"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com wrote in message
news
Edward A. Falk wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNFNFZq2BFY


Swiss Alps in a Baron

I read about that airport once. You need special training before
you're allowed to use it. The high end of the runway is higher than
the pattern altitude.


I took a Turbo C-206 out of a 2200' grass strip (Branson Field) on a
hillside that led downhill directly to Lake Norman in the Pidmont of North
Carolina. There was a storage building right at the edge of the water so
you needed to be a good 15 feet in the air as you crossed the shoreline.
All takeoffs were downhill; all landings were uphill, no matter what the
wind was doing. There were trees on both sides but the strip was a good
200 feet wide so you didn't feel horned in.

I'd never flown a 206 of any kind before and had no checkout. I did have
a few hundred hours in C-210s so I didn't feel completely out of place.
So I cranked it up, did my runup at the top of the hill and poured the
coal to it. The damned seat slid to the rear of its travel!

Talk about a wild ride down the hill towards that storage building.
Stopping was not an option. I was stretched out trying to keep my feet on
the rudder pedals so I couldn't see where I was going. At what I hoped
was the correct time, I staggered into the air and leveled off as soon as
I could so that I could slide the seat back forward.

All I can say is I was glad nobody saw me. I started paying a lot more
attention to the seat locking in the track after that.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

And the T206 has a healthy requirement for right rudder. How tall are
you Mortimer?

Al G