Dropping In........

[TigerCub]

Living in the Ohio area, we are blessed with a public use airport within gliding distance of just about any engine failure. There is also a large amount of private strips around here. Some pretty primitive, to pretty nice looking. Some marked on a chart as private, others not on a chart at all.

My question is, do people just drop in on such strips? I?m more interested in the totally unmarked ones. No real reason to drop in??..just out on a Sunday flight and want to drop in and visit in a good old fashion hey how ya doin kinda way. :howdy

My big concern is making someone mad. That is certainly not my intent. I know if I had a strip I would love to have people just drop in but don?t know if others would share that same sediment. I would hate to have a load of buckshot in my plane or worse?.in my butt! :bad-words: :snipersmile: :2gunfire: :9mm

[Steve Pierce]

Where I live nobody cares but we all know each other. I probably wouldn't if I didn't know them. I have gotten a not so friendly welcome at a private strip in Arkansas. That was my only bad experience.

[gdafoe]

I have a private strip and I love it when people stop in for a visit. I think lots of times it is better to "just drop in" as opposed to asking. If you ask you put the owner in the position of "approving" or taking some liability of your stopping by. (should you break you nose) IF you drop in uninvited you did it at your own risk.

I believe that we all know the legal way to close an airstrip. A BIG X. If it is not X'd then it is open. Mine is not X'd. So y'all just drop in y'hear. :angel:

[SJ]

I'm holding a fly in at Gerald's next Saturday, just don't tell him that way he will let us do it... I expect 300 airplanes...

:lol:

sj

(Thanks, Gerry, I hope to drop in someday!)

[Tim]

I live in upstate New York during the summer, and there are many little grass strips in NY and VT. I try to visit as many as I can. Every once in a while I get chewed out. A couple of years ago I went into a 1500ft strip about 15 miles away that I had never been to. I stopped about halfway down the strip where a laneway led up to the house. After a few minutes the owner came down and chewed my ass out. He told me the runway was only 1500ft long, a oneway STOL strip that I landed the wrong way on. He said he should call the state police, but if I promised to taxi to the proper end, take off, and never come back he wouldn't. I turned the plane down the runway from where I was and took off, and never went back. Most people are very friendly when you just show up though.

Tim

[TigerCub]

Kinda as I thought I can plan on getting about as many reactions as you can different people! Well Maybe I'll write some stories about the people I meet..........If I get out alive!!

[mrpolaris]

I never had a problem out here in the Arlington WA. area.
Everyone seens to enjoy it when I just stop in in the SC.
They all want to look at my 31" radials.
I have talked to some other people that have flown in to some strips with
there C-150 and they didn't get the same reception.
O-well it teaches them to not fly a SC. :)
Mark

[TigerCub]

Well then I shouldnt have any problems after I win them tires on Friday!

[Rick Papp]

Craig, there are 5or6 mowed private strips in back yards up here around the Bristolville area.Ya'll drop in anytime . Rick Papp ps. are you at Bolton?

[TigerCub]

Yup, I am at Bolton Rick, I think we talked at Waynesville didn't we?

[Rick Papp]

I truly enjoyed Waynesville. If a strip is not circleR on a sectional I figure anybody can stop there, even if its not on the chart. I've never been anywhere that I wasn't welcome or asked to come back. I have 2 sons at OSU. Maybe I'll stop by to visit some time.

Rick

[Rick Sanson]

Ever look down, pick a spot and wonder what it would actually be like if you had to land there? Tall brush, bumpy, hilly, short, etc. I figure that testing it under control is better than testing it without power.

Of course, in my opinion, if I have a "problem" then I'm putting it down. I've set her down on two lane and gravel roads, private strips, farmers fields (don't damage their crops or property), ultra-light strips or wherever quite a few times. Usually she was running pretty damn rough and I felt the need to do a precautionary stop before something went wrong. Fortunately, after landing, and trinkering with the by-pass air regulator or a loose cotter-pin or something I was able to repair the problem and move on.

I've been making it a point to land everywhere I can and have hit quite a few of the strips (and fields) down here. Some are great practice! Not a complaint yet...

If you guys want a tour of known great places to land/take off down here, let's hook up at the next Waynesville fly-in.

[Rick Papp]

Waynesville is on my list of favorite places . I hope to visit Wright -Patt and Lockhaven this summer. Texas tour is a possible. I LOVE out of the way strips......Stop in sometime .. Rick

[Dave Calkins]

Rick, you should practice those with power at idle, too.

remember that you'll need 60MPH on the ASI on final to have enough energy for a round-out and flare with zero power, depending on load, etc. 70MPH on floats.

If it's a circle R on the sectional, they don't want you there. Some guys will even try to kick you off of some gravel bar that they call "theirs".

Some guys will just put a log across the bar. RedBaron???

Too bad everyone doesn't love to have droppers-by.

Dave Calkins.

[FlipFlop]

I thought explaining to the authorities or land owner that you had to land and grease the muffler bearings would always keep you out of trouble...

[RedBaron]

Dave, are you insinuating something here? :P
I would NEVER....

Andy

[Dave Calkins]

...in the backcountry last weekend had 4 airplanes on a strip that only 2 years before was just a mudhole with some shorter weeds suitable for landing in. Thought about the log across idea, or maybe just land and park ON the strip.

I don't care so much about a little company, but if it were a fishin' spot........

Dave.

[T.J.]

delete

[T.J.]

delete

[RedBaron]

I prefer just a large log on the strip. OOPS...I mean, I've seen it done...
:D

Actually, I don't mind sharing, just as long as it's not a crowd. If I wanted a crowd I'd fish Ship Creek or the Russian. Lines tangling....etc. :agrue:

Andy