I can relate to needing good brakes. I fly out of WV12. Runway 33/15 is 2000x24 and normally has a crosswind out of the west. There is a hill to navigate on short final and then a ravine just before the runway.
When you approach the hill at 1100ft the updraft will raise your tail and then, as soon as you cross the hill there is a downdraft that will suck you into the ravine. The runway below is about 500 ft ahead and has a field elevation of 880ft, so you have to lose 220 ft of altitude, all the while dealing with the aforementioned wind shear. Airspeed and glidepath are critical. The sinkrate can cause you to get sucked into the ravine if you are too short, but with only 2000ft of runway, you are well aware that you can't use any of it that's behind you either. The exciting part is that at the other end of the runway there is a mountain looming, and no way to climb out with anything less powerful than a 182. Although the really good pilots can come in the 'back door', it is not for the novice. The DPE jokes that he doesn't even bother with short field landing techniques when he gives a flight check to someone who has trained at Mallory. I have talked with more than one person that said I could not fly an Ercoupe out of Mallory, but my little 85hp 415C is off the ground in 1/2 of what I have to work with, and when landing I can have it completely stopped at about the 3/4 point. Probably less if I really tried. These are great little planes, and I am well pleased to count myself a 'couper'. Good flying to ya (and landing) Rick 611GC --- In [email protected], "jamesrgarner" <jamesrgar...@...> wrote: > > I landed today at a little airport that has a 3,000 foot runway with tress on > one end and a lake on the other. I landed a little hot and got down on my > brakes pretty hard to stop as quickly as possible; about 3/4 down the runway > the brake pedal collapsed. My emergency brake doesn't work well which really > left me in pickle. I pulled the emergency brake as hard as I could while > doing my best turn to the plane before running off the end of the runway in > to some very big and old pine trees; after making a 180 at the very end of > the runway I was able to stop. Upon inspection I found that the "stem" that > holds the brake pedal had broken; it looks like it was a poor casting. > > I'll order a new one tomorrow and will wait until it's installed before I fly > again. The scare now gives me all the reason I need to make sure that I have > my emergency brake adjusted so that it will actually bring the plane to a > stop. >
