Should I be scared -- C172 over Gross

tman wrote:
tman wrote:

With all those factors, and a more conservative fuel load, I was est 50
below gross. Well, I'll never forget leaving that 5000' runway that day
and staring at that mutha****in hill in front of me wondering if I was
going to clear it. The plane was a dog in those conditions, and it did
not appear I was going to clear it -- maybe I would have, a lot of this
was mental _in retrospect_. Had to fight every reflex to keep from
pulling back and further back on that yoke. Watch the airspeed, easy
does it. On the spot I concocted -- First, plan A to veer to the left
just a bit to avoid the terrain, and a plan B to drop 10 flaps and go
for Vx. Plan A did the trick. I probably would have cleared the
terrain just fine. Could I have made it 100lbs over gross? Almost
certainly. I would have done a short-field takeoff and best angle
climb, etc. Do I need that kind of risk and worry in my life? Heck no.
Well, another lesson learned.....


Well done!

-c