Chris Walker Wrote:
=======================================================
> 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.
Flogging a dead horse, but the anecdote in the manual says they fly out of AJO (Arizona?) with a 3,200' runway. Supercharging negates the loss of atmospheric pressure. ( you lose roughly 1/2 lb. of pressure for every 1,000 feet you go above sea level.) Finally, I've seen a DC-3 at a Jefferson county Airport air show use much less then 1/2 of the runway to get air borne. (5,380 feet elevation.)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2015 06:42PM by HighCommander.
