Sneaking across Lake Superior undetected

"Henry Kisor" wrote in message
...
I just KNEW somebody would call me "Osama." But thanks to everyone who
answered my message. The long and short of the answers I have received is
"Maybe, but not likely." I'll have my evasive pilot (not a terrorist but a
good guy on a mercy mission of sorts) file a flight plan, cross the lake
at
a reasonable altitude, have "engine trouble" and land well short of his
posted point of arrival to offload his cargo before the sheriff arrives.

Now how could I fix the engine to seem to have had engine trouble? Loosen
a
couple of magneto leads? Anyone?

Henry

Fuel or oil leak?



"Nomen Nescio" ] wrote in
message
...
From: "Henry Kisor"

Can a 172 flying at 200 feet above water across Lake Superior get
through
undetected by radar or AWACS? Are there holes in radar coverage?

Nice try, Osama!

"Dave Stadt" wrote in message
y.com...
Now how could I fix the engine to seem to have had engine trouble?
Loosen
a couple of magneto leads? Anyone?

Fuel or oil leak?

IMHO, carb ice would be the best option. It can create significant engine
trouble, and yet is often completely undetectable once the engine has been
shut down and the ice has melted. Claim you have carb icing, and it would
be VERY difficult for anyone to come along later and prove it wasn't.

Leaks would be one of the worst choices IMHO, since the flow pattern of a
leak would most likely be different while in flight versus while on ground.
Unless the pilot in this story actually created a leak prior to takeoff, a
good investigator could probably figure out that there was no in-flight
leak.

Loosening electrical connections might be reasonable, but the pilot would
have to be careful when loosening to not mar the surface of the connector(s)
otherwise an investigator might notice tool marks and determine that the
connector was loosened intentionally, rather than working its way out
through vibration. Of course, one would have to loosen a connector that
isn't required to be safety-wired, since otherwise the additional question
of why it wasn't safety-wired comes up.

I'd go with the carb ice. Obviously, the pilot would have to make sure he
wasn't flying a fuel-injected airplane.

Pete

If you are a writer, you can make up your own truth, and your own
justification. Tom Clancy does it all the time... doesnt matter what the
real truth is (although I suspect Clancy is close to the real thing most
of the time)..

And I would venture to say.. if there are holes, nobody is going to tell
you about them.

You COULD always try to "research" it on your own and simply try. Of
course, 200 ft over a huge lake in the middle of winter with a single
engine plane isnt necessarily dangerous, but it does entail some risk
taking.

Dave

Henry Kisor wrote:
All:

Can a 172 flying at 200 feet above water across Lake Superior get through
undetected by radar or AWACS? Are there holes in radar coverage?

I ask cuz I'm a mystery novelist at work on a new whodunit and wonder what
goes on when a small plane flies from Canada to the United States over a
Great Lake. I presume the small plane has to land at an official port of
entry so Customs can go over it looking for bad stuff.

Also, when a plane crosses the border does it have to be in radio contact
with ATC? (Being deaf, I'm a NORDO pilot so don't know anything about that
stuff.)

Thanks to all.

Henry

Yup... that wonderful box will maintain you at whatever pressure
altitude you set it at..

High to Low.. Look Out Below!..

Dave

BTIZ wrote:

"Peter R." wrote in message
...

BTIZ wrote:


BTW, I'd hate to be the one flying a C172 over the lake at 200ft AGL,

get

out away from either shore... loose the horizon and depth perception..

and

splash..

That's what a dual axis Bendix/King KAP 140 prevents... ;-)

--
Peter


flying that distance.. over water.. will result in pressure changes.. CAP140
flies on pressure?? if the pressure over distance is moving the wrong way...
splash..

BT

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 19:00:03 +0100 (CET), Nomen Nescio wrote:

Can a 172 flying at 200 feet above water across Lake Superior get through
undetected by radar or AWACS? Are there holes in radar coverage?

Nice try, Osama!


.... posted by an anonymous idiot using a remailer service. coward.

#m
--
Position Statement on the Use of RFID on Consumer Products
http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/RFIDposition.htm

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 11:35:41 -0700, Peter Duniho wrote:

I'd go with the carb ice. Obviously, the pilot would have to make sure he
wasn't flying a fuel-injected airplane.


good idea. and set the weather accordingly.

#m

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http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/RFIDposition.htm

A writer CAN take liberties with the facts, but not to the point of a reader
throwing the book in the corner and saying, "Bull****!" Mystery readers in
particular are extremely picky about accuracy. One who read my most recent
whodunit said early on I misspelled a Finnish proper name (Antala instead of
Anttila -- Antala is a **Slovak** name) and from then on she couldn't trust
what I'd written.

And that's why I'm asking you guys to help me avoid stupid aviation
mistakes, even though (maybe BECAUSE) I am a pilot.


"Dave" wrote in message
nk.net...
If you are a writer, you can make up your own truth, and your own
justification. Tom Clancy does it all the time... doesnt matter what the
real truth is (although I suspect Clancy is close to the real thing most
of the time)..

In article et, Dave
wrote:

You COULD always try to "research" it on your own and simply try. Of
course, 200 ft over a huge lake in the middle of winter with a single
engine plane isnt necessarily dangerous, but it does entail some risk
taking.

Of course, it is getting to be that time of year when you could just
drive a car across it and not worry about anything but the ice fishing
shacks.

The planes I have observed smuggling drugs from Cananda into the USA fly
about 20 feet off the water, not 200 feet, come ashore through a cut in the
trees, and skim the tree tops, dipping down to a few feet off the ground
when crossing open fields.....
And, yes there is a good chance you can scoot across the Lake down low
without ATC seeing you, even at 200 feet... The last time I was shore
running, I lost all transponder activity just North of Tawas, Michigan...
There was a small area around the Mackinac Bridge/Drummond Island where the
transponder lit up, but within 20 miles north of the bridge it was gone
again...There was not a single transponder reply the entire route along the
south shore of Superior, of course I was only 50 feet off the water - and
NO, I was not running drugs, just sight seeing...

Denny
"Henry Kisor" wrote in message
news:tfOdnakYwLTtqHOiRVn-

BTIZ wrote:

flying that distance.. over water.. will result in pressure changes.. CAP140
flies on pressure?? if the pressure over distance is moving the wrong way...
splash..

That would take a mighty inattentive pilot to let 200 feet go that close
to the surface without noticing...

"Gee, those white caps are looking much larger than 10 minutes ago...
must be an optical illusion."

** SPLASH **

--
Peter










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