Gliding Experience Helps

"Karl Striedieck" wrote in message
...
To all of my flying friends,

somewhat. In my view to the South West were several options: 1st a school
yard, too small and what about the kids? 2nd and further away was an
industrial area with a snow covered field. Snow covered fields may look
good from afar but what lurks beneath?

On the west side of the expressway just south (1/2 mile?) of where you
touched down? Probably would have been OK. It gets mowed a couple times a
year. There's a park almost next to where you landed, but that would have
been a bad choice - picnic tables, small trees, parking blocks, fence around
the tennis court, etc.

Nonetheless that was my goal with I-75 below me along the way i traveled
Southwest bound with the vehicular traffic, and into the wind. Aware that I
wouldn't make the 2nd option I concentrated on I-75. Over the freeway I
settled earthward, lower and lower until I became aware of huge power
transmission lines paralleling my flight path, the tops of which were now
at my altitude, and 50 yards to my right.

Another mile or so south and there are a lot of power lines crossing the
expressway.

Also prominent in view were the tops of cars and trucks but more
importantly, open areas of concrete looming closer below.

Good thing it wasn't about an hour later in the day when traffic is heavier.
Eh?

Since my airspeed was roughly equal to the speed of the moving traffic I
was able to adjust my relative position for and aft pushing and pulling on
the yoke to drop into an opening between the vehicles and eventually
settled down onto the pavement in the flair between the cars.

You Da MAN!

I got lucky because there was not a scratch on the aircraft, nor any
fender benders in any of the 6 miles of traffic which had eventually
accumulated behind me.


I got lucky and saw the traffic stopped on an overpass and took and
alternate route home.

After getting out of the aircraft the first eye contact I made with and
individual was a woman passing by in a sport utility vehicle flipping me
off! To her I say, in the words of Steve Martin, "Well Excuse Me!!!"

Welcome to Detroit :-(

Glad it worked out as well as it did under the circumstances.

Story in the Detroit Free Press:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...WS01/512200372
Had a generally complementary tone:
Using the highway traffic as his guide, a pilot gently landed his
Cessna 152 plane onto I-75 in Allen Park...
"He got it down pretty clean," said Allen Park Police Officer Dan
Cerroni...

--
Geoff
the sea hawk at wow way d0t com
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