Pik 'n Pig update [pics]

midlifeflyer said:
They are generally called "obstacles."

BTW, did you catch my correction? 35 feet over 2500 feet.

it was private use for years before becoming public use. Kinda what "not long ago...was" means,
Click to expand...

honestly I think you're high on something, like literally smoking crack. have u ever flown into 14A? THAT runway is listed in the chart supplement as having a 1% slope over 3100'. if you stand on the #'s of rwy 14 you can't see the far end of the rwy. there is ZERO comparison between that runway and the pig. if you land southeast at 14A and do nothing, u will quickly come to a stop and eventually start rolling backwards. I'll bet if you placed 10,000 marbles on the runway at the pig, not one would move an inch.

upload_2022-1-4_19-53-31.png
 
N659HB said:
You notice those upslope trees more closely in a 65HP taildragger...

Next time I’m departing downslope, tailwind or no!
Click to expand...
Pilots tend to notice the trees whether landing or taking off over them. Plus, a 2500' runway (2200' if landing over/through the trees on 31) seems very short to those who are used to 5,000' and more. It's really a matter of perspective. I received a comment to the video asking whether it was tight landing a DA40 there.

personally, I find the illusion of speed due to the relatively narrow runway more interesting than the trees.
 
eman1200 said:
honestly I think you're high on something, like literally smoking crack. have u ever flown into 14A? THAT runway is listed in the chart supplement as having a 1% slope over 3100'. if you stand on the #'s of rwy 14 you can't see the far end of the rwy. there is ZERO comparison between that runway and the pig. if you land southeast at 14A and do nothing, u will quickly come to a stop and eventually start rolling backwards. I'll bet if you placed 10,000 marbles on the runway at the pig, not one would move an inch.

View attachment 103405
Click to expand...
All I know is that it is the runway that I have to do the most go arounds, by far. I swear I have to go around 50% of the time. Plus, I have hard time finding the airport itself. Ocracoke is easy compared to BQ1.
 
Morgan3820 said:
All I know is that it is the runway that I have to do the most go arounds, by far. I swear I have to go around 50% of the time. Plus, I have hard time finding the airport itself. Ocracoke is easy compared to BQ1.
Click to expand...

no arguments about there being other challenges....trees, short, narrow, privately owned 10 years ago (??), etc..... just disagree with a slope of any significance whatsoever.
 
Morgan3820 said:
All I know is that it is the runway that I have to do the most go arounds, by far. I swear I have to go around 50% of the time. Plus, I have hard time finding the airport itself. Ocracoke is easy compared to BQ1.
Click to expand...

eman1200 said:
no arguments about there being other challenges....trees, short, narrow, privately owned 10 years ago (??), etc..... just disagree with a slope of any significance whatsoever.
Click to expand...

Harder than Willow Grove? Easier?
 
I haven't been there since it became BQ1 (5 or so years ago?), but at least now that it's a public use airport my GPS won't be squawking terrain alerts on final.
 
Bill said:
@eman1200 has, he'll know!
Click to expand...

Interesting comparison because the pig is actually 300’ shorter than Wilgrove was, but the grove seemed harder to land at. Landing 17 at the grove was similar to landing 31 at the pig in that you had to come over the trees then drop pretty quickly (they have since carved out a little lane in the trees on 31 which makes it easier). Landing 35 at the grove you had this one mongo tree right in your flight path on final. At the pig they shaved down the trees on the 13 approach end which made that the preferred runway to land on. Again, never have I heard a single person claim one was better at the pig due to slope (until now). I’ve been to the pig in cherokees, archers, a lance and a mooney and not for one nanosecond did I ever think one rwy was better to takeoff/land due to slope. Taking off 13 you got up close and personal with the trees at the end, that’s fo sho. I feel like that wind sock consistently bounced around more than any other place I’ve been to. At both places I considered the runway a sidewalk. I think both were 36’ wide. Both are difficult to spot if you haven’t been there before. Typically I’d be going to the pig from the west so I knew where it was but one time I took a detour there from another direction and had some trouble spotting it. The grove had a water tower you could look for, although there is one kinda near the pig as well. Because of the small size of the runways, both could be a challenge for the low timer who flies out of a ‘normal’ sized runway. FLY THE RIGHT NUMBERS at either location and it was no problem. I do, however, see more go around a and locked up brakes at the pig than I ever saw at the grove. It’s a regular event on the weekends at the pig.

I’m still baffled at the thought of any meaningful slope at the pig. I guess next time I’ll have to look for it.
 
There is a slope at BQ1, no it is not significant. For me though, I take advantage of every mechanical advantage when crossing the threshold at 80 kts on a 2500 strip. I always land 13 and takeoff 31 and would never do differently.
 
My two cents, I having landed there about a dozen times, runway 13 definitely has a slope up, in fact that’s my preferred approach. 30 feet difference seems about right. Someone else mentions the slope in Foreflight comments. FWIW
 
eman1200 said:
Landing 35 at the grove you had this one mongo tree right in your flight path on final.
Click to expand...

I have a couple of vids of our landings over that mongo tree. On the ground it doesn't look so intimidating, in the air you're like "Who the f$*! put that big @#&^ tree on short final?" It's pretty intimidating when landing there the first time.
 
I have landed at BQ1 many times since it opened years ago. My home airport is 25 miles west of BQ1. I fly an F35 Bonanza and C195. The wind is almost always a crosswind. I usually land 13 and depart 31 unless the wind is really blowing and favoring 13. I have watched many a pilot depart on 13 and fly close to the trees. It is a bad feeling taking off on a hot summer day, uphill, and then have to hold the nose down to keep flying speed when approaching tall trees. Since they cleared the approach end of 13, it is a big improvement over the old days.

I have flown from short grass strips most of my life...most had a slope that you tried to use for your advantage when possible.
 
Brad Z said:
I haven't been there since it became BQ1 (5 or so years ago?), but at least now that it's a public use airport my GPS won't be squawking terrain alerts on final.
Click to expand...
Not sure. It changed from 5NC3 to BQ1 late summer/early fall of 2015. it was still 5NC3 in the summer of 2015 but I would expect some lag time between the opening to public use and the ID change. OTOH, I'm pretty sure the first time or two I flew in, 2013 and 2014, it was still private (although all coming to the PnP were welcome).
 
Bill said:
I have a couple of vids of our landings over that mongo tree. On the ground it doesn't look so intimidating, in the air you're like "Who the f$*! put that big @#&^ tree on short final?" It's pretty intimidating when landing there the first time.
Click to expand...
One those trees - right in the middle of the approach path, seems to have regrown quite a bit. When I flew in that day, there was a "hey! What's that doing there?" moment.
 
The Pilotworkshops VFR scenario was based on my experience at that airport. The slope was something I observed visually and was just something else to add to the list. It was more about the trees at the end, something which used to be a significant factor at my home airport before they finally cut them down.

So, we had: short field, hot day, had just refueled at HRJ, uphill in a plane with a poor initial climb gradient and obstacles. Everyone, literally everyone, was departing rwy 13 in those conditions. This was a rare instance where I felt the need to depart opposite direction and accept the slight tailwind because of the specific characteristics of my plane.

It snuck up on me because it's easy to assume that if land somewhere, then surely you can depart as well without issue. That, coupled with a long-range XC mindset where the final destination is another 3-4 hours away, and this was just a quick lunch stop after a separate fuel stop....it can be easy to skip the planning and just assume that all is well. Those were probably the biggest takeaways for me, and a reminder that you're more likely to die from a small oversight than you are while hand flying an approach to minimums.
 
Who started the vicious March opening rumor?! Glad they're making progress.
 
Well, I decided to Google “OG” as I thought that might result in an answer but it seems to mostly mean original gangster, which makes no sense at all, or possibly just original, which does fit the context of the story. But why not just write “original”? It’s a bbq place out in the country whose clientele is mostly older folks, not young punk wannabe gangsters.
 
Well those terms make sense in the context of the story but the abbreviation still doesn’t. Heck, about the only OG that I can come up with that could have any relevance to the Pig would be “oinker grub”. Regardless, I’m looking forward to eating there again. Sometime.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Well those terms make sense in the context of the story but the abbreviation still doesn’t. Heck, about the only OG that I can come up with that could have any relevance to the Pig would be “oinker grub”. Regardless, I’m looking forward to eating there again. Sometime.
Click to expand...
OG is a term the kids use. Get off my lawn.
 
Thanks for making me feel young you bunch of OGs.
 
if I had to guess, ZERO chance of them opening up before year end. still a lot of work to do.
 
Back in the summer, a friend of mine talked with the previous owner's son, who is now in charge of opening and running the business. The kitchen equipment was not ordered prior to the renovation, thus we will be waiting a while before the necessary equipment arrives, staff is hired, inspection completed, etc.

So...I guess it is KMTV, KHKY, Stantons BBQ, or a trip to KSUT for a seafood lunch.
 
Last edited:
I have not flown to Stanton's in a few years..a friend of mine went last year and remarked the grass was a bit high. I believe the airstrip owner has no connection to the restaurant...just keeps the field as a favor.
 
I went there about a year or so ago and yeah the grass was a lil high but still fine for the mooney. Maybe it was more than a year ago, I dunno. No idea what it’s like now though.
 
Stanton's presents a challenge for FlightsForBites.com since it isn't adjacent to an official airport. In addition to on airport, short walk, short drive and long drive, I'll need to add a "short flight" airport proximity option :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top