PIREP

Saturday morning, just at dawn we took off for Lowell, Mi (24C) to
attend a ham radio swap and swindle... Heavy thunderstorms the night
before as a front pushed past, and it started clearing about 9Pm... By
6AM it was clear skys with no wind and lots cooler behind the front
compared to the 90 degrees ahead of it... I wondered about fog... The
SA's on the weather machine at the airport had no illumination on that
issue... Anyway, it wasn't a long run, about 70 nm, so off we went
jast as the sun was poking up...
At 1500 agl in absolutely still air we floated along looking for deer
(saw some which got my oldest son all excited about going hunting)..
Here and there was a small patch of thin ground fog, so didn't expect
any problems... What we did see was endless fields of beans and corn,
with bare fields where the wheat has been harvested... It takes a ride
like this to begin to imagine the endless bushels of food it takes to
feed 300 million people... Also, saw a couple small patches of pot -
one in a forest clearing and the other a row of plants inside a corn
field... Capitalism at work...

Well, as we got in sight of Lowell (haven't been there before) I could
see it sits down in a river valley (hmmm, not good - cold air + warm
water) and the airport is part way up the slope into the valley and I
could see cool whip billowing above the valley rim... On the first
pass over the airport going West there was no sign of a runway, just
mountains of cool whip, with a church steeple poking out.. Made a
second sashay back to the East (into blinding sunlight) and spotted
the approach end of runway 30 between the trees on the hill guarding
that end, and could see roughly half the length of the runway - and
the fog shelf was floating about 100 feet above the runway with clear
air below... Oh well, what the heck... So, made a carrier pass over
the numbers, pulled up to a left 360 bleeding off speed, gear down,
then quarter flaps, then half flaps, then full flaps, then flat pitch
on the prop, throttle back, push the nose down, and we dove into the
valley of cool whip... Still had a good sight line on the first half
of the runway so was not concerned... Because of the hill right up to
the end of the runway, and the BIG trees on top of the hill, this was
not my fathers 3 degree ILS approach.... Being fat with fuel and
people I kept an extra 5 on the speed o meter... Got a firm flare,
slight burp of power to arrest the sink, and we slid on with just a
squeak from the mains... Now that I am under the overhanging shelf of
cool whip I can see all the way to the end of the runway - which
wasn't that far away (2394 feet on the chart)... Took a bit of life
off the brake pucks but we were stopped before the grass over run...

The flight back at noon was boring...

denny / k8do

On Sep 9, 9:55 am, Denny wrote:
Saturday morning, just at dawn we took off for Lowell, Mi (24C) to
attend a ham radio swap and swindle... Heavy thunderstorms the night
................................................. .......
of the runway so was not concerned... Because of the hill right up to
the end of the runway, and the BIG trees on top of the hill, this was
not my fathers 3 degree ILS approach.... Being fat with fuel and
people I kept an extra 5 on the speed o meter... Got a firm flare,
slight burp of power to arrest the sink, and we slid on with just a
squeak from the mains... Now that I am under the overhanging shelf of
cool whip I can see all the way to the end of the runway - which
wasn't that far away (2394 feet on the chart)... Took a bit of life
off the brake pucks but we were stopped before the grass over run...

Denny,
About two years ago, I had the most puckered go-around at 24C.
It was a very gusty windy day with strong direct crosswind so I had to
add some power the last minute to my intended short field landing on
runway 12. Once the wheel touched at more than one third of the
runway, I initiated a go around heading towards those BIG trees. Rick
yelled at me: "Keep the nose down". It was quite nerve wrecking to
keep the nose down aiming right the trees. I had no time to say a
prayer just held my breath until the plane just barely cleared the
trees tops. We then headed to Y70 airport which had two long run ways
smacked in the middle of acres of cornfields just like the rest of
Michigan for an uneventful landing. Later on, we learned that the
flight school at 24C was specialized in Missionary Aviation. With the
runways located at the bottom of a bowl brimming with treetops at the
rim, it was just a perfect location for this type of training.
We had been landing at Y70 for all our Michigan visits up until the
last trip during Labor Day weekend. The week before that, we attended
the Cardinal Flight Training clinic with Guy Maher, the Jedi Master of
Cardinal flying. Guy taught us to do power off approach with full
nose-up trim along with all kinds of emergency maneuvers, takeoff
failures, high key spiral descent etc. I specifically asked Guy to
train me for short field landings and was amazed to see that I did not
have to hang on the prop then plunk the plane down with heavy
braking. Once the obstacles were cleared, he had me pull the power
off, keep the nose down all the way to the number, gently level the
nose let the plane sink, keep the nose wheel off then let it down
softly. I did not keep track of how short my landings were during the
lesson but they were pretty much spot on, smooth and soft.
By the way, there had been quite a bit of discussion at the Cardinal
Flyers forum about Guy's technique of full nose up trim with go-around
concern but all pilots who had been trained with Guy or practiced his
method are firm believers. At 100lbs, I had no problem holding the
nose down during go-around. A quick nose down trim with my thumb while
my hand on the throttle was all it took to relieve the pressure on my
Cardinal.
Returning home, we did few more practices of Guy's techniques at
hour home base, KPOU before heading to Michigan. I flew the last leg
and wanted to head to 24C instead of Y70 but Rick thought it was not a
good idea after a long day of flying. The next day while staying at
my brother's home in Lowell, we drove to 24C after Church service to
check out the lay of the land. A Citabria pilot told us that he
preferred the grass runway 6/24. At 2700', it was longer than the
12/30 paved runway and the trees at the end of 24 were somewhat
shorter than 30. The grass runways looked firm and seemed in pretty
good condition. We told him about my aborted landing, he laughed and
told us that if one could land at Lowell, one could land anywhere. It
was the same thing we heard when I was in training at Wurstboro; a
glider airport nestled between two mountain ridges.
The visit bolstered our confidence. That afternoon, Rick moved the
plane from Y70 to 24C. He landed on the grass runway 24 and noticed
it was somewhat bumpy in few sections. The next day, we came back to
24C and practiced our landings in both the paved and grass runways. We
nailed all our short field landings easily and decided that we 12/30
runways would be kinder and gentler to our bird.
From now on, 24C will be our airport of choice for our Michigan
visit. We will just have to be a bit careful with weight and balance
and be mindful of density altitude and wind condition in takeoff
planning. It is not only closer to my brother's home but the tie down
at $3/day is a lot cheaper than $10 fee at Y70. Besides, it is quite
a fun airport to practice real short field landings. I don't think
that I would ever become a missionary pilot. However, I have started
to think of taking aerobatic lessons after Guy Maher's training
clinic. The private certificate which I obtained 4 years ago was
truly a license to learn.

Hai Longworth

I have fond memories of 24C. I learned to fly there and also did my
multi training out of that airport, except for the instrument part. I
wasn't part of the missionary school but sometimes used their
instructors. I had to solo twice, first at a longer runway without trees
(6D6), then after more experience at 24C. At that time the main runway
was not paved. I flew out of there in all conditions, including at
night. It was especially exciting in winter with ice and slush all over
the place (it wasn't regularly plowed then). Soft and short field ops
were done for real. Once landed a twin there with one engine out for
real. I admit that that was stupid with other airports nearby. The trees
at the end of the runway would have made a go around iffy. Flight
schools at GRR wouldn't let their students solo there. Many memories,
but it was primarily a great place to gain experience, and the country
feel was soothing.

Longworth wrote:

Denny,
About two years ago, I had the most puckered go-around at 24C.

On Sep 9, 5:15 pm, RomeoMike wrote:
I have fond memories of 24C. I learned to fly there and also did my
multi training out of that airport, except for the instrument part.
RomeoMike,

We saw a twin tied down on the grass. I made a remark something
like we should be able to land a Cardinal if a twin could land there.
The Citabria pilot, by the name of Davey, I think, told me that the
twin was there for the A&P school to practice and it did not fly. I
am surprised to learn that you flew your twin with an engine out at
24C.
After my aborted landing at 24C, we discussed the incident with
the folks at Y70. They told us that on a hot day, a fully loaded C152
would have to aim for the shortest tree to get out safely. I can see
why KGRR flight school would not let their student solo at 24C.
Anyway, I reread my post and found quite a few of typos. Blame it
on post flight fatigue. We just got back from an air camping trip in
Whitefield, NH. It had become an annual ritual for us to attend the
Cardinal fly-in at the scenic KHIE, Mt. Washington Regional Airport,
and camped on the field. This year, the weather did not cooperate and
only about half of the planes could make it with all but one plane
flew in filing IFR. This morning we departed at 10:30am and
immediately launched into IMC. I spiraled up to 5000' just over the
airport to make sure that we did not hit any cumulus granite before
heading to AYZOO, the first fix. We were inside the rainy clouds all
the way back to NY. Albany approach steered us around the worst part
of the weather but at one point, all of a sudden, I lost 500'. I
immediately pushed the throttle and prop control forward but could
barely maintained my altitude. I kept my focus on the attitude
indicator to keep level. By the time I looked at the altimeter, it
had gained 1000' and shot up to 6500. Approach immediately asked us
whether we had trouble maintaining our altitude. We told them what
happened. The rest of the trip was still solid IMC and rainy but
quite calm. I shot the VOR approach for runway 24 at KPOU and tried
Guy's short field technique again aiming for just beyond the number
for a short taxi to alpha tie down.
After a solid 2.5hrs in IMC, I was pretty tired but quite happy of
having the opportunity to fly real IMC and shoot a real approach.
Then the first thing I did after unpacking was to have a cup of tea,
brow rec.aviation.piloting forum and post about flying. Who says you
have to be sane to be a pilot? ;-)

Hai Longworth

Longworth wrote:
On Sep 9, 5:15 pm, RomeoMike wrote:
I have fond memories of 24C. I learned to fly there and also did my
multi training out of that airport, except for the instrument part.
RomeoMike,

We saw a twin tied down on the grass. I made a remark something
like we should be able to land a Cardinal if a twin could land there.
The Citabria pilot, by the name of Davey, I think, told me that the
twin was there for the A&P school to practice and it did not fly. I
am surprised to learn that you flew your twin with an engine out at
24C.

Hai, when I flew out of there, the missionary school had a Piper
Geronimo, which is an "upgraded" Apache. The school used it to give
multi engine training, and in fact I got some of my training in it and
later rented it from them for trips, and it's the plane in which I
experienced an engine out with my wife while returning from Chicago.
There was also a straight Apache based there at the time. Being quite
used to 24C, we never thought that conditions were tight. Landing a twin
with engine out is no problem; it's the go around that would be
problematic. Once when the main 12-30 runway was closed I landed it on
the grass 15-33 runway, which had trees and power lines on the approach.
I never flew a 152 there, but never had any trouble with a 172 on hot
days; so I think the people at Y70 were being overly dramatic about the
difficulties at 24C.

There is a rather tired looking Apache with some of the Geronimo mods
on it, tied down outside...

Actually, my plane (Fat Albert) is an Apache, unmodified, with 150 hp
engines... Had I bothered to check before hand on the airport, I
would not have had nearly full tanks for departure, but it all worked
out without any sweat - it isn't often the fat boy is asked to give me
Vx, but other than a reproachful look at me, he accomplished it....
Not to give a false impression, I knew about the short runways but the
hills at each end were a bit of a surprise...

denny

Denny wrote:
There is a rather tired looking Apache with some of the Geronimo mods
on it, tied down outside...

I guess that would not be "my" Geronimo, which according to the FAA
database is now registered in Georgia. With the pointy nose and 180 hp
engines, it lifted out of 24C very nicely, even on hot days with a few
people on board. I don't remember the hills being a problem but watching
the trees go by under the wheels was fun. One plane came in with a stick
punched through a wing tip. Not sure how he managed that without hanging
up his gear in the trees.

RomeoMike wrote:
Denny wrote:
There is a rather tired looking Apache with some of the Geronimo mods
on it, tied down outside...

I guess that would not be "my" Geronimo, which according to the FAA
database is now registered in Georgia. With the pointy nose and 180 hp
engines, it lifted out of 24C very nicely, even on hot days with a few
people on board. I don't remember the hills being a problem but
watching the trees go by under the wheels was fun. One plane came in
with a stick punched through a wing tip. Not sure how he managed that
without hanging up his gear in the trees.

Yet more proof there is a God. Why else, other than knowing we were going to
be flying over them in a few million years, would he/she make the tops of
trees the softest.