Peter wrote:
What is the actual difference
The actual difference is that the thread is about operation, and eventual mishap, on fields on which few certified aircraft are capable to operate in the first place. Or would one really fancy a trip to Bute or equivalent strip with for instance say… a Trinidad?
Peter wrote:
You must have a really perfect maintenance industry up there in Norway
Not exactly. Our Super Decathlon has been grounded all summer, and still is, purely due to poor (insanely poor) previous reparations and fixes that has caused more damage. I also can never forget the Pawnee. Fresh out of yearly maintenance at more than €10k. I was the first to fly it, and grounded it there and then due to spark plug wires hanging lose. Only 6-7 out of 12 was in proper condition (airworthy according to the POH). If you want something done properly, do it yourself. Or at least know someone who you know for a fact will do a proper job, which is easier said than done.
I had a flat tire on a frozen lake once 
in -10. Then I wondered hard for a while what to do. But it got solved easily in the end
on fields on which few certified aircraft are capable to operate in the first place.
But Bute isn’t like that. It was built for fixed wing air ambulance. Practically any light GA aeroplane can operate there if the pilot is willing to pay attention. Bute’s runway is wide and well drained. It’s even longer than my home runway, and we had one of these contraptions here a while ago:
Jacko wrote:
any light GA aeroplane can operate there
I certainly don’t think any, but you’re right if you mean saying that not only UL and homebuilts can fly there, there are quite a few certified airplanes that can/could easily, and “safely” fly in there. To name a few, a Cub or Supercub, most Jodels etc, should have no problem.
OTOH I would not venture into Bute in say a Trinidad, Mooney, Bonanza, etc… maybe some people do, have done so or will, but safety margins can only be reduced by a certain amount.
Bonanza would go in there just fine, and the airfield isn’t obstructed any more by the looks of that video – so the Bonanza isn’t a bad aircraft for those types of field. I used to operate an S-35 into and out of the Soaring Club of Houston, while not short like Bute it was basically graded cow pasture. The Bonanza has decent sized wheels, decent amount of clearance for the landing gear doors, and the prop isn’t too close to the ground (at least the 3 blade prop we had on our club Bonanza). The flaps on the Bonanza are very effective Fowler flaps which keeps the landing speeds down – a lot of pilots seem to land them far too fast or only use the speed for gross weight (IIRC, the ABS suggests you reduce the approach speed by 1kt for each 100lb below gross, so for example 2 POB with half fuel this makes quite a difference in speed).
I wouldn’t take a Cherokee 140 in there though, the world is round so the Cherokee 140 can get airborne :-)
