[Quick Owners] Re: X-Country Adventures (2024)

Dave Matheny

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

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 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:

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 flew

back.

Landed in a guys field to avoid the fog, that it sounds like

you

flew into! lol

I 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.

Loved

how my bird flew with the extra weight of a seat tank and my
overnight bag...found my way below Manchester Class C

airspace,

and

reached my first stop, Jaffrey (AFN) 1.3 hours later (it's

amazing

I

was 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 which

should

be lifting as we speak...well, that was no "light fog", and

i'm

not

going 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

up

going low to stay below the clouds...about 50 feet below and

100

feet agl, lost the powerlines, my gps had kicked the bucket

hours

ago...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,

and

I don't have much up above me either...It's trees as far as

you

can

see (which, btw is not far when you're that low). I figure I

have

just enough to get me to the closest airport, which is also

my

second stop. I get on the CTAF and announce my intentions,

landing

in front of a Learjet holding short. Taxi up to the FBO, and

they

tell me that they do not have regular gas, nor do they sell

their

100LL. Great. I've got half a gallon left in my tank

(probably

from

the long climb to 5K and then getting lost). Ultimately, a

mechanic

working on a plane on the ramp throws me the keys to his

pickup

and

tells me how to get to a gas station in town...and then I

bought

him

lunch as a thank you.

All gassed up, I takeoff to head for the Catskills Mountains.

When

I finally cross the Berkshires mtns in Mass, NY opens up to
farmland, which is a welcome sight...I cross the Hudson

River,

and

from there, it's only 20 minutes to my friends house.

I point out the Inn and his house on the side of the

mountain,

and

buzz his house to announce my arrival, as I wave to his
parents...Uhoh Spaghettios, I look up. I didn't plan that

pass

very

well, as I found the mountain was rising very quickly right

ahead

of

me. I firewall the throttle and climb like a bat out of

hell...but

the mountain was still climbing faster than I was. I was too

slow

to 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

plane

on that mountain in as many years...Lucky for me though,

there

was

a

knoll just ahead that gave me room for a quick 180. So, I

head

back

down 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 at

one

end, 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

to

say the least.

Later on that evening, I went back to the plane to make sure

that

I

could get out of that field...It was going to be close...it's

one

of

those strips where, once on final, you're committed to land,

and

once on the take-off roll, you're committed as well.

Needless

to

say, it took some creative flying to get her in the air

before

the

ditch, and back on the ground before the trees on the other

end.

No

Navy pilot has anything on me! Now to get back on the usable

part

of

the strip, I had to get her airborne again over that

ditch...well,

lets just say there wasn't enough room, and I flew right

through

a

handful of bushes, richocheting off the other end of the

ditch

and

hitting 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,

except

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 15

feet.

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

hours

straight, landing at Jaffrey just in time to run to the

restroom

(my

bladder 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, never

seemed

to 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

and

personal experience...especially Bill B. Couldn't of done it

without

you!

~Andrew

PS Pictures will be posted soon!

Yahoo! Groups Links

Steve Gould

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

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.

--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.

Dave Matheny

" 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

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

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 ?
--

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

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