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Taking off in mud...

Discussion in 'Jet Aviation Discussion' started by revdcs, Nov 2, 2012.

  1. revdcs

    revdcs New Member

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  2. Norseman

    Norseman Member

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    Those guys better find a couple of rain showers to clean their machine...:rolleyes:
  3. KCook

    KCook New Member

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    Kind of reminds me of our takeoff in a seaplane from Catalina Island. Looking out the side windows all I could see was spray!

    Kelly
  4. Norseman

    Norseman Member

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    Salt spray is baaad for planes. I flew a sea plane in salt water for 6 months and noticed that one of the flap brackets had corroded to half its thickness since I started flying the airplane. At least the brackets were in plain sight, other components and structures are hidden and not accesible for a fresh water rinse after every flight. Scary stuff..:eek:
  5. travler

    travler New Member

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    i will bet the maintenance on that thing is a nightmare

    travler
  6. KCook

    KCook New Member

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    What was the largest swell you took off in? That was quite the ride at Catalina Island, skipping from the top of one swell to the next. One I will never forget.

    Kelly
  7. Norseman

    Norseman Member

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    Not really big swells but plenty of choppy water flying landing and taking off in St. Thomas and St. Croix harbors.

    8 round-trips, 16 take offs and 16 landings per day, 2 days on, 2 days off, fun job back then, but too lazy now..:rolleyes:
  8. KCook

    KCook New Member

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    Surely it's cheating to use a harbor. The seaplanes from Catalina took off from the beach, directly into the open ocean. Cowboy flying at its best :D
  9. Norseman

    Norseman Member

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    Aye, no cheating: It was plenty interesting to land and take off in those busy harbors with the occasional low viz from rain shower and fast boats coming around corners, etc.

    Once we had just touced down in St. Croix, doing about 60 knop or so and a skin diver pooped up right in front of the plane, perhaps 40 or 50 feet ahead:
    I only had 1/2 second to push a bit on the rudder to get him between the floats. We thought we had killed the guy, so we stopped the plane and turned it around and the guy was waving at us. It probably got his attention as well. :rolleyes:

    This is the airplane I flew:

    [​IMG]
  10. Norseman

    Norseman Member

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    Just did a quick Google search on the above plane I flew back in the 80s:

    It crashed 5 years ago in the Pacific killing all 20 onboard.
    Probable cause was corrosion on the control cables...Sad.

  11. KCook

    KCook New Member

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    That is a lot bigger than the little Goose we rode in out of Catalina
  12. travler

    travler New Member

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    cook did you see the special on T V a couple of weeks ago about the old catalina air it was in a local station and was pretty good and had a lot of history about flying to the island , the air port in the sky will get your attention the first time you fly there with the hump in the middle of it

    travler
  13. KCook

    KCook New Member

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    Sorry I missed that program. My only Catalina flight was from Catalina on the seaplane. And that was accidental. We took the ferry to Catalina, for the day, expecting to return via same. But I got so seasick that I swore I would not take the ferry again, tore up those tickets and bought the seaplane tickets for the return.

    We have a little similar "mountain top" air strip here in Arizona, at Sedona. Steep drops at both ends of the runway. But it has been over a half century since my father flew us into that one, I have no memory of it at this point (senility sucks).

    Kelly
  14. Jet News

    Jet News JF News Editor Staff Member

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    and another one...