Renkou1
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 18, 2010
- Messages
- 2,743
- Reaction score
- 307
This thread could be labeled "biannual," or "what I learned from that," or "how to make a flight instructor walk during a biannual.".... or I understand 3 inch taller gear now.
First thing wrong was I had to get up too early 'cause the biannual day was going to be the hottest day this month. Takeoff was 3 times longer than normal 'cause the density altitude was twice normal. And it was a test flight after maintenance....so I requested and received right turnout, downwind departure; good because that kept me over airport for the first two miles.
Then airwork to limber up some as I hadn't flown in months. Then since I have Airstreaks on we land out for the landings. Plowed field was longer than the stubble field on base leg so I landed in the plowed field. Now there are all sorts of regulations about plowing deep. Maybe this farmer hadn't gotten the memo. Landing was fine but short. Taxiing took lots of power and left 6 inch deep or so main tire prints. So I turned off the airconditioning and got out to have a look.
This is when I informed flight instructor he was a pedestrian and why.
I didn't have excess hp, lift, or elevator command in the deep dust. Moving the CG aft would be helpful.
Being of sound mind he op'd for a walk to the stubble field instead of bleeding inside an upsidedown J3.
This is where the taller gear would have been good. With the mains so far in the ground and the tailwheel only a drag on acceleration unless it was raised some there was not a lot of lift available at the first part of the takeoff run as there was not a lot of angle of attack. Due to density altitude now being about 2.5 or normal engine was only putting out about 70 hp. Fields up here are not level. Sometimes the ac would accelerate then the next 20 yards would decelerate with an accompanying increase in nosedown tendency. But it flew.
The stubble field felt like a hard packed runway. This was good because I had informed the CFI that if the stubble was soft I would come back with a car and get him. Good luck on that 'cause I can't find anything while on the ground.
After the CFI walked a half mile in bottomless dust and up the hillside to the J3 in the stubble, I waited until he quit breathing funny and loaded him up.
Back at the traffic pattern I squeezed in between Sasquatch Air and a helicopter. The only traffic in 3 hours. Landed on the last 1000 feet of the runway in use so I wouldn't have to use up my Airstreaks, taxied to the hanger, and turned the engine off with the mag switch. The engine shut down....first time that switch had worked in 3 months. Guess replacing mag wires that are broke in 4 places is a good thing.
Since not making the cfi bleed is a good decision he signed off my biannual.
First thing wrong was I had to get up too early 'cause the biannual day was going to be the hottest day this month. Takeoff was 3 times longer than normal 'cause the density altitude was twice normal. And it was a test flight after maintenance....so I requested and received right turnout, downwind departure; good because that kept me over airport for the first two miles.
Then airwork to limber up some as I hadn't flown in months. Then since I have Airstreaks on we land out for the landings. Plowed field was longer than the stubble field on base leg so I landed in the plowed field. Now there are all sorts of regulations about plowing deep. Maybe this farmer hadn't gotten the memo. Landing was fine but short. Taxiing took lots of power and left 6 inch deep or so main tire prints. So I turned off the airconditioning and got out to have a look.
This is when I informed flight instructor he was a pedestrian and why.
I didn't have excess hp, lift, or elevator command in the deep dust. Moving the CG aft would be helpful.
Being of sound mind he op'd for a walk to the stubble field instead of bleeding inside an upsidedown J3.
This is where the taller gear would have been good. With the mains so far in the ground and the tailwheel only a drag on acceleration unless it was raised some there was not a lot of lift available at the first part of the takeoff run as there was not a lot of angle of attack. Due to density altitude now being about 2.5 or normal engine was only putting out about 70 hp. Fields up here are not level. Sometimes the ac would accelerate then the next 20 yards would decelerate with an accompanying increase in nosedown tendency. But it flew.
The stubble field felt like a hard packed runway. This was good because I had informed the CFI that if the stubble was soft I would come back with a car and get him. Good luck on that 'cause I can't find anything while on the ground.
After the CFI walked a half mile in bottomless dust and up the hillside to the J3 in the stubble, I waited until he quit breathing funny and loaded him up.
Back at the traffic pattern I squeezed in between Sasquatch Air and a helicopter. The only traffic in 3 hours. Landed on the last 1000 feet of the runway in use so I wouldn't have to use up my Airstreaks, taxied to the hanger, and turned the engine off with the mag switch. The engine shut down....first time that switch had worked in 3 months. Guess replacing mag wires that are broke in 4 places is a good thing.
Since not making the cfi bleed is a good decision he signed off my biannual.
