vincent p. norris wrote:

I live in PA, so our trees are generally shorter.


I live in State College PA, exact center of the state; and north of
here, ain't nothing but trees to the NY state line. Some are fairly
tall.

Here and there, what appears to be a clear patch is really covered by
stumps a foot or two high, that can't be seen till it's too late to go
elsewhere, and will tear and airplane and occupants to pieces.

Landing in the treetops in northern PA is the best option.

vince norris

I live about 100 miles northeast of you, at the upper end of all of
those trees, just south of the border with NY. Some of the trees are
fairly tall, but I believe one poster mentioned 150' earlier in the
thread and I was responding relative to that. I worked as a logger for
6 years in Tioga and Potter counties, and, trust me, PA has few, if any,
trees that reach anywhere near 100'. Most trees were in the 50-60'
range and we'd occasionally find a hemlock that was close to 80. I
don't think we ever found a 100' tall tree and I probably cut at least
30,000 trees during my foray into logging.

Yes, beware of landing in a clearcut in northern PA. We tried to cut
the stumps pretty low, but still they are 12-24" high. They would clear
the wings of a high-wing and most of the wings of a low-wing, but
hitting a stump with the gear would ruin your entire day. Also, the
scattered tops would quickly catch the gear and flip you. I think I'd
take the trees personally and hope for a more gradual deceleration. And
I'd shoot for evergreens as they are more flexible and will snap sooner
that the hardwoods. A light airplane, even at 70 MPH, just isn't going
to break most oaks or maples. They will bend a little, but hitting one
directly would still be a pretty hard stop.

We could easily snap an 18" hemlock with a 30 ton winch on the skidder
but bending it around another tree. Even a 12" oak would stand the
skidder right on its tail and then drag it backwards!


Matt