The Five Scariest Airports to Land a Plane...

One of my favorites, this wasn't me in the video, but you don't want to shoot this approach short or long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAzJvQKW8bY

i can think of a few places i have been to that cause a pucker factor

catalina island in a sii ciation

mariposa ca with a lear 31

firday harbor in a beech 400a

but i think the most fun was the short field styff at yakatat ak

if my memory serves me well i think one guy took off in 17 ft and landed in 31 ft

food for thought travler

Super steep strip as in the movie Air America?

flatlander

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsZqN-uEgQU

VFR only, no ILS, in an A320. Gutsy.

And not even a taxiway to get off the runway!

Yeah, I flew into lots of primitive strips with my father (including an alley way!). But I'm surprised to see a jet this size there.

Kelly

Nepal

We can also add Nepal's International Airport, due to the steep angle of approach.

The Bhutan strip has a nice close approach, especially going round the last corner level with the house, then lining up for final short landing!.

Been there, done that, several times: Seem to remember taking a DC-3 to Yakatat. Most of the time I flew C-206s, C-207s and a C-185 out of Bethel to the surrounding Eskimo villages, but then I got into DC-3s in 1986 in the Virgin Islands and some guy hired me to haul fish out of Tsiu River: He bought me a ticket up North and I hauled fish for the Silver Salmon season and I think Yakatat was in that area..?
(Getting senile here, got to check my logbook)

Been there as well: Back in 1985 I lived on a sailboat in St. Thomas and flew into St. Barths all the time using C-402s and Piper Aztecs. Also teaching new pilots to get in there and had to have a special ticket from the local authorities. Fun stuff and lots of pretty girls in St. Barths.
Some of my passengers would start screaming when we crossed over the hill and they could see the air strip: Oh my God, we are going to land on somebodys driveway...

Piece of cake flying into the short strips in the Caribe after having flown bush Alaska for 3 years..

norsman

you struck a cord many years ago a friend call and asked if i wanted to help him ferry a d 18 to south america that is a time in my life i will never forget a long time friend of mine still does the short field stuff at yakatat in a super cub with nitrous

keep your nose up in the turns

travler

Would that be a B-18 "D" model, with the "walking gear"?
Got a few hours in them things, but not sure if I liked 'em. Noisy and cramped cockpit and just a little tricky in cross winds, but that would of course separate the men from the boys.

Must have been a looong ride to South America?

Typing this in SVMI right now, last lay-over was SPIM: Takes me several hours to get here in a jet at mach .80 with air-condition, autopilot and crew meals, not sure ya have all that in the B-18..?

yes it was a D mod the meals were what ever we could buy with in walking distence of the next fuel stop and you are right i will go back and see how many hours it was , what ever it was it took a long time , and you are right about the cross winds they were a test in ones abiality

travler

From a B-18 Forum:

The problem is how they activate, it is called the walking gear. The Constellation used the walking gear. When running up the engines the walking gear action causes the gear to move aft. This action can scare pilots who are not aware of this type gear as the feeling is that the gear is collapsing.