Finally flew again today...

[Jay Honeck]

...and had my closest call, ever!

Strangely, it occurred while taxiing out. We received a couple of more inches of snow last night, and our FBO didn't get out to plow until late morning. So, no problem -- we shoveled out in front of our own hangar, and taxiing in fluffy snow is no big deal...

As we're starting up Atlas (Our Cherokee Pathfinder 235) the snow plows show up and start moving snow. As I taxi out to the runway, I must go past several rows of T-hangars, and the plows are working up and down those rows.

Taxiing around the corner of hangars, I see the guy driving the smallest plow (mounted on a pickup truck) is in reverse, coming BACKWARDS toward me at a high rate of speed! He's taking long swipes down the entire length in front of that row of T-hangars, not even THINKING that there might be someone behind him!

I see the collision course we're on, and hit the binders. No dice -- we're just sliding toward the inevitable crash... I'm yelling pointlessly, instinctively (stupidly) cranking the yoke over like a car, Mary's screaming...

...and the guy stops. He puts it in "drive", and takes another long, hard run at the snow. He never once looked over his shoulder, and never saw how close he had come to turning Atlas into a pile of scrap aluminum.

After that, everything was a piece of cake. After cleaning out my shorts, I had to do an "on-the-roll" run-up, with no dry pavement to park on, and the runway was solid snow and ice (with a gusting-to-20 wind right down it), but the sky was clear as a bell and -- once we got above the haze layer -- it was smoooooth as a baby's bottom. We saw 179 knot ground speeds at 3000 feet, with sustained 1500 FPM climb rates. OAT was 13 above zero.

We tried to fly to nearby Muscatine for brunch, but they hadn't even plowed the wind-favored runway yet -- and I wasn't going to brave a 70-degree crosswind on an ice-covered runway -- so I just did a low approach to scare the plow driver and headed back to KIOW where I did three touch & goes.

MAN, it felt good to fly again -- this was our first time up since early November -- our longest lay-off EVER.

 

[bbchien]

Jay, I have a small handheld compressed gas can powered airhorn for just that sort of situation. I have only used it once, out the little window by the left shoulder. It works.

 

[SCCutler]

(Chuckle).

Remember that scene in "Fandango," when Truman Sparks pulls up outside the girl's house in a 172, and honks the horn?

---

I almost got creamed by a hot-shot in a Porsche a little while back; there's a car leasing and resale outfit that has a large hangar, and several T-hangars, leased for operations which do not involve airplanes at all, and there are employees who have no concept at all of right-of-way (as in, the airplane has it, dimbulb!).

 

[AcroBoy]

There was a moron on our field who use to drive his junker sports car around and between the hangars at high speed. We got tired of this and called the FBO and asked them to gently remind him how it was kind of risky with all of the planes around. He figured out who called and then came roaring up to our hangar and verbally let loose on us. I told him that I was sorry that I had mistakenly called the FBO, when I should have actually called the sheriff's department, who has jurisdiction regarding law enforcement on the field. Never saw him again, and never felt a day of remorse about calling either. It would have been a lot worse if he hit a plane on the ramp.

 

[nyoung]

That is a really good idea, thanks Bruce!

Jay, I have a small handheld compressed gas can powered airhorn for just that sort of situation. I have only used it once, out the little window by the left shoulder. It works.

 

[nyoung]

Wow - I am surprised your airport allows this. Most have a clause in their lease agreements that specifically disallow any non-aviation related activities including storage.

Curious - Is there a waiting list for hangars at your airport?

(Chuckle).
I almost got creamed by a hot-shot in a Porsche a little while back; there's a car leasing and resale outfit that has a large hangar, and several T-hangars, leased for operations which do not involve airplanes at all, and there are employees who have no concept at all of right-of-way (as in, the airplane has it, dimbulb!).

 

[Erik1010]

Jay, I have a small handheld compressed gas can powered airhorn for just that sort of situation. I have only used it once, out the little window by the left shoulder. It works.

That's genius, Dr. Bruce. I'll pick up an air horn and the next time I come across one.

 

[gismo]

Wow - I am surprised your airport allows this. Most have a clause in their lease agreements that specifically disallow any non-aviation related activities including storage.

Curious - Is there a waiting list for hangars at your airport?

AFaIK, any airport that's received federal funding is required to limit the percentage of non-aviation activity but I don't think it has to be totally eliminated. At my home base, some non-aviation storage is allowed but you can't use a hangar for nothing but non-aviation stuff. It's pretty much a given that if you have at least one airplane in each stall you can add as much other junk as you please and won't be bothered. I own two stalls of a three stall hangar and there is one planes in each of my two stalls. I store my boat for the winter in one of the stalls along with a bunch of Girl Scout equipment that stays year round on an upper shelf. The third stall has two T-28s in pieces along with a car and a bunch of machinery. No one's ever bothered us about any of that.

That said, there's somebody getting away with ignoring such limitations at most airports.

 

[Jay Honeck]

Wow - I am surprised your airport allows this. Most have a clause in their lease agreements that specifically disallow any non-aviation related activities including storage.

Curious - Is there a waiting list for hangars at your airport?

Most airports have rules against "non-aviation" use of hangar space -- but (in my experience) those rules are..."flexible".

Example: Our airport now has a two-year waiting list for a hangar. However, the University of Iowa -- the 600 pound gorilla in the area -- has several hangars filled with (what appears to be) junk. There is certainly no aircraft beneath that stuff. Their claim is that they "needed" the hangars for storage while their new, larger hangar was being built.

Strangely, their new hangar is done, but I haven't heard about them vacating those hangars...

It sucks for those awaiting hangars, but when 98% of your local economy depends on a single government-owned entity, and the airport is ALSO owned by the government, what can you do?

You dance to their tune.

 

[dmccormack]

Wow - I am surprised your airport allows this. Most have a clause in their lease agreements that specifically disallow any non-aviation related activities including storage.

I'd be willing to wager that there are more hangars filled with everything but airplanes at a certain local airport -- it's the well-known secret, but the folks with antique car collections and household good stored pay the monthly bill, so....?

 

[Ghery]

That's genius, Dr. Bruce. I'll pick up an air horn and the next time I come across one.

Any boating supply store (West Marine, Boaters World, etc) will have what you're looking for.

And I'll second that, great idea. Can't say that's been a problem that I've seen at OLM. The only plane damaged by a ground vehicle that I know of was a 172 that was tied down and hit by an airport lawnmower. Made a mess of the trailing edge of the left aileron.

 

[bbchien]

That's genius, Dr. Bruce. I'll pick up an air horn and the next time I come across one.

Actually it's not genius. what do you think prompted me to buy one.....

 

[gismo]

Actually it's not genius. what do you think prompted me to buy one.....

Probably an encounter with a non-genius.

 

[SCCutler]

Wow - I am surprised your airport allows this. Most have a clause in their lease agreements that specifically disallow any non-aviation related activities including storage.

Curious - Is there a waiting list for hangars at your airport?

The area where I am is non-airport-owned (through the fence). They were pretty much driven to lease to non-aviation uses by restrictions placed on their use by the town, though.

And yes, there is a real shortage of hangars at ADS (except, of course, for the town-sanctioned, very-high-dollar hangar condos that they tore down dozens of T-hangars to build).