Sunday, December 17, 2017

Now THAT was exciting.

Went up today, for pattern work. Did 8 decent landings, just not all in a row. 2 bad, 2 go arounds mixed in there.

The highlight of the day was when I had just done a Go Around after a bounce. Climbed out, did a call for crosswind, then left downwind runway 18. Then called the base. Hear another call "Arrow XXXX is base runway 18......". Which is where I was.. Called and asked him to specify his position...Immediately. . "Base,18".  I looked but couldn't find him, and hadn't heard any other  position calls for him.  My instructor heard the same thing and looked and couldn't find him. Heads on a swivel looking....

Then his instructor came on and called CROSSWIND 18.  He'd just departed the runway with a call about a Cessna departing, so I am not sure WTF was going on (Cessna is like an Arrow, right???). He was, however behind me in the pattern.

Whew.

Kinda skary for me and my instructor there, for a few.


3 comments:

Old NFO said...

Yep, big sky, small airplane 'usually' works well, except in patterns...

Flugelman said...

It's the ones that DON'T make the calls that'll get ya.

Murphy's Law said...

Heh. Only thing worse than seeing another pane way too close is NOT seeing another plane way too close. I vividly recall taking evasive action to avoid a mid-air with a black Citabria one day when he crossed the field at pattern altitude as I was downwind one evening ...and he never said a word on the radio, even after I cussed him out as a "stupid fuck" on the CTAF. He's lucky I never got his N-number.