Dave Matheny
#7247
Great story. A true cross-country adventure. Enough to make me contemplate a
long trip if the weather warms up again around here, which it usually does.
The bit about drawing a crowd for takeoff: Yeah, whenever I'm in such a
position, which isn't often but does happen, I usually feel a need to double
back after takeoff and make a low pass -- kind of a reward for the onlookers
for watching. Give 'em something to watch other than the airplane just
blasting off and turning into a dot in the distance.
--Dave M
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
----- Original Message -----
From: "spaghettiohead" <no_reply@...>
To: <quicksilverultralightowners@...>
Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2004 11:14 PM
Subject: [Quick Owners] Re: X-Country Adventures
Thanks Kyle...and hey, 160 miles and four hours is definately
respectable :)I forgot to mention a couple of things too...
This trip needed to be done...Since I was a scrawny little 9 year
old, both me and my friend (known him since I was 1 year old) made a
decision that we would have to get our own ultralights and fly them
off that golf course up the hill. Well, 10 years later, I did it.
He didn't know I had gotten one, and to surprise him like that this
weekend was awesome...it felt really good to make that childhood
dream reality :)Also, there's no such thing as a quick stop at an airport in an
UL...Anywhere I went, I was the focus of attention...leaving the
golf course, I had a crowd cheering me on, and at every stop along
the way, I had people stop to watch me, come up and talk to me, or
ask questions! Pretty cool man.~Andrew
--- In quicksilverultralightowners@...,
ultralightsimming <no_reply@y...> wrote:back.
WOW. Awesome story Andrew, did you really do all that?! It seems
like I'm reading something from a cowboy/hero tale! Great stuff,
buddy. Glad you got back safe too.Man, I got nothing on you this week-end! lol I flew 160 miles in
about 4 hours. Flew up to the next state (Alabama), and flewLanded in a guys field to avoid the fog, that it sounds like youLoved
flew into! lolI can't wait to see pics man...
Blue skies!
Kyle--- In quicksilverultralightowners@..., spaghettiohead
<no_reply@y...> wrote:
Well...Got back from NY today, just 10 minutes late for work...!Left Friday morning at about 830a, already behind schedule.
amazinghow my bird flew with the extra weight of a seat tank and myand
overnight bag...found my way below Manchester Class C airspace,reached my first stop, Jaffrey (AFN) 1.3 hours later (it'sIshouldwas able to land, being that I was frozen solid) I ran around a
little to warm up, put an extra layer on, and called the weather
briefer, who told me about some light fog on my route whichupbe lifting as we speak...well, that was no "light fog", and i'mnotgoing to even start about my adventures above the clouds at 5k...So i'm flying and flying, (this leg is about 2.5 hours) and end
hoursgoing low to stay below the clouds...about 50 feet below and 100
feet agl, lost the powerlines, my gps had kicked the buckethaveago...i'm wandering through valleys until I pick up a road, andand
follow that to the next row of powerlines...Right about then, I look up, and apparently my rear tank is dry,
I don't have much up above me either...It's trees as far as youcansee (which, btw is not far when you're that low). I figure Itheyjust enough to get me to the closest airport, which is also mylanding
second stop. I get on the CTAF and announce my intentions,in front of a Learjet holding short. Taxi up to the FBO, andtheirtell me that they do not have regular gas, nor do they selland100LL. Great. I've got half a gallon left in my tank (probablyfromthe long climb to 5K and then getting lost). Ultimately, amechanicworking on a plane on the ramp throws me the keys to his pickupandtells me how to get to a gas station in town...and then I boughthimlunch as a thank you.WhenAll gassed up, I takeoff to head for the Catskills Mountains.
I finally cross the Berkshires mtns in Mass, NY opens up to
farmland, which is a welcome sight...I cross the Hudson River,andfrom there, it's only 20 minutes to my friends house.I point out the Inn and his house on the side of the mountain,
aheadbuzz his house to announce my arrival, as I wave to hisvery
parents...Uhoh Spaghettios, I look up. I didn't plan that passwell, as I found the mountain was rising very quickly rightofslowme. I firewall the throttle and climb like a bat out ofhell...butthe mountain was still climbing faster than I was. I was toowasto turn, as i would have quickly stalled, and at 15 feet off theplane
trees and closing, I was preparing to go down and be the thirdon that mountain in as many years...Lucky for me though, thereaoneknoll just ahead that gave me room for a quick 180. So, I headbackdown the mountain to find the golf course.I'd forgotten how small that golf course really is! It's just a
little patch of green between some trees. usable grass was less
than 400 feet, surrounded by trees...There is also a ditch attoend, with brush, a stream and a few trees.Anyway, so I get established on a short final and make an short,
short, short field landing. Boy was I glad to be back on the
ground!!! This trip, so far, was turning out to be an adventurethatsay the least.Later on that evening, I went back to the plane to make sure
Ionecould get out of that field...It was going to be close...it'softothose strips where, once on final, you're committed to land, and
once on the take-off roll, you're committed as well. Needlessthesay, it took some creative flying to get her in the air beforeend.ditch, and back on the ground before the trees on the otherNopartNavy pilot has anything on me! Now to get back on the usableofditch...well,the strip, I had to get her airborne again over thatalets just say there wasn't enough room, and I flew right throughandhandful of bushes, richocheting off the other end of the ditchexcepthitting the ground at a 45 degree crab angle...Yeehaaa!I figure it's going to be a close one, trying to get out of the
field, so when I left this morning, I emptied all my fuel,feet.for the gallon and a half it would take me to get to the nearest
airport. Then I stood on the brakes and firewalled it...I got
airborne right before the ditch, and cleared the trees by 15hours
I was not ready for all the excitement of my trip there, and was
hoping for a bit easier flight on the way back.I get to Columbia County Airport, fuel up, and fly for three
seemedstraight, landing at Jaffrey just in time to run to the restroom(mybladder wasn't made for 4 hours in an MX) I get top off the fuel
again, and head back to my home airport...which, btw, neverto get any closer while i was doing 25-30 across the ground)and350 miles and 10.5 hrs in an MX in one weekend...that's a whole
lot...Thank you to everybody here who helped me out with advicepersonal experience...especially Bill B. Couldn't of done itwithoutyou!~Andrew
PS Pictures will be posted soon!
Yahoo! Groups Links
rustyul
- All Messages By This Member
#7248
I did that for the guy who loaned me his truck to get some gas after
I landed on his private strip!
He brought out the video camera and I felt obligated to fly around a
bit for him before I left the area....
--- In quicksilverultralightowners@..., "Dave Matheny"
<davematheny@p...> wrote:
Great story. A true cross-country adventure. Enough to make me
contemplate a
long trip if the weather warms up again around here, which it
usually does.
The bit about drawing a crowd for takeoff: Yeah, whenever I'm in
such a
position, which isn't often but does happen, I usually feel a need
to double
back after takeoff and make a low pass -- kind of a reward for the
onlookers
for watching. Give 'em something to watch other than the airplane
just
blasting off and turning into a dot in the distance.--Dave M
----- Original Message -----
From: "spaghettiohead" <no_reply@...>
To: <quicksilverultralightowners@...>
Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2004 11:14 PM
Subject: [Quick Owners] Re: X-Country AdventuresThanks Kyle...and hey, 160 miles and four hours is definately
respectable :)I forgot to mention a couple of things too...
This trip needed to be done...Since I was a scrawny little 9 year
old, both me and my friend (known him since I was 1 year old)
made a
decision that we would have to get our own ultralights and fly
them
off that golf course up the hill. Well, 10 years later, I did
it.
He didn't know I had gotten one, and to surprise him like that
this
weekend was awesome...it felt really good to make that childhood
dream reality :)Also, there's no such thing as a quick stop at an airport in an
UL...Anywhere I went, I was the focus of attention...leaving the
golf course, I had a crowd cheering me on, and at every stop
along
the way, I had people stop to watch me, come up and talk to me,
or
ask questions! Pretty cool man.~Andrew
--- In quicksilverultralightowners@...,
ultralightsimming <no_reply@y...> wrote:
WOW. Awesome story Andrew, did you really do all that?! It
seems
like I'm reading something from a cowboy/hero tale! Great
stuff,
buddy. Glad you got back safe too.Man, I got nothing on you this week-end! lol I flew 160 miles
in
about 4 hours. Flew up to the next state (Alabama), and flewback.Landed in a guys field to avoid the fog, that it sounds like
you
flew into! lolI can't wait to see pics man...
Blue skies!
Kyle--- In quicksilverultralightowners@...,
spaghettiohead
<no_reply@y...> wrote:
Well...Got back from NY today, just 10 minutes late for
work...!
Loved
Left Friday morning at about 830a, already behind schedule.how my bird flew with the extra weight of a seat tank and my
overnight bag...found my way below Manchester Class C
airspace,
andamazingreached my first stop, Jaffrey (AFN) 1.3 hours later (it'sIwas able to land, being that I was frozen solid) I ran
around a
little to warm up, put an extra layer on, and called the
weather
shouldbriefer, who told me about some light fog on my route whichbe lifting as we speak...well, that was no "light fog", and
i'm
notgoing to even start about my adventures above the clouds at
5k...
So i'm flying and flying, (this leg is about 2.5 hours) and
end
upgoing low to stay below the clouds...about 50 feet below and
100
hoursfeet agl, lost the powerlines, my gps had kicked the bucketago...i'm wandering through valleys until I pick up a road,
and
follow that to the next row of powerlines...Right about then, I look up, and apparently my rear tank is
dry,
andI don't have much up above me either...It's trees as far as
you
canhavesee (which, btw is not far when you're that low). I figure Ijust enough to get me to the closest airport, which is also
my
theysecond stop. I get on the CTAF and announce my intentions,landingin front of a Learjet holding short. Taxi up to the FBO, andtheirtell me that they do not have regular gas, nor do they sell100LL. Great. I've got half a gallon left in my tank
(probably
fromthe long climb to 5K and then getting lost). Ultimately, amechanicworking on a plane on the ramp throws me the keys to his
pickup
andtells me how to get to a gas station in town...and then I
bought
himlunch as a thank you.WhenAll gassed up, I takeoff to head for the Catskills Mountains.
I finally cross the Berkshires mtns in Mass, NY opens up to
farmland, which is a welcome sight...I cross the Hudson
River,
andfrom there, it's only 20 minutes to my friends house.I point out the Inn and his house on the side of the
mountain,
andbuzz his house to announce my arrival, as I wave to his
parents...Uhoh Spaghettios, I look up. I didn't plan that
pass
veryaheadwell, as I found the mountain was rising very quickly rightofslowme. I firewall the throttle and climb like a bat out ofhell...butthe mountain was still climbing faster than I was. I was tooto turn, as i would have quickly stalled, and at 15 feet off
the
trees and closing, I was preparing to go down and be the
third
planeon that mountain in as many years...Lucky for me though,
there
wasaknoll just ahead that gave me room for a quick 180. So, I
head
backdown the mountain to find the golf course.I'd forgotten how small that golf course really is! It's
just a
little patch of green between some trees. usable grass was
less
onethan 400 feet, surrounded by trees...There is also a ditch atend, with brush, a stream and a few trees.Anyway, so I get established on a short final and make an
short,
short, short field landing. Boy was I glad to be back on the
ground!!! This trip, so far, was turning out to be an
adventure
tothatsay the least.Later on that evening, I went back to the plane to make sure
Ionecould get out of that field...It was going to be close...it'softhose strips where, once on final, you're committed to land,
and
once on the take-off roll, you're committed as well.
Needless
tosay, it took some creative flying to get her in the air
before
theend.ditch, and back on the ground before the trees on the otherNopartNavy pilot has anything on me! Now to get back on the usableofditch...well,the strip, I had to get her airborne again over thatlets just say there wasn't enough room, and I flew right
through
ahandful of bushes, richocheting off the other end of the
ditch
andhitting the ground at a 45 degree crab angle...Yeehaaa!I figure it's going to be a close one, trying to get out of
the
exceptfield, so when I left this morning, I emptied all my fuel,for the gallon and a half it would take me to get to the
nearest
airport. Then I stood on the brakes and firewalled it...I
got
feet.airborne right before the ditch, and cleared the trees by 15
I was not ready for all the excitement of my trip there, and
was
hourshoping for a bit easier flight on the way back.I get to Columbia County Airport, fuel up, and fly for three
straight, landing at Jaffrey just in time to run to the
restroom
(mybladder wasn't made for 4 hours in an MX) I get top off the
fuel
seemedagain, and head back to my home airport...which, btw, neverto get any closer while i was doing 25-30 across the ground)350 miles and 10.5 hrs in an MX in one weekend...that's a
whole
lot...Thank you to everybody here who helped me out with
advice
andpersonal experience...especially Bill B. Couldn't of done itwithoutyou!~Andrew
PS Pictures will be posted soon!
Yahoo! Groups Links
Steve Gould
#7250
Dave Matheny wrote:
Great story. A true cross-country adventure. Enough to make me contemplate a
long trip if the weather warms up again around here, which it usually does.
The bit about drawing a crowd for takeoff: Yeah, whenever I'm in such a
position, which isn't often but does happen, I usually feel a need to double
back after takeoff and make a low pass -- kind of a reward for the onlookers
for watching. Give 'em something to watch other than the airplane just
blasting off and turning into a dot in the distance.
--Dave M
Zooming up to a climb, then kicking full left rudder (on gearbox planes) gives a pretty impressive 180 degree turn that takes you right back the path of where you just climbed.
ultralightsimming
#7258
Yea, I hear that! I will show-off for people, when I feel like I
owe it to them, for them not getting mad at me for landing in their
field, etc. Steve said it, a wing-over is always a great trick to
pull off! :-) Don't do them too often (kinda rusty, need to do
more), but just rough housing in general real low and close to them
gets their attention...
Blue skies!
Kyle
--- In quicksilverultralightowners@..., Steve Gould
<steve@g...> wrote:
Dave Matheny wrote:Great story. A true cross-country adventure. Enough to make me
contemplate a
long trip if the weather warms up again around here, which it
usually does.
The bit about drawing a crowd for takeoff: Yeah, whenever I'm in
such a
position, which isn't often but does happen, I usually feel a
need to double
back after takeoff and make a low pass -- kind of a reward for
the onlookers
for watching. Give 'em something to watch other than the
airplane just
blasting off and turning into a dot in the distance.Zooming up to a climb, then kicking full left rudder (on gearbox--Dave M
planes)
gives a pretty impressive 180 degree turn that takes you right
back the
path of where you just climbed.
Dave Matheny
#7273
" Zooming up to a climb, then kicking full left rudder (on gearbox planes)
gives a pretty impressive 180 degree turn that takes you right back the
path of where you just climbed."
Yup, it's called a duster turn, for crop-dusters. And helo drivers call it
RTT, for return to target. On the other hand, you really have to know what
you're doing to do such stuff at low altitude.
--Dave M
ultralightsimming
#7276
Huh... I've always called those "wing-overs".
Kyle
--- In quicksilverultralightowners@..., "Dave Matheny"
<davematheny@p...> wrote:
" Zooming up to a climb, then kicking full left rudder (on gearbox
planes)
gives a pretty impressive 180 degree turn that takes you right
back the
path of where you just climbed."Yup, it's called a duster turn, for crop-dusters. And helo drivers
call it
RTT, for return to target. On the other hand, you really have to
know what
you're doing to do such stuff at low altitude.--Dave M
Mark Smith
- All Messages By This Member
#7289
Dave Matheny wrote:
" Zooming up to a climb, then kicking full left rudder (on gearbox planes)gives a pretty impressive 180 degree turn that takes you right back theYup, it's called a duster turn, for crop-dusters. And helo drivers call it
path of where you just climbed."
RTT, for return to target. On the other hand, you really have to know what
you're doing to do such stuff at low altitude.--Dave M
Is fifty feet low ?
--
Mark Smith
Tri-State Kite Sales http://www.trikite.com
1121 N Locust St
Mt Vernon, IN 47620 mailto:mark@...
1-812-838-6351
Dave Matheny
#7306
Dave Matheny wrote:
" Zooming up to a climb, then kicking full left rudder (on gearbox
planes)
gives a pretty impressive 180 degree turn that takes you right back
the
path of where you just climbed."Yup, it's called a duster turn, for crop-dusters. And helo drivers call
it
RTT, for return to target. On the other hand, you really have to know
what
you're doing to do such stuff at low altitude.--Dave M
Is fifty feet low ?
--
Yes.
--Dave M