narrow strip.

[tonydenton]

I went for a fly on sunday and had always wanted to land at my farm., so previously i prepped a row to land on [ filled a few pot holes and slashed the dead grass. ] I circled a few times to check it . down low in the row , touch and go and straight.
anyway I put it down and took a few photos. [ putting it down was always going to the easy part because all my mates know how well I can fly straight and level. the rows are a bit shorter than I would want so I taxied back a row to wind them up and turned into the row that was my once only ever strip. got off really quick actually. climbed up while circling the farm and flew away on a beautiful day.
I won't be back thou. it's not in a good spot near bundy airport and the trees are only 9months old and the plan is for them to grow BIG. I was prepared to rip a row out for a proper strip but not to be .
the trees are @ 9mt centres , rotors are at 8mt but luckily the trees are only about 1.5mt high.
I only have to travel about 20 minutes to the glider strip and I know others are much worse off that me . so I'm grateful that I have it that easy to go flying.
BTW if these photos load ok this was the easiest that I have ever loaded photos. thanks for that.

[tonydenton]

ok most times in the past I couldn't reduce the photos to get them to load and now they stay tiny. .damn I'm good.
unfortunately it as lost the wow factor.

[mad max]

Good to see someone talking on this forum Tony. For a while I thought everyone had gone '**** up'. Yes landing on tricky little strips is fun. Specially in a cross wind. A good pilot can 'see' the air. Looking at tree movement, feeling drift, ect. One gets a good buzz achieving a challange. My engine got soaked after being caught in a tropical rain cell last wet and I had to put down on a grass patch after loosing 60% power. Was only 2k from strip. Think I'll go around rain cells next wet (Or make an engine cover)

[aussie_paul]

Glad you enjoyed the new challenge Tony.
I had two VERY cold but enjoyable 35 minute flights a couple of weeks ago in my mates for sale gyro.

Aussie Paul.

[tonydenton]

hello MAX, yes that is a good way of putting it , I got a buzz from all it all going to plan. I am comfortable with my take offs and landings.not over confident mind you but certainly comfortable with dealing what comes up.
the glider strip has a cross strip but probably 1K away , so I never use it and the hanger is at the northern end so 99 times out of 100 I take off 1 way, can be down wind a bit just so long as you know it is a down wind take off and deal with the conditions. there have been a couple of times made me laugh. horse it in the air a bit early, only to have it sink back onto the strip again. .
the strip is pretty wide so flying down one side and a landing on a part cross wind landing with a short taxi to the hanger always works. the club winch rope always tunes your skill at looking out where the bloody rope is laying.
much easier to see the rope than before when they used hi-tensile wire. it would always be flat near the hanger and winch or take off area for the gliders but part way down the strip the wire would quite often curl up like it was on the winch drum still , and you needed to see that before you got to it or it would of been flying ALONG a bloody fence.!!!!!! only time I back track really, back up to the winch and cross the wire with my rotors level, nice and slow not wanting anything to get caught. . then start again on the better side .
I have to say the glider club guys are truly great to get along with . they like the rental I pay [ of course they would always laugh at me back tracking because of there bloody wire.]
radio calls always see me being able to sneak in and out without too much hipe !!! I some times have to remember what the rules are most times.
the forestry has just been cleared and I can't remember seeing it sooooo open. this time they cleared the native timber really quickly too. I always like the tall skinny native trees growing tall to get light up with the pine trees. when that was left behind there was always a play patch for low level playing when no one was around. oh hell even if there was the timber cutter crews there ..
the reason for the trip to my farm was to get away from the cost of hanger fees at the glider club , but my farm is too close to the main bundy airstrip and eventually when the trees grow wont have any out fields [ other rows to land in ]. so I ticked that off my bucket list.
As budda just told me you have to make time and get priorities to fly, mine has gotten into a bad habit of when I finish what I had too do I would go flying. last year was only 13.25 hours. ashamed I know. well that is changing. every week end from now on and summer coming up too and I had been going for a fly in the week day mornings and that is going to start again when the days get longer.
back a few weeks I went out there late and there was a cell coming and I thought that is not going to stop me i'll take off and fly the other way. well when I got in the air I got soaked so I landed again and then noticed it was clear to the west so up again but when I got up there it was bloody raining west too . so I landed again and put it away . by the time that had been done and I was about to drive home a big rainbow was out and perfectly clear and I just shook my head and laughed . it was all fun thou.
come on week end..

[mad max]

Good to see you flying again Paul. My life's dream Tony has always been to have a property big enough for a strip. I purchased 85 acres in Clunes Vic. but had too many hassels with dickhead neibours so we sold it to the chinese. Would love to find some land maybe your area and share a strip or something with other sport aviation people. Airparks are a bit exy. and I could see my neighbour looking down his nose to me from his Jetranger or RV6 as I crank up my home-made gyro Be nice to land on a nice hard beach and have a swim and fly home or visit a friendly fellow aviators private strip and sip some coffeeHappy are those who are born to fly

[WEST OZ FLYER]

Why is it the most fun is doing things you're not supposed too.

[mad max]

I guess in order to really apreciate things you have to struggle to achieve them. If we were mega rich we'd probably carry on like spoilt brats

[Brian]

Dunno, I find flying fun without the excitement of a challenge but then I have probably had / done plenty of things one should never do to last a few lifetimes.

[Brian]

I do re call back in the early days in the open framed EA 81 when only place to put down was on a track with wall to wall mallee either side. Trees would have been 20 feet high or so & in most places actually formed a verandah over the track. There were a few places where the mallee opened up a bit & it was one of these spots where once I took off & got up max airspeed [ 2 or 3 foot off the ground ] with a meter or so clearance either side of the rotors ] that I had to climb through. It worked but certainly exciting & not recommended practice !

[tonydenton]

BRIAN !!!!!. I'm shocked. my rotars were over the top of the trees . yes your the winner with one.

[Justin]

Yes i remember triming a tree with my rotors once.Bloody stubborn bull!

[tonydenton]

really Justin, I'm shocked to hear that. .

[tonydenton]

I've heard it before , I'm just shocked to read it on the forum. .

[Justin]

Real pilots fly out here Tony