El Skonk Wrote:
=======================================================
> I don't believe a C-47/DC3 could take off from
> there on a hot day! Please see my post lower
> down!!!!
I find it interesting how threads take a turn every now and then, this is one of them. Went searching for the answer to Rich Muth's "CIA" post above and found this DC3 pilots guide [
www.douglasdc3.com] which included the following annectdote
"
DC-3s aren't unique here, all aircraft are affected by density altitude. When you read about some Cessna crashing on takeoff at Lake Tahoe on a hot day, you can bet the pilot was a flat-lander who took the family to see the big lake in the mountains and then wanted to get home before dark. So he takes off at the hottest part of the day when the heat gives the 5,000 ft asl field a density altitude of 8,000 ft. As he is crawling down the runway, he travels the distance that he normally does at sea level and pulls back on the wheel, the aircraft stalls, falls off into the start of a spin and crashes by the side of the runway. Fortunately, more attention is given to high altitude airports and density altitude now during primary instruction. However, all the instruction in the world is no substitute for the experience of performing a takeoff at a high altitude field on a hot day."
As I had said, the farm next to my Parent's farm had a strip, that was used by DC3's and Lodestar's flying fertilizer for dropping on the hill country of the East Coast. As a teenager, baling Hay in the paddock at the end of the strip I can confirm even with 5000ft of runway a fully(over?) loaded Dakota can barely get airborne on a stinking hot day. And Mangamaire is at 450ft above sealevel to boot. He wouldn't have been anymore than 20ft in the air. Having driven past Chama's strip many times it certainly didn't look long enough.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2015 12:44AM by Chris Walker.
