How much runway is enough?

[WurlyBird]

I like the story HighWing. I have known some people like that, capable beyond description. The dangerous ones are the ones that don't know that is the case and encourage others to do the same as them.

Bold is for the younger guys.

If nothing else this thread has brought out some old aviation cliches for dissection and discussion. I think this one has been said or paraphrased at least three times on this thread alone and it is another one that I have not quite embraced. Here is the Oxford dictionary definition of bold:
bold

/bōld/
Adjective
(of a person, action, or idea) Showing an ability to take risks; confident and courageous.

I have a coffee table book of aviation quotes titled Slipping the Surly Bonds which I highly recommend. One quote "There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots" is of course the one I am talking about now. I would say that by the very definition of bold there are ONLY bold old pilots. Any pilot that was not bold I would not want to fly with. Another quote from the book is "Courage is being the only one that knows how terrified you are." That is a character trait that I expect to see in a pilot. Other wise when that punctuating "moment of stark terror" arises, the not bold pilot will lose composure and possibly not make it out. All of us are of course confident. How could you ever solo if not? You just have to keep an eye out for over-confidence. And as far as taking risks, I will once again point out that this community is a collection of people who think a good hobby is to go burning holes in the sky in an airplane that they built in their garage!

I think the intent of the saying is probably solid, but with a poor choice of words. There is no need to take excessive risk all the time. The more exposure you have to periods of flying with no out the more you increase your chances that when something goes wrong it will be unrecoverable. But to imply that risk should not be taken is ridiculous. I would say that bold was picked to be used in that phrase because it rhymed more then it made sense, which implies a Safety Officer thought of it. And probably a military one at that.

[kitfoxnick]

Was that a Rans I saw occasionally in the Nick's video? ....

Lowel, that was a Rans S-7 owned by Greg Swingle the fellow who made the video. I just happened to get caught on tape. These guys are a great bunch of guys to fly with.

I encourage you to check out some of Greg's other videos there's a long list of them to the right of the page that the video was on. Including his latest rans build.

I envy the guys that feel comfortable flying like this... This guy knew his airplane, what it could do and felt comfortable doing it. ....

The guy you were talking about is comfortable flying his airplane like this because he knows his airplane. He knows his airplane, because he has to, in order to come home. Like anything, coming home for him is not as much of a challenge as it was in the beginning. I'm sure he picks his days. A crosswind from the uphill side could be tricky. Thanks for seeing both sides of the coin.

[GWright6970]

"Oh, and Grover, was the "Real" CAV a unit title or are you suggesting we aren't real CAV anymore?!?! ["/quote]

James, does "Charlie Troop, 1/9th Cavalry "Headhunters", First Air Cavalry Division" ring a bell for your history lessons? We were the original unit that all others copied, including the Stetsons, sabers, and spurs. And yes, I still have mine!

I was the guy who started the painting of sharks teeth on Charlie Troop Cobras. Check out page 3, "Vietnam War Helicopter Art" by John Brennan. She looks pretty darn good! (Named of course, "The Alaskan.")

I have refused ALL advice to paint my Kitfox in a similiar manner!!! LOL!!

Take care James, and keep your needles together!
Grover

[HighWing]

Interesting stuff.
One thing I remembered after reading subsequent posts, my Rans buddy was fairly picky when he took his airplane home - or not. It was not unheard of that he landed at EKO and got a ride to his house. While looking for a picture of the Rans I thought of something else. A Rans is a good airplane to have in the group for a long cross country. They only hold 20 gallons total. Those guys get pretty animated when it is time for a fuel stop.
Lowell

[GWright6970]

[quote=HighWing; They only hold 20 gallons total. Those guys get pretty animated when it is time for a fuel stop. Lowell[/quote]

I vote that you win todays comedy prize Lowell!!! That is dang funny!! Thank you!

[WurlyBird]

Just to close this thread, I actually ended up moving in to a community with an 1800' strip. It took a while to figure it out but in AK people do not value a fly in community the same way we do in the lower 48. Most strips are not even on the sectional even if they are quite adequate, and active. I ultimately had to use google earth to search the area for grass strips and then search for houses nearby. There are a few communities that are the exception, but for the most part, having access to a runway does not affect home value in Alaska. This place is weird but fantastic.

Any Kitfoxers near Fairbanks need to hit me up, I would love to see how many are flying around here. I found one at a nearby strip but I also found it for sale on barnstormers.

[n85ae]

Haha, small world. Near the beginning of Snake Pilot, is a quote by Randy Zahn about my Uncle Enn Tietenberg, who was the XO of Charlie Troop in 1969. So at least one of us Kitfoxer's know's what Charlie Troop is. Shoot
me a private message for more info, I was Enn's executor (he passed away
a few years ago).

Regards,
Jeff Hays

"Oh, and Grover, was the "Real" CAV a unit title or are you suggesting we aren't real CAV anymore?!?! ["/quote]

James, does "Charlie Troop, 1/9th Cavalry "Headhunters", First Air Cavalry Division" ring a bell for your history lessons? We were the original unit that all others copied, including the Stetsons, sabers, and spurs. And yes, I still have mine!

I was the guy who started the painting of sharks teeth on Charlie Troop Cobras. Check out page 3, "Vietnam War Helicopter Art" by John Brennan. She looks pretty darn good! (Named of course, "The Alaskan.")

I have refused ALL advice to paint my Kitfox in a similiar manner!!! LOL!!

Take care James, and keep your needles together!
Grover

[Geowitz]

Sorry to hijack and I have absolutely no connection to the things you guys are talking about, but it sparked my interest to finally do something I always was curious about.

Here's mine...Photoshopped of course.

[Pilot4Life]

Do it Geowitz! Looks good!

[Flybyjim]

Love the teeth.