Flying backwards

As I was learning my instructor used to take the plane in a stiff wind (no such thing as too much wind to learn in) and fly it backwards just for fun.

Heard a story some years ago about a Doctor in Texas. He would service a number of remote towns by flying to them in his Piper Cub. One time they were having some stormy weather when he got called for an emergency. He took off and headed into the wind. After some time he finally landed only to find he was a number of miles behind where he took off. Must have been some headwind.

Yea, right. Any "real" pilot would know that he wasn't landing where he was supposed to be. After all, there ARE such things as ADF's and other directional finding equipment even on the most basic planes. Sounds like a made up urban legend to me.

MJC

A basic Cub will barely have an altimeter, airspeed indicator, RPM, and magnetic compass.

Although I would take anything C.O. says with a grain of salt, I think this IS barely possible. Without an ADF, all the compass will indicate is the heading, which won't change if the plane is being blown straight backwards. Just playing devil's advocate here... Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!"

As an old Cub driver, I can't imagine how anyone, not sight impaired, can look down and not see that the land was moving in the wrong direction!

Point well taken. I was about to suggest "clouds", but a Cub doesn't hardly get up that high. :) Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!"

Last time I looked at a CUB it did have that most useful of navigational aid... WINDOWS!

Come on. Does anyone really think a pilot could take off, not notice he's going BACKWARDS but still manages to find a runway and still doesn't notice its the same field he just left.

Back when the national speed limit was 55, I was flying south parallel to a well traveled and tightly enforced speed limit freeway and into a head wind. It really distressed me to see that I was being passed by 18 wheelers. I would see one at the rear end of the wheel pant and a few minutes later he would be at the front of the wheel pant. Wind, love it or don't fly.

Obviously, you don't know the difference between a ?Flying Story' and a ?Fairy Tail.'

The Flying Story begins with: "No, @%#$^&! This really happened....."

Did this a few (well, several) years ago with a Sr. Telemaster...

Having fun landing backwards in the (strong) wind until I "stuffed" the tail wheel and broke it off...

Tailwheels don't take well to being treated as nosewheels....

Dave

MJC, obviously you know not what you write! I have a Piper Cub and it does not have any radios let alone an ADF or VOR or GPS! As a matter of fact, it doesn't even have an electrical system. All I have for navigation is the old whiskey compass.

Check at the local non-controlled airports in your area and you will find a lot of these.

Now as far as the story. Did it happen? I don't know but it is feasible. Since the stall speed of a Cub is 36 MPH, it would take a wind of at least 40 MPH to cause the Cub to fly backwards. My Cub, at cruise, flys at 73 MPH and I tool around sometimes at 50 MPH when I want to sight see.

Dan

Built a "Buhl Pup" sorta-scale model, powered by an OS-15. It was a nice calm day to start, but you could tell it was gonna blow later (An eye every SE New Mexican develops). Took off with the thing--it was cute, flew pretty well, grossly under--powered, though. The wind hit 5 minutes later. Luckily, the craft was upwind of me. Took 100yds to land the thing--all backwards, at full "power", such as it was....

Hey, I remember doing the same thing riding in the jump seat of UH-IH 'huey.' Trucks and cars on the freeway below going faster than we were.

I thought MJC had a Commercial license and instructor rating. That's what he told me one time when we were discussing stalls or something. I guess my Commercial License and Instructor and IFR and Aircraft Maintenance Engineer tickets and ownership of a "basic" airplane without an ADF leaves me ignorant of the real world...

Dan

Gee, is the engine a DIESEL?

Aircraft engines have magneto ignition Paul - it's quite common for older aircraft to have no electrics as in no generator, starter, battery etc. Some may have a retrofitted small battery to run a simple radio. That's one of the reasons you never turn an aircraft propeller unless you intend to start it. The mag (ignition) switches simply earth out the points so if a switch goes bad or a wire or connection fail, the mag is live and will fire, especially if it's the impulse one......

Cheers, David

And I thought most people here would realize that two planes of the same make and model could in fact have vastly different panels. It all depends on what the owners have done over the years. And the older the design the more differences you can find.

I decided to try my NexStar's luck today in the storm we have blowing through Phoenix. Winds on the ground were approximately 14 MPH. The wind was strong enough to blow the plane around in a circle on the runway and then onto its side. On my second attempt I got it into the air and was able to land the plane, VERTICALLY, into the wind with about 20% throttle. Shortly thereafter the wind tossed the plane on its back and I knew I had better pack it up and go home. Fun times!

-Steve > An interesting experience today. I was flying the slinger (cheap foamie

I was being facetious.

A magneto still works on electricity and you still have kill switches and the associated wiring. And they usually come in pairs.