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Day 3 without a shower. I know… yuck. The moist wipes are helping! 🙂
Believe it or not, this backcountry strip is SO nice it has a shower. However; there are a LOT of people here and finding a time when there is not a line has eluded me (not that I’ve tried all that hard).
Another cold night but oh so peaceful! There was frost on the aircraft and tents. It is hard to see in the following photo but my tent is covered with frost!!
This meant that everyone had to wait for the sun to melt the moisture before we could go flying. It was so kewl watching the line of sunshine descend down the wall of the canyon and then onto the airstrip. Immediately, several airplanes taxied across the strip to get into the sun (to hurry the melting process).
After waiting for the sun to thaw things out and getting into line for the mass exodus, we made another very cool flight. At least thirty airplanes took off in just a couple minutes. These backcountry pilots are very good and very efficient. There is no waiting for five miles separation or some of the things you see at tower controlled airport (thankfully). This is not to say that they are unsafe – that is absolutely not the case. However; it is another example of all the “standard” and “typical” practices needing to be forgotten because the operating environment is so much different. This takes some getting used to. I mostly stayed at 10k feet again today and watched my buddy explore some strips in his RV-4. Getting down into those canyons is something that I am just not comfortable with, yet. Maybe someday! I didn’t do a good job recording the exact strips that we looked at but did get Indian Creek (S81), Thomas Creek (2U8), Mahoney (0U3), Lower Loon (C53), Flying B, Bernard (U54), Soldier Bar (85U), Cabin Creek (I08), Chamberlain (U79), Wilson Bar (C48), & Mackay Bar.
We wanted to land at Mackay Bar for breakfast but I just wasn’t up to the challenge. It is a relatively short runway (for me) and is a mostly blind approach. It requires you to approach up a “valley” aiming mostly at some rapids in the river. As soon you are over the rapids, make about a 30 degree turn and touch down on the bank (the end of the runway). So, we went into McCall for fuel (16.2 gals) and food. While there, met some nice folks building an RV-10. We had lunch with them and exchanged building tips and stories.
Apparently there was a bit of an accident while we were away. An Aviat Husky came in high and fast, started bouncing on landing, and finally went around. They struck a tree at the end of the runway, just missed a house and then fell out of sight. Those watching thought they were dead. Not so. A few minutes later they were back and apparently quite shaken. Second guessing is always bad and usually wrong – I’m just glad they are ok.
The RV-3 is running great. I finally got a good landing here at Johnson Creek. Nailing the airspeed early is very important. Nothing is standard going in or out of these strips. You do what is necessary. I thought my practice at home had been sufficient – I was wrong. As soon as I shutdown I realized… ya, the darn video camera… Ugh, once again, I didn’t start it. Oh well… 🙁
Finally, Saturday was the big dinner and raffle drawing. A fabulous rib dinner was provided and then the fun started. The announcer was very entertaining and many prizes were handed out – some REALLY nice stuff too! Like Bose Headset, aircraft accessories, Ruger pistol, and the big ticket item – a set of Alaska Bushwheels. These are the huge comic book/inner-tube looking tires which are quiet expensive. I didn’t win them… 🙁
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