Land on road - lost
- Thread starter mscard88
- Start date
Velocity173
Touchdown! Greaser!
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2012
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- 16,369
- Display Name
- Velocity173
Lol! That's hilarious. I land on roads on a weekly basis...thank God for GPS. 
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2008
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- 6,260
- Location
- Indian Hills Airpark Salome, AZ
- Display Name
- N1431A
- Home Airfield
- 2AZ1
Many years ago I came within an inch of landing on a road to ask directions. In 1955 I was a solo student earning flight time by working as a line boy and mechanics helper at a flight school in Glendale Calif. I had built up enough time for my student x-country. The flight was planned from Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale to San Diego then to Tucson AZ where I'd RON with an Air Force major family friend to return the next day.
I departed in a Aeronca Champ with one finger on the chart and my eye on the compass. All went well and I landed at San Diego and got some fuel. Now heading east, somehow my finger wandered off the chart, and I began watching a road rather then the compass. Before I knew it, the road had turned into dirt, and I had no idea of where I was.
I finally came to a small town with very wide dirt streets. I was setting up to land and get some directions when some men came out and began waving their arms and pointing.
I flew in the direction they pointed and landed at Mexicali on the Mexican side. I had to clear customs and was on my way. I finally found my was to Tucson much much later than planned.
The return trip my finger was on the chart and my eye on the compass all the way and the trip went uneventfully.
On a side note my father and the school got into a screaming match when I was overdue at Tucson. As a result I was thrown out of the school at Glendale and had to go to Whiteman Airpark to finish. I got my Private 3 weeks after my 17th birthday with an extra 10 hours or so.
Paul
Salome, AZ
I departed in a Aeronca Champ with one finger on the chart and my eye on the compass. All went well and I landed at San Diego and got some fuel. Now heading east, somehow my finger wandered off the chart, and I began watching a road rather then the compass. Before I knew it, the road had turned into dirt, and I had no idea of where I was.
I finally came to a small town with very wide dirt streets. I was setting up to land and get some directions when some men came out and began waving their arms and pointing.
I flew in the direction they pointed and landed at Mexicali on the Mexican side. I had to clear customs and was on my way. I finally found my was to Tucson much much later than planned.
The return trip my finger was on the chart and my eye on the compass all the way and the trip went uneventfully.
On a side note my father and the school got into a screaming match when I was overdue at Tucson. As a result I was thrown out of the school at Glendale and had to go to Whiteman Airpark to finish. I got my Private 3 weeks after my 17th birthday with an extra 10 hours or so.
Paul
Salome, AZ