Carbon Cub Lands on Heli Pad in Dubai

aktango58 · Mar 15, 2023

Steve Pierce said:
I would have loved to been in on that. The red tape was thick.

And that is why it is such a big deal!!

Most of us would have loved to do this just to say we were part of it.

The unsung heroes are the folks that spent hours, weeks, months or years getting permission to make all of this happen. Just look at the red tape to make any fly-in or STOL contest happen, now you want to include a private hotel in a Middle East Country?

I agree that there are quite a few here, and planes around, that could make that landing with proper conditions. But how many here have the patients and dollars to spend to actually make it happen?

My hat is off to all that were part! I wonder what is next?

frequent_flyer · Mar 15, 2023

frequent_flyer said:
In the video of the successful landing it appears to me that that the mains contact and run down the plywood ramp and the tail is well over the edge. Perfectly executed or very lucky?

Better camera angles in this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXmGoQi670c&ab_channel=MikePatey

It seems the planned mains contact was between the ramp and the white circle and that's where it did touch.

Rob · Mar 15, 2023

ak49flyer said:
Why exactly are we acting like this is a big deal??

The 'Big Deal' is not for us.

Gulkana made operations in this size a big deal for Alaskan's and a few privy cub guys.

Valdez made the same for most cub guys and a few privy 'other' airplane guys.

Valdez guys and other STOL guys taking it to Osh Kosh made it so for most all 'airplane' people.

Redbull, takes the audience captured to a new level.

The only 'big deal' in this offering for the rest of us (and this is fairly substantial) is as FF posted, coming up short in a typical STOL event, simply means a DQ, coming up short on a gravel bar usually means enlisting a few friends to drag it home (or the insurance co), this really needed to be a 'Spot Landing' and coming up short would have triggered sensationalism on an equally global level, never the less, I guess most folks on this forum really don't need to think too hard to lose count of the people that could have done that in their own airplanes.

My only question (or reaction) is, will 'the next level' of attention on STOL ops be a good thing or a detriment?

Take care, Rob

DENNY · Mar 15, 2023

I would call it perfectly executed. They added a strike plate to the belly in case the tail hit the rim. Even if he ripped the tailwheel off he could get back down with little problem. By dumping the flaps and keeping the tailwheel up a bit he allowed the tires to stay planted and help with breaking. He did not even need to ground loop at the end. The reason no one posts videos of Knik landings with no wind is because they don't look this good!! Yeah, I said it!! :wink:

Excellent job.
DENNY

Scott A · Mar 15, 2023

Cool stunt, fun, brings awareness to flying.

farm_boy252 · Mar 15, 2023

ak49flyer said:
Someone just showed me the video- I’m totally calling the first two “attempts” staged.

I have to respectfully disagree on the bounced one....the look in his eyes and the f bomb seemed pretty genuine. And who knows, maybe he attempted 10 times and they only showed us 2 before the successful one? the high overshoot one could have been planned just to get a look/feel of the approach.

Paul Heinrich · Mar 15, 2023

Pure, unadulterated Sports-washing! Don’t be fooled.

The tape is colored red with the blood of human rights violations in the Middle East - easier cut when it makes murderous, repressive regimes look progressive, modern, and civilized.

But, what do I know.

ak49flyer · Mar 15, 2023

farm_boy252 said:
I have to respectfully disagree on the bounced one....the look in his eyes and the f bomb seemed pretty genuine. And who knows, maybe he attempted 10 times and they only showed us 2 before the successful one? the high overshoot one could have been planned just to get a look/feel of the approach.

Funny- the acting he did there made it seem even more fake to me- seemed like a Trevor Jacob moment from my perspective, but what do I know…

Eddie Foy · Mar 15, 2023

gpepperd said:
Very cool but nothing a Mackey SQ-12 couldn’t do.

But if you miss the touchdown point, you die!! That pilot has extreme confidence in his ability and brass balls!

tempdoug · Mar 15, 2023

Eddie Foy said:
But if you miss the touchdown point, you die!! That pilot has extreme confidence in his ability and brass balls!

why is that? you dont want to be short, but long, hit the throttle and push the stick ahead.

frequent_flyer · Mar 16, 2023

frequent_flyer said:
It seems the planned mains contact was between the ramp and the white circle and that's where it did touch.

Tire marks were left on the white surface of the ramp that covered the railing. I'll guess that's about 2 feet short of target. The added ramp was in two parts and the white boards are the outer edge.

cubflier · Mar 16, 2023

I thought it was a well executed stunt. But, up here you can find that sort of challenge without going to Dubai.

Up the Knik is a place with similar qualities. The sand dunes at the top of the gorge offer a practice place for that type of landing if you feel the need.

The approach end has a high berm you have to descend over.

The sides are somewhat steep so it seems like a helipad.

The view is pretty good too.

It does come with consequences so be careful.

And yes, there was a head wind.

Jerry

Olibuilt · Mar 16, 2023

cubflier said:
I thought it was a well executed stunt.

Up the Knik is a place with similar qualities.

Jerry

I remember seeing a youtube video where a SuperCub guy broke a landing gear on a similar spot.

It was an awesome video, but can't compare to a 600' building top helipad landing, for what I think...

cubflier · Mar 16, 2023

Olibuilt said:
I remember seeing a youtube video where a SuperCub guy broke a landing gear on a similar spot.

It was an awesome video, but can't compare to a 600' building top helipad landing, for what I think...

Now thats funny! It wasn't a gear though8). The costs of having a good time.

Jerry

HalfTonChamp · Mar 17, 2023

You know this probably all started with a 'triple dog dare'.

tempdoug · Mar 17, 2023

HalfTonChamp said:
You know this probably all started with a 'triple dog dare'.

I heard it was a, hold my beer and watch this.

stid2677 · Mar 17, 2023

Bearhawk Builder said:
All three times the left wing dipped. Wing tip must have been close, imagine spinning off the top of the building sideways !

I too noticed that and it made me wonder if was caused by the camera and pole on that side.

RedOwlAirfield · Mar 18, 2023

This whole archaic "Look at me! I'm a pilot" schtick really chaps my hide.

This falls into the same category as Air Racing these days. It's all about the pilots ego - and I hate to have that be what is presented to the public about our mutual interest. This one really bugs me because there was absolutely no need to do the actual stunt - once their practice protocol had been achieved. They marked out a replica of the show locale in a safe spot and the pilot practiced. No doubt it took a while but surely the practicality of the concept once it was shown that the landing could be done practically and safely - and ( an assumption here but one I think is reasonable) consistently.

We're not proving innovation. That was proven by the practice protocol. We're not doing PR. Closing down a beach frequented by some of the richest folks in the world is not a net positive for PR. And we're not even sparking imagination or promoting aviation. The stunt promoted the hubris of the pilot and the "Wow. Aren't I radical!" personalities of those engaged in it. To my mind this is just like that guy who jumped out of his Tcrate last year - something getting done that the public and those less aware aviation types believed was a giant thing of immeasurable danger. Titillation of the basest sort. I just hate to see aviation debased in this way.

I know most folks here aren't going to agree with me. I support your right to your opinion. I've been waiting for this to go away so I could just let it fade and forget about it. But it kept coming up and the straw tickled the camel one time too many. So I thank you for allowing me to vent. I'll go back to lurking now.

frequent_flyer · Mar 18, 2023

RedOwlAirfield said:
It's all about the pilots ego

I doubt it was the pilot who was the lead instigator and I doubt that anyone not directly involved will remember the pilot's name in a couple of weeks. People will remember that a Red Bull aircraft landed on a helipad high up on a hotel. A few may even have looked at an atlas to see where Dubai is. Some may even buy more Red Bull products.

Compared to the airplane swapping skydive stunt that cost 2 pilots their licenses I'd say this was a well organized and legal publicity stunt. But no, I'm not going to start drinking Red Bull.

Farmboy · Mar 18, 2023

I’m riding the fence a bit on this as I see both sides. I do think it was a big PR stunt by the two companies, but there’s a lot of validity to RedOwl’s statement.

Sadly, what is stating to irk me now is how it’s blown up all over social media as the next coming of Christ. And while I seriously respect Mike Patey, he’s pushing his involvement hard, for what seems to be just for self promotion?

Maybe I’m just getting old and grumpy.

Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org

aeroaddict · Mar 18, 2023

'Self Promotion' is a modern and very successful business model. Who would have thought?

Generalizing here: for us that have the wonderful opportunity to do what we do, I view the video as an overall positive for aviation. I have received comments from friends that are not pilots and thought it was amazing. Younger (or older, whatever that means) people might take that first step towards aviation.

Dave Calkins · Mar 18, 2023

Knik practice strip. 12mph wind. sounds like more on the camera mic

this is a frame grab of Kazoom. the video link is in my next post.

short video

Dave Calkins · Mar 18, 2023

Knik practice strip. 12mph wind. sounds like more on the camera mic

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4EDbUn0_2rg

cubflier · Mar 19, 2023

The Cuzoom brought back some fond memories of a smiling face and a real nice guy. Eddie was always good to run into in the Knik or Valdez. That's where/when the current SQ stuff started. It was fun to watch back then and still is now.

Jerry

GreggB · Mar 19, 2023

Farmboy said:
I’m riding the fence a bit on this as I see both sides. I do think it was a big PR stunt by the two companies, but there’s a lot of validity to RedOwl’s statement.

Sadly, what is stating to irk me now is how it’s blown up all over social media as the next coming of Christ. And while I seriously respect Mike Patey, he’s pushing his involvement hard, for what seems to be just for self promotion?

Maybe I’m just getting old and grumpy.

Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org

Don't engage. I've watched about thirty seconds of it. I think the stunt was cool, and like you and others I don't care about the promotion or backstory drama BS. I heard about the stunt, watched the landing, just the landing, and got on with my life.

mam90 · Mar 19, 2023

Just imagine the negative press and impact on GA if he’d messed up. What would this forum be talking about now if he ended up in a smoking pile at the bottom of the building? Risk/reward matrix doesn’t add up for me. But that’s just me. I say the same thing about a lot of shi, or rather stuff I see on YouTube.

Narwhal · Mar 19, 2023

I thought it was cool, but obviously I'm a sucker for marketing since I bought a carbon cub :smile:. And not even the really light good kind that can takeoff and land in 75 feet with calm wind like this, but the expensive-er heavy kind!

mam90 · Mar 19, 2023

Ha ha! I get it, I guess I’m just showing my age. Back in “the day” when we wanted to try something cool, we did our best to make sure NOBODY saw us…. Today, it’s just the opposite..&#55357;&#56842;

Steve Pierce · Mar 19, 2023

I like doing dumb stuff. Over time I have gotten better at it. Don't really do it for others, I just like the rush I get from doing it. My Mom thinks I am crazy but my Dad gets it. My wife and kids just expect it. I just have limited budget and resources.

cubflier · Mar 19, 2023

mam90 said:
Ha ha! I get it, I guess I’m just showing my age. Back in “the day” when we wanted to try something cool, we did our best to make sure NOBODY saw us…. Today, it’s just the opposite..��

That's probably because Al had not invented the internet and a video camera back in "the day" looked like a large Bazooka.:smile:

Actually it's not as bad as you think. The Knik has been my back yard for over 40 years and during that time aircraft performance and the way people practice has changed too. Now there are multiple well marked practice strips around and people take practice very seriously. People drill on these practice till they gain proficiency. From there they may transition strips with increasing consequence, not so they can do the look at me stuff but so they get their head around concept of what consequence adds to the flying equation.

What amazing me is the lack of airplane parts around these difficult landing spots. The most of the parts piles I know of seem to be for no reason and in the some of more open areas with easy landing possibilities. If there are pilots acting on dares and the like I sure haven't seen it.

As for the Red Bull video I just look at it like a poorly poured beer. So much foam - so little beer.

And I was able to enjoy what little beer was in the bottom of the glass without getting mad at the guy that poured it.

:smile:

Jerry

Carbon Cub Lands on Heli Pad in Dubai

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