soft field landings this morning

murl

murl

New Member
Did my first actual soft field landing this morning. I woke up with about 3inches of snow on the ground and headed to the airport. It was fun, and something out of the ordinary for me because its the first time we have had snow since I got my private. The instructor said it is not so bad in a single but in a multi with a good xwind it can get a little hairy. Any of you guys have any stories?
 
yesterday i did my first soft field landing i guess. i landed on a grass strip in the middle of no where, Crop dusting strip.it was truley a different experience.

Tommy
 
I fly out of grass all the time... I actually prefer a good grass strip!

Here's Home for me...

2500'... Trees on one side, buildings to the other side!

I love this airport (Jedburg Private, 3 nm SE of Summerville SC airport.) If anyone ever wants to come visit, just let me know and I'll send you coordinates. Not on the Sectional. We have a great A&P on the field if anyone needs work done too.
 
I have flown out of grass before, it was just my first opportunity in snow. I like grass they are alright but fields can be a little rough sometime. My instructor actually let the windshield ice over in the 150 so I couldnt see out the front, good practice I guess.
 
murl said:
I have flown out of grass before, it was just my first opportunity in snow. I like grass they are alright but fields can be a little rough sometime. My instructor actually let the windshield ice over in the 150 so I couldnt see out the front, good practice I guess.
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Good practice? I dunno...I don't like that idea. I don't know why I'd ever intentionally take off with the windshield iced over, but I wasn't on your flight, so I won't criticize too much. Just think for a minute how you would explain to accident investigators if you lost directional control on takeoff why the takeoff roll was started without being able to see ahead of you.

Anyway, cool to hear you're doing soft field takeoffs for real. Not many private pilots learn firsthand what a true soft field is like. It really makes your training "come alive" and show you why it matters when you use an actual soft field to practice soft field takeoffs and landings.
 
We didn't start with it like that. On the last landing my instructor turned the heat off and therefore the windshield built up some ice in the front, not much, just enough to not be able to see perfectly. We started getting some good precip the last time around the pattern so we decided to quit then.
 
murl said:
We didn't start with it like that. On the last landing my instructor turned the heat off and therefore the windshield built up some ice in the front, not much, just enough to not be able to see perfectly. We started getting some good precip the last time around the pattern so we decided to quit then.
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Yeah, nothing wrong with that. That's why I try not to say too much without knowing the full story! :)
 
Don't get me wrong I am a big fan of being safe at all times! I just like to experience things if I can. Then if I am ever in a real situation I like to know that hey I have done this and can handle it. Does that make sense?
 
murl said:
I have flown out of grass before, it was just my first opportunity in snow. I like grass they are alright but fields can be a little rough sometime. My instructor actually let the windshield ice over in the 150 so I couldnt see out the front, good practice I guess.
Click to expand...

If you think snow it fun... try landing on a frozen lake. You've got to do alot of planning though... like getting ice reports for the lake, getting snow depth, making a low pass over your intended landing area to look for ice drifts or any hazards.

If you do it safely, with an experienced pilot, it can be one of the most memorable landings and takeoff of your flying career.

I did mine on Great Lake Sacandaga... I'll never forget it!
 
When I trained for Short and Soft T/O and Landings my instructor took me to a grass field also. That was some of the most fun I had and something that I definitly will do for my students when I become a CFI eventually.
 
I always made it a point to take students to grass strips. It made their soft field procedures a lot better, and they got to have some fun!!
 
I went out the very next day without the instructor and did a x country. Our airport still had lots of snow on the runway, the other was cleared. It was much more difficult to navigate with everything white.
 
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