"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'll just enjoy the conversations here, and add my long ago experiences
when I think someone might be interested.

....we're waiting! :-)

Hear hear! Let's hear some of that old pilot stuff, BirdDog!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Huh! Sounds like there are others that like old flying tales. Kinda took me
by surprise. Thinking back, I can't say I ever had any personal experiences
that I considered life threatening. White knuckles, moments of anxiety,
embarrassments, yes. But I'll set my mind to unusual experiences of which
I'm aware.

Try this one.

This goes back to the late '40's when the air was full of surplus military
craft. My uncle bought a PT-19 and kept it at the grass strip at Princeton,
W. Va. This is the mountainous SE corner in the state. Elevation was about
2000' ASL. My experience with it, mostly as a passenger, it was strong as a
bull, but it was noticibly, mainly on takeoff, underpowered. Seemed like it
was brushing treetops for a mile before we cleared the hills.

Seems that a couple of guys from Virginia Beach flew in to Princeton in a
PT-19. They stayed a couple of days, for reasons unknown to me, but they had
time to witness several takeoffs by locals, including my uncle, in PT's, and
seemed humored and a little contimptous of the techniques used (no flaps,
full throttle and grunt). As they left, they built up to whatever ground
speed their experience indicated, they popped full flaps and the plane
immediately jumped about 20' in the air. Thereafter, it was all downhill
into the rough beyond the field. Virtually destroyed the plane, but the two
guys didn't get a scratch.

I didn't witness it of course, I was suffering at Va. Tech at the time, and
saw the results the following week-end when my uncle picked me up. He, by
the way, was killed in a 206 on instrument approach to Tri-Cities airport in
Bristol, Tennessee in 1975 - but that's another story.

Moral of the story is obvious. Those guys from Va, Beach had been taking off
at virtually sea level. At 2000' they didn't have enough go to maintain
altitude, much less climb, near stall speed with full flaps.