AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 81
TIME SEEMS TO STOP on the gravel bar in
the serene solitude of the Susitna River
south of Talkeetna, Alaska. An eagle
perches in a bare tree near its nest, and a
chunk of ice floats by after breaking free
upstream. No wonder gravel bar flying
attracts aviators in Alaska-it's a place
where pilots can escape from it all to fish,
commune with nature, or enjoy a rustic
cookout and campout.
This little slice of heaven on Earth is
interrupted with a reality check-Alaska
Floats and Skis owner and instructor Don
Lee cautions to be alert for bears. Judging
by the amount of scat on the gravel bar, it
seems that in late spring, with 17 hours of
daylight and high temperatures reaching
60 degrees Fahrenheit, pilots might not
be the only ones coming out of hibernation to explore.
Landing on gravel bars requires as
much preparation and judgment as it
does technique. A gravel bar "has to look
pretty darn smooth" from the air before a
pilot should even consider it as a landing
area, Lee says. He recommends evaluating the area based on six criteria.
Length. The gravel bar must be long
enough to be able to land and take off
safely. To make sure it's long enough for
the maroon-and-white tailwheel-converted Piper PA-22 that he operates,
Lee drags the tires on the gravel bar in
a wheel-landing attitude and counts to
eight. If he's able to count to eight while
on the gravel bar, then it's long enough
for operations.
Wind. "Be aware of your rising air
and your descending air," Lee says,
"take off into rising air." In short areas
with slightly uneven terrain and nearby
obstructions, it's also imperative to take
off and land into the wind.
Density of the ground. "Color is a
key indicator for ground density. Lighter
colors indicate sandy areas that are perfect for landings, while dark areas are
too wet. "If you look at these gravel bars,
there's about, I used to say 50 shades of
gray-but now I just say five shades of
gray," Lee jokes as we fly over the river.
"They are all different colors, very subtle." Sand with a glaze on it "sticks to
the tires and throws it into the propeller
when you get going, and the prop throws
it back on the windshield. It's not good,"
he says. The muck also could make the
tires kick rocks into the propeller.
Size of rocks. Rocks that are visible from the air are too big, and make
the strip too rough even for an aircraft
on tundra tires. "If you can see individual rocks from the air, they are the size
of a softball," Lee explains. In addition to
excessive roughness on the gear and aircraft, large rocks can rip through a canvas
control surface.
Avenues of escape. Note the terrain
along the approach and departure path-
does it rise steeply after the gravel bar
on the banks of a river? Are trees at the
end? Select a strip with an overrun area
in case you land a little long or fast, or if
you need to abort your takeoff.
Hazards. Watch for hazards in the
air and on the ground. Check for traffic, power lines, and bridges that might
stretch across the river. Clear the landing
area for tree stumps, large rocks, and cutbanks where water has carved through
the gravel bar. "If you can see them at all
[from the air], they are too big," cautions
Lee, explaining that hitting one could
take off the tailwheel. Also, keep an eye
out for wildlife such as moose or bears
that might wander onto the landing area.
Evaluating the gravel bar for these
criteria helps to "eliminate risk in little
slivers," Lee says. Minimizing the risk
helps increase safety margins for pilots,
passengers, and the aircraft-the tool for
accessing these treasures.
After overflying a number of gravel
bars and ruling them out one by one
based on the criteria, we finally spot one
that looks good from a couple hundred
feet up and passes the test after dragging the tires, so we set up for a pattern.
A small island of trees leads up to the
gravel bar that looks about the size of a
postage stamp, even though it is probably about 2,000 feet long. Debris marks
one end of the landing area, and a couple
of stumps are scattered at the other end
before the overrun area.
On short final, we put the PA-22
in the region of reverse command to
become "totally dependent on thrust
www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 81
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018
Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 10
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 12
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 20
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 22
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 24
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 26
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 28
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 30
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 32
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 34
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 36
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 38
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - R-1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - R-2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - R-3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - R-4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - R-5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - R-6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - R-7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - R-8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 50
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 58
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 75
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 81
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 83
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 86
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 88
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 91
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 92
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 94
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 95
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 98
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 99
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 100
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 102
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 104
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 106
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 107
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 108
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - 112
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - Cover4
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