 10K. About that time I saw sort of a hair line edge to the deck and realized that cloud was directly in front of me. Before I could say "Ah, shhhhhhhoot!" I penetrated the cloud. It was a good one too, could not see the wing root or prop. I immediately reverted to IMC mentality and flying. Worried more about encountering cumulo-aluminus than anything else, I called NW Arkansas several times but got no answer. I could hear them talking to other aircraft. I did a beautiful 180 and climbed 500 feet to get the altitude and direction in sync.
After several minutes I exited the cloud descended below the cloud deck and continued on home. I thought about that event several times over the years. I was in the cloud longer than the statistics give the VFR into IMC numbers allow. Had I not been instrument rated that could have turned out very differently, life expectancy in there is about two minutes plus, last I heard. A rating I got for one reason, saved my proverbial bacon for a very different reason. Entering the clouds has a momentary startling effect, then it is time to fly the plane. I actually enjoy in the clouds and between layers.

JimC

You really think they are going to ground J3's?
:-)

BillCampbell

Never can tell what sort of mischief such a machine could cause. The media (always short on knowledge and long on stirring the pot . . . so to speak) could decide that only criminals and terrorists would want an airplane with no radio or transponder. I can see the headline J-3 USED IN TERRORIST ATTACK CRASHES INTO XYZ BUILDING -- OH THE HUMANITY, Plane destroyed buidling unhurt, occupants unaware DETAILS AT 11:00.

BillCampbell

Two responses to the original invitation, first the thread is doing fine it has 529 views. There are always more readers than posters. As to the pound sand request only if you have a sand hammer and those are rarer than cheap avgas.
Second the avgas prices in my area run from 3.50 to almost 6.00, my home FBO charges a lot but it has to pay surcharges for selling the avgas to the airport owner and that makes being competitive difficult. I have been busy with my day job but am willing to post other stories and eventually more will also post. Lots of people are, I think, caught up in the first of the year holiday catch up.

BillCampbell

Well, here's your chance to teach Hemingway a thing or two. Get that second coffee and regale us with some Commanche exploits. The model has been around a long time and bet you have some good stories to tell.

JimC

I suspect I'm one of the last generation to plow behind a mule, so yeah, I know what those terms mean. :-)

BillCampbell

John & Jim, I know what both of those terms are. I am lucky I never had to do either of them. While I have never actually plowed behind a mule, I have walked along while my cousin did.
John, no regrets, it only matters that the story is one you want to tell.
As for the Texas panhandle, that reminds me of another story. In the Fall of 2009, I flew to AMA. It was a good two hour flight and only a minor glitch with ARTCC because there is comm dead zone in Western OK - East Texas panhandle. I got to KAMA (Rick Husband) and landed. As I was leaving the runway onto the taxiway, I told the tower I had waited 41 years to make that landing. They were puzzled. I explained.
In 1968, I decided to avoid the draft and enlisted in the USAF. I was diverted from the normal base at Lackland in San Antonio and went to the old SAC base at Amarillo.
I parked at TAC Air FBO and asked about ground transportation to the old base. This led to a conversation with the manager and, in turn, being taken to lunch by him and his wife. He then volunteered to drive me to the base and we drove around there for while. It was very special for me. I recognized a particular building of the now vacant hangars. It was my first introduction to the reality of the war, as it had stacks of destroyed hulks of what were once HU-1H (Hueys), piled four deep. They were at the Bell facility on the base for salvage. It was a perfect trip and a lot of memories flooded back. We returned to the airport and I departed for OUN.
Just to put the icing on the cake, as it were, I was taxiing out for take-off and a regional jet was taxiing in from landing. The tower called the AA jet and advised "American 234, give way to the Archer taxi-ing out for take-off". Perfect day.

BillCampbell

Several years ago, before my instrument rating, I had to get from OKC to Fairview, OK. I got an instructor from my FBO to go as the instrument rated member of the flight. It was a typical March afternoon with the usual T-Boomers stalking the plains. We went to 8000 and I could hear planes talking to KC Center flying in the clear at 4500. We on the other hand could not see the prop and were bouncing around like a cork in a bottle. I finished my business in Fairview and we started back it was about 1700 local and headed toward good dark. We headed due S from Fairview, washed the plane once but otherwise we were in a lull. Suddenly he took the controls and we did a Stuka dive into Watonga. After landing he realized there was nothing in Watonga but the runway. We then took off on our second IFR clearance and again headed S. This time I asked why. He said he was going to a Victor airway which was about another 60 miles south. I suggested that as we had a good signal from the Will Rogers VOR direct to the station which was only 40 miles away seemed a better choice. Also there were new Boomers building in his direction with lots of CTC and CTG and a few pig tail flashes that way. Got clearance and headed toward home. I had no clue where were, but knew generally we were now headed to OKC. We broke out of the clouds just East of Yukon on the West side of OKC. Handed off to OKC App and requested to call Will Rogers when in sight. He sat there doing nothing. I told him to tell them we had Will Rogers and he said, "where?" I told him it was under the right wing. I then got a visual on the beacon at Norman and after prying the mic out of his hand requested direct OUN and got it. We slid into OUN just as the tower was closing. The runway was wet and the next strom was racing us to the approach end. I crossed the threshhold and was about to do the roundout and flare when he grabbed the yoke. This was a picture perfect approach, speed, descent, altitude all right where they needed to be. He grabbed the yoke and almost yelled, "I didn't come this far to die now" and proceeded to stall the plane about 20 feet above the runway. I wrestled the yoke away from him and got control back as we bounce well back into the air. How we didn't smash that plane to bits I still don't know. I did use all of that 4000 feet to get it sorted out. I won't repeat what I said to him about jerking the plane out of my hands -- but we never flew together again. He subsequently got fired because none of his students were passing their check rides and finally the examiner started sending for him to personally come and explain.

BillCampbell

While we were in the clouds he kept calling FTW Center and requesting lower, they told him that we could not get lower as we would lose radar contact and comm. Once we broke out of the clouds we were over I-40 with Wiley Post and Will Rogers at roughly our 10 and 2 position and clearly visible. We flew East over downtown OKC. A right turn to parallel I-35 takes one directly to OUN. I was watching the storm approach from the SW. We were VFT conditions all the way to OUN. About 3 miles from the airport I started setting up for pattern altitude at 2200. He directed that we go back to 3500 entering downwind. I was able to lose the excess altitude and turned final at 500' with the VASI indicating on glidepath. The runway was wet and I was going to set down nice and easy just above stall speed and roll out gently. And then he did the grab the yoke.

Rikki0

Hello, my friends. You're probably wondering why the guy who started this thread (that would be me) has not made more posts to it. Simple. Like Piper Tech, I wanted to see if this this thing had legs. I didn't know how others would feel about it and I didn't want to spam it up just to try to make it look more active than it really was. (I did accidentally make one post as a guest because I forgot to sign in, sigh). But I have been checking every day, and what I have seen is just the reason I made the suggestion. A place for us to all to come together and get to know each other, tell flying stories, personal stories, a joke, or just talk about anything that comes to mind that might not be appropriate for the other forums and would just spam them up. A place to just shoot the bull. You know we all spend a certain amount of time at our FBO just doing that with the other pilots there and after awhile we all get to know each other and we become friends. That's what I am hoping for. We can't always be at the FBO or flying, so this would be a place to just sit down with a beer, or your choice of beverage, and engage your friends in conversation of a sorts. Heck, you can even do it in your underwear (try that at your FBO). Hint: It doesn't work all that well. My case comes to court next week, but my motto is "an indictment is not a conviction". I'll let you know how it works out. My lawyers (Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe) say this will be a landmark case. They also each ordered a new Mercedes.

At any rate just so you'll know who I am, my name is Mike. I fly out of KCXO (Conroe, Texas) and own a Cherokee 140. I'm 60 years old and am a pretty new pilot (7 Nov. 10) and have 67 hours. Flying has been a dream of mine since I was about 6 years old but life got in the way so I arrived a little late, but I got here. I'm a Vietnam veteran (5th Marines, Semper Fi) have a son, daughter, and 4 grandchildren. 3 girls and a boy. And yeah JimC and Guest, I've chopped cotton and pulled a cotton sack on a farm at Tell, Texas just SW of Childress (I'll tell you about my first time to "chop cotton" if this thread takes off). Never plowed behind a mule, though. We had an International H and a Ford 8N. I earned my first dollar picking cotton at 2 cents a pound when I was 6 years old. Took me all day to pick that 50 pounds. I spent that dollar to buy a toy. It was a balsa wood airplane with a rubber band to turn the propellor. I now sell oil field equipment, and no, I am not personally responsible for the price of avgas. I just WORK in the oilfield.

Good night, my friends. Sleep well.

Mike

Piper Tech

Mike,
Thanks for starting this thread and thank you for your military service. I have really enjoyed reading the posts, and if it continues I am going to push for a permanment thread. It is sure a pleasure to read others experiences whether its a lot or not much.

francois57

Not so many stories... just buying my first plane and flown in clubs before. Big time was fires in the south of France in 2006. Had Canadairs CL-415 below me, not managing collision avoidance because of the hard workload... real pilots. Every small trip is still an adventure, and I hope it will be forever.

As well as I hope traffic will come back here. Not a member for such a long time, but I miss something special here. Also love the online magazine.

Francois

BillCampbell

Fran

BillCampbell

It is unfortunate, that you use your high school French to deride this site and advocate another forum. Your opinion that this site is run by robbers and pirates is likewise lamentable. For all of the complaining about the "Guest" posting it does provide a ubiquitous anonymnity for such assassins. If you think the other forum is wonderful, that is fine, I have looked at it and found as much complaining about this forum as there is here. A curious circumstance. It is also unfortunate that you attempt to drag a new enthused member into your personal war.
Francois, I apologize for this incourtesy, you deserved better. You are welcome here, and should be anywhere else you choose to visit. Many of us belong to multiple organizations and I encourage you to do so, as it broadens your involvement in the aviation community. Despite some appearances it can be done without rancor.