gibbons
En-Route
I took a trip over to Gaston's this evening to check out the condition of the runway and visit with Danny about this weekend. Everything looks great. I DO NOT want to give anyone any advice about coming or going, but I thought I share my own thought process with you. You are, after all, PIC.
The runway:
The runway is dry and is in very good shape. There was a B55 on the ramp and Danny said that three Mooneys came in last week and the pilots proclaimed the runway "excellent". I walked the entire runway west to east and back again. There are signs of moles off to the sides of the runway, but not enough of a problem to impact and airplane (IMHO) and pretty far off to the sides. I have almost two hours in Mooneys so I don't have an opinion about that, but I suspect the Mooney pilots will find the runway acceptable. YMMV.
The runway is about 50' wide at the east (approach) end and they have these stupid white hitching posts along the sides - who knows why? The first set of posts starts at the east end of the runway. There is another post 300' down the runway. Then the runway opens up and the next hitching post is approximately 500' down the runway. As for me, approaching pretty blind, I'm aiming to touch down about 500' to 800' beyond the approach end, where the runway is approximately 80' wide. If I were flying a C172 or anything else I could see out of this wouldn't be a factor. Further down (toward the west) the runway is over 100' wide. My touchdown today was about 200' past the approach end and it (the runway width) was a bit tight for a blind roll-out. If I were flying a Cessna 195 I'd probably give up the first 500' of runway, but I've never flown one so I'm only speculating.
I didn't see any bad spots within 50' of the centerline of the runway. The secret for me is to not come in too hot and to not let the trees at the east end of the runway mess with my head. The runway is 3,200' long with an overrun area on the west side. If I'm not too hot I don't have to worry about the length.
The Approach:
As I came in there was a NORDO airplane in the pattern. Head on a swivel!!! The unicom is 122.8 and on downwind and base it's not possible to see departing traffic. I plan to make my approaches to landing by crossing the runway north to south so folks on the ground know I'm there and so I can see any departing traffic. I plan to use the radio to announce my position on downwind, base, and final. I would plan to have all of my landing and taxi lights turned on if I had any. I plan to be prepared to go around at any time and to have enough fuel to abort a landing or two. But that's just me. You do what you think is best
There is a little airport called The Valley about 4 NM south and a just bit east of Gaston's. Just south of there is a big flat area. I intend to do any of my aerobatic flying in that area, so please keep me in mind if you're approaching from the south. I'll monitor 122.8 out there. There will probably be a Citabria around somewhere too, but I don't have that on good information.
The Departure:
It's going to be hot, hot, hot. I plan to keep my weight in mind as I prepare to depart. Although the hill to the east of the airport looks daunting on takeoff, it's about 1/2 mile from the departure end of the airport and a slight right turn will take me down the river while I climb. There are some power lines that cross the river about 3/4 mile off the departure end, but if I hit those I'm too stupid to be flying anyway. I also plan to be ready to shut it down if I see someone come around the bend on final while I'm rolling on my departure. I plan to be very, very aware of traffic in the area.
Parking:
I plan to get there early so I can park away from the runway. When there are a lot of airplanes there they park down the north side of the runway - where anyone in a Cessna 195 or Extra can hit them if they're not careful.
What I'm trying to say is that the runway is in excellent condition and if everyone will listen up, look out, and be ready for a go-around we'll have a really great weekend. Danny is excited about having all of us there (duh $$$). It is NOT a difficult place to land if you don't think about everyone watching you and grading your landing.
I've posted photos of my trip at this address (too many to post here):
http://www.eaa732.org/eaa_display_gallery.asp?token=48&f=t&n=Upcoming%20Gaston's%20Fly-In
(sorry it's slow... it's a free site)
Looking forward to seeing everyone there this weekend !!!
The runway:
The runway is dry and is in very good shape. There was a B55 on the ramp and Danny said that three Mooneys came in last week and the pilots proclaimed the runway "excellent". I walked the entire runway west to east and back again. There are signs of moles off to the sides of the runway, but not enough of a problem to impact and airplane (IMHO) and pretty far off to the sides. I have almost two hours in Mooneys so I don't have an opinion about that, but I suspect the Mooney pilots will find the runway acceptable. YMMV.
The runway is about 50' wide at the east (approach) end and they have these stupid white hitching posts along the sides - who knows why? The first set of posts starts at the east end of the runway. There is another post 300' down the runway. Then the runway opens up and the next hitching post is approximately 500' down the runway. As for me, approaching pretty blind, I'm aiming to touch down about 500' to 800' beyond the approach end, where the runway is approximately 80' wide. If I were flying a C172 or anything else I could see out of this wouldn't be a factor. Further down (toward the west) the runway is over 100' wide. My touchdown today was about 200' past the approach end and it (the runway width) was a bit tight for a blind roll-out. If I were flying a Cessna 195 I'd probably give up the first 500' of runway, but I've never flown one so I'm only speculating.
I didn't see any bad spots within 50' of the centerline of the runway. The secret for me is to not come in too hot and to not let the trees at the east end of the runway mess with my head. The runway is 3,200' long with an overrun area on the west side. If I'm not too hot I don't have to worry about the length.
The Approach:
As I came in there was a NORDO airplane in the pattern. Head on a swivel!!! The unicom is 122.8 and on downwind and base it's not possible to see departing traffic. I plan to make my approaches to landing by crossing the runway north to south so folks on the ground know I'm there and so I can see any departing traffic. I plan to use the radio to announce my position on downwind, base, and final. I would plan to have all of my landing and taxi lights turned on if I had any. I plan to be prepared to go around at any time and to have enough fuel to abort a landing or two. But that's just me. You do what you think is best
There is a little airport called The Valley about 4 NM south and a just bit east of Gaston's. Just south of there is a big flat area. I intend to do any of my aerobatic flying in that area, so please keep me in mind if you're approaching from the south. I'll monitor 122.8 out there. There will probably be a Citabria around somewhere too, but I don't have that on good information.
The Departure:
It's going to be hot, hot, hot. I plan to keep my weight in mind as I prepare to depart. Although the hill to the east of the airport looks daunting on takeoff, it's about 1/2 mile from the departure end of the airport and a slight right turn will take me down the river while I climb. There are some power lines that cross the river about 3/4 mile off the departure end, but if I hit those I'm too stupid to be flying anyway. I also plan to be ready to shut it down if I see someone come around the bend on final while I'm rolling on my departure. I plan to be very, very aware of traffic in the area.
Parking:
I plan to get there early so I can park away from the runway. When there are a lot of airplanes there they park down the north side of the runway - where anyone in a Cessna 195 or Extra can hit them if they're not careful.
What I'm trying to say is that the runway is in excellent condition and if everyone will listen up, look out, and be ready for a go-around we'll have a really great weekend. Danny is excited about having all of us there (duh $$$). It is NOT a difficult place to land if you don't think about everyone watching you and grading your landing.
I've posted photos of my trip at this address (too many to post here):
http://www.eaa732.org/eaa_display_gallery.asp?token=48&f=t&n=Upcoming%20Gaston's%20Fly-In
(sorry it's slow... it's a free site)
Looking forward to seeing everyone there this weekend !!!
