Trike morphing

I'm sitting here at Chicago O'Hare, enroute to DC for a trade show. (No - not in the Belite! :-)

Thanks for your input on the Belite Trike. I received great posts and feedback, not only here, but by email, and from a Yahoo Group fan as well.

(you can see our Yahoo Group at:)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/belite-aircraft/

As a result, the Trike is morphing. We're going to try and pull off the impossible, which is get a brand new Trike configured and showable for Sun N Fun.

Here's the changes coming:

1) Out with the aluminum tail boom, back to trusty chromalloy steel (benefit: any Belite can become a Trike)

2) We're 'flipping' the main gear to make it a Trike (benefit: any Belite gear can be used on a Trike)

3) Nose gear is being rebuilt using beefier aluminum (benefit: stronger)

4) I'll be playing with getting a MZ201 on this plane (benefit: better performance, but at a price).

I'm also working on some exciting avionics options, and also at one or two more ways to squeeze pounds out of airplanes. I aim to keep it interesting!

Stay tuned, fly safe, have fun!

-- James

Need input on the Trike

The Trike demonstrator has not flown since we returned from Sebring. It sustained some very minor damage as we were loading it into the truck for the return home; the Superlite was a higher priority for us to work on after we got back. Also, the move into our new workshop location had consumed four weeks of our energy.

Based on the number of inquiries on the Trike, I know people want it and it's important to get this new plane up and running.

So here's my comments, and I want your feedback:

1) We redesigned the fuselage on the Trike to use an aluminum tail boom. You can see the black powdercoated tailboom in the photo above. It looks cool. It was supposed to save weight and reduce production complexity. It doesn't really save any weight, and the additional welding complexity on the tail feathers and rear landing (now main) landing gear largely offset welding savings on the rear fuselage. Should we use the original steel welded fuselage? Or stick with the aluminum boom?

2) The main gear of the Trike were designed from the ground up to use fiberglass rods. Although strong, this involved creating a couple more weldments that require fabrication. It would be easier to use an 'A' frame rear main gear similar to, if not identical, to our existing gear on the taildragger models, and forget the fiberglass rods. In other words, changing the gear design will save some money, and make this plane more affordable.

3) The nose gear works great; but we've discovered that the strength of the aluminum on the gear is a little marginal. Nothing really to discuss here; we're rebuilding the nose gear with some stronger aluminum.

4) The ground clearance is a little high, making taxiing tips slightly more likely.

5) I think many people want this with a bigger engine (think MZ-201 with 45HP) and light wings (think carbon fiber) so that it's weight legal in part 103. This would be an option, but would cost $$.

I have to make decisions on all of these over the next two weeks.

What do you think?

Flight Review of Belite

This post was updated on June 30, 2010:

For a direct link to the Flight Review mentioned below in this post, click here:


BELITE FLIGHT REVIEW by Scott Severen



Has anyone flight reviewed a Belite?



Why YES! Someone came to Wichita and and performed an independent and thorough review of the Belite. We expect to see an article published in April, hopefully in time for distribution at Sun N Fun. Last week, Scott Severen came to our airport and took the bird through its paces. I was nervous, anxious, excited. What would happen?

Scott has a long history in the aircraft (and especially the ultralight) market, having been a principal at Airbike and TEAM aircraft. He knows his stuff. I met him at Sebring back in January, and we'd hoped to have him fly the aircraft at that time. Since that didn't work out, he came up to Wichita from his home near Dallas. He's writing the article at the request of one of our industry periodicals.



I helped Scott with a long preflight briefing -- we covered just about every nut and bolt on the airframe, along with discussions of speeds, stall technique, flying characteristics and more.

And then he took off.

Does a Belite really sound like that?

It was odd to watch our Belite fly overhead, without me in it.

I saw Scott do things with the airplane I am not (yet) capable of doing. I was amazed.

I'm looking forward to reading his entire experience and review in the article.

In the course of the day, we shot hundreds of photos. The best will be in the magazine article, but a few are in this blog.



Scott flew the Superlite, with a Hirth F23 engine. The aircraft was equipped with big tires, brakes, minimal instrumentation, carbon fiber wings, composite tail wheel spring, carbon fiber firewall, carbon fiber floorboard, carbon fiber seatback and bottom, 5 gallon spun aluminum fuel tank (beautiful), wood instrument panel (minimal, but beautiful), UV treated ceconite wings, naked tail, full 4130 black powdercoated chromalloy fuselage (safety), BRS full frame parachute (safety), electric start, dual ignition, and full wrapover windshield. The engine was spinning a 60 x 36 prop, and it ran smoothly. For a battery, I was using a 1.5 pound Lipo battery, with a quick disconnect battery plug. The engine was throttle stopped at about 75% power, which I've verified is capable of producing the fastest possible cruise in a part 103 aircraft.

Here's some things I'm hoping Scott talks about:

1) flight characteristics
2) takeoff and climb performance
3) glide rate
4) landing and runway control
5) slips
6) fun factor
7) transition requirements
8) world's best turn and bank indicator (that would be the breeze on your face) :-)
9) trim
10) stalls, both power on and power off

Scott, come on back and fly the Trike!!

Speaking of the Trike, tomorrow I'll be publishing some comments on the Trike program and where we are at.

Flying the Superlite...

The first hints of spring are emerging in Wichita. Finally, we are seeing temps in the 50's and 60's. Yesterday was such a day, which was perfect timing as the Superlite was ready to fly again.

Since Sebring, we moved into a new shop out in the countryside. We've seen deer, all kinds of birds, it's great to have wide open fields and a grass strip right next to our workshop door.

The lift strut was redesigned; the new approach is easier to fabricate. Our thought process has been to ready the airplane (and wings) for some heavy loading tests.

So I flew the plane, late yesterday afternoon and early this morning. The tests were meant to explore the top cruise speed of the Superlite and to verify stall behavior.

I flew several passes at an altitude of about 2000 feet. Winds appeared calm at altitude, with runs in both directions producing GPS verified speeds of about 57 knots -- 2 knots too high. We will either reduce engine power by another 50RPM or substitute a climb prop (at which point this little bird will no longer climb like a bottle rocket, it will climb like an space rocket).

I noted that the indicated air speed for 57 knots was around 73mph. I'll be substituting another air gauge in the near future to resolve this gross inaccuracy.

I then did several power off stalls with full flaps. Indicated air speed was around 33 mph -- remember, the gauge reads way high -- and the stalls were just a gentle bump.

When we get the Superlite tuned up, focus will return to the Trike. Both birds will be at Sun N Fun for show and flight!

The Move out into the country

We're close to finishing up a move to our new location.

Our old production location was in a conventional office space with a production area attached to it. It was located in northeast Wichita, close to KAAO (Jabara) airport. Whenever we finished an airplane, we'd fold the wings and roll it about 3/4 of a mile down 34th street, then cross busy Webb road!

Jabara is a great general aviation airport, but it is not ideal for ultralights. Even so, I never had a trouble mixing in with the pattern. I kept my pattern a little tighter, and FWIW, I didn't have much trouble keeping up with the activity. But the frequent heavy traffic (eg, business jets and so forth) aren't what I want around when I'm testing aircraft.

So we planned a move to a new location. Our new production shop is at the Wichita Gliderport, which is about 3 miles from KAAO, but not on the sectional. We now have a great production facility, on field. We share our new home with about 15 gliders and a small handful of piston aircraft. We have two grass runways, each 2600 feet long. We get to help 'mow the lawn', and when the weather's good, our back door has a beautiful view of the glider activity, as well as the deer, hawks, and critters that roam around open places.

The last two weeks have been spent with the move, and there's still a little more work to do.

Things have been cooking on the sales front. While all of the paperwork is not yet in order, we've booked 3 sales over the last two weeks for kits. We have many hundreds of folks tracking our updates (by registering on our website), and I expect we have a good shot at selling every kit we can make this year.

I'll be busy between now and Sun N Fun. We still have some more testing and work to do on the Trike, along with getting kits out the door.

Thanks for your interest. This is an adventure! I appreciate all of your input -- you have directly affected our development path.

Speaking of input, one interesting thing I've noted is that our customers are more interested in the steel tailfeathers than in the carbon fiber tail feathers. I think you're telling me that you want to see more testing on those feathers before you're comfortable buying them. That's good input.

Another upcoming test is an expanded G test on our wings. Our last test took the carbon fiber wings to 4Gs. Soon, we want to test both our carbon fiber and our 'classic' aluminum spar wing to 6Gs. I'll keep you posted.

Best Regards,

James

Belite FAQs

FAQs for Belite Aircraft and for FAR Part 103 operations. Please send me emails with other questions you’d like answered: james AT beliteaircraft.com

1) What kind of tires does the Superlite use? A: We’re using a 5.00 x 5 tires with tubes. They should be underinflated a little because they are the primary landing shock absorber.

2) What do they weigh? A: The 5.00 x 5 tires and tubes weigh about 15 pounds for a set of two. That’s four pounds more than are standard lighter 5 inch tires.

3) I see that your demo aircraft don’t have any shock absorbers (EG Bungees) on the main gear. Why not? Can I add bungees? A: The stiff gear are about 3.5 pounds lighter than the bungee gear, including the bungees. You can add the bungee gear to most configurations, we have both types in stock.

4) What kinds of engines are you using? A: We’ve currently tested 3 types and are happy with them. We base our satisfaction on actual flight and ground testing. We like the MZ-34 from www.compactradialengines.com and also the MZ-201 from the same company. They are smooth running. The MZ-34 produces 30HP and weighs about 44 pounds with exhaust. The MZ-201 produces 45HP and weighs about 62 pounds with exhaust. We also just tested the Hirth F23 50HP engine which weighs about 78 pounds with exhaust.

5) Are you testing other engines? A: Yes. We’ll be testing several more engines in 2010.


6) Can I use the bigger engines on a part 103 ultralight aircraft? A: Yes, subject to meeting weight and cruise speed requirements, and also being satisfied with fuel consumption. FAR Part 103 aircraft must weigh less than 254 pounds (278 pounds if equipped with a ballistic parachute, because a separate reweighing of the chute system is NOT required, regardless of its weight) [float equipped aircraft have even more generous weight limits]. Cruise speed must not exceed 62mph in level flight. If the engine is too powerful, a ground adjustable prop and/or in combination with a throttle stop is acceptable for meeting these requirements, per Advisory Circular 103.7.

7) How did you keep the speed of the airplane down when using the big 50HP Hirth engine? A: We used a ground installed throttle stop. If operated as a homebuilt experimental, you can get the full benefit of the 50 ponies, subject to the yellow and redline of the airplane.


8) How about operating the Superlite on floats? A: We’ve never done it, we live in Kansas and we don’t know what a lake would like if it wasn’t covered with whitecaps. HOWEVER, it will work fine with the Hirth 50HP, assuming that you use two floats that are light enough to meet part 103 (30 pounds each). The full power of the Hirth will yank the little seabird off the water.

9) What’s the difference between a Superlite and a Belite ‘254’? A: The Superlite uses carbon fiber aggressively in the cockpit to reduce weight. Also, the fuselage rear is not covered with fabric, to save weight. I can’t feel any flying difference. Otherwise, same fuselage and same carbon fiber wing as a ‘254’. The ‘254’ can’t accept the Hirth engine, it would weigh too much. The Superlite uses our bigger flaperons, so the wing area is a little larger. The Superlite uses the Hirth engine.


10) What’s the difference between a Trike and a Superlite or ‘254’? The Trike has tricycle gear and
uses a boom aluminum fuselage. The cabin is steel and unchanged from the other models. The nose gear is also a steel shaft to a very nice nose wheel design. The trike is heavier; to use a 45HP engine, you have to have the lighter carbon fiber wings to meet part 103 weight requirements.

11) What’s the difference between Carbon Fiber and Aluminum/wood wings? A: Aerodynamically, there is no difference. The CF wing uses CF ribs and spars. The traditional wing is aluminum spars and wood ribs. The CF wing is lighter, which is necessary for some configurations to be legal. Cost wise, we charge $5000 for the CF upgrade.

12) What legal pilot requirement is required to fly a Part 103 airplane, such as the Belite? A: there is none. You do not need any type of license whatsoever. A blind 12 year old may legally fly our airplane. (You, however, may be charged with child endangerment and manslaughter and imprisoned after the 12 year old’s untimely demise.)


13) What legal medical requirement is required to fly a Part 103 airplane, such as the Belite? A: There is none whatsoever. You do not need any type of medical. If you have a lapsed medical, that is irrelevant and you may legally fly the Belite. If you have a lost a medical, that is irrelevant and you may legally fly the Belite. If you have been denied a medical, that is irrelevant and you may legally fly the Belite.

14) What prior experience is required to fly a Part 103 airplane, such as the Belite? A: There is none whatsoever. There is no currency requirement. There is no biannual requirement. Whether you are in biannual or not is irrelevant.

15) OK, I think I get it. Anyone can fly a Belite, correct? A: Legally, anyone can do it. HOWEVER, You should be capable of safely flying the Belite before you fly it.
16) What level of training do you recommend prior to flying a Belite? A: We recommend recent tailwheel proficiency in a similar aircraft, such as a Cub or Kitfox. If flying our Trike, recent experience and proficiency in a Cessna 150 would be helpful.

17) Why do some models have a covered fuselage, while others have an open frame, reminiscent of an ‘Airbike’? A: I like the open framework, and I can’t personally feel any difference on the flying qualities. Also, the open frame requires substantially less work to finish. It’s also lighter, which was absolutely imperative on our ‘Superlite’ model.

18) Why is powdercoating an option in our kits? A: The builder of our kits has 2 choices: painting or powdercoating. If the builder wants us to powdercoat it, we will do that. Powdercoating looks fantastic, and there are dozens of colors available. It is also slightly heavier than painting. If the builder wants to paint the fuselage and metal components, that is easily done using an enamel spray paint. It’s also a lot cheaper than powdercoating. It’s more prone to chipping than powdercoating. It’s helpful to ‘bake’ a paint job in the sun for a week so that the enamel paint truly hardens. This will help resist chipping. Corrosion can appear under powdercoating and be difficult to spot; it’s easier to see corrosion with paint. This all boils down to builders choice with good reasons to go either way.

19) Is the airplane available with 2 seats? A: No, that is not allowed under Part 103.

20) Why does the Trike have an aluminum tail boom fuselage, whereas the ‘254’ and the Superlite have a steel fuselage? A: The 254 and the Superlite are taildraggers, and the steel fuselage is ideal for handling the landing bounce loads. The aluminum tail boom on the Trike is easier to build, but is not capable of being configured for a taildragger without extensive work. That doesn’t mean we won’t do it someday, but not now.

21) I’m uncomfortable using ‘push-pull’ cables for control surfaces. What has Belite done to make them safer? A: 1) We’ve demonstrated flying the Belite with one flaperon unattached to a cable. It was easy to control. 2) The elevator on the ‘254’ and the Superlite use a conventional push pull aluminum tube, not a cable. 3) The elevator on the Trike uses dual Push-Pull cables, so redundancy is designed in. 4) As for rudder push-pull cables, see the next FAQ….

22) Has the rudder control system been improved? A: Yes! All of our models use dual push-pull cables to the rudder, instead of loose 7x7 cables in nylon sleeves as was used in older ultralights. As a result, the rudder action is crisper, and the system can better tolerate the failure of a cable.

23) Can you install a BRS parachute in a Belite? A: Yes! Our Superlite has this feature as standard. We use a BRS softpack. The FAA allows 24 pounds for the system. The system weighs less, so this is a net plus. The parachute costs around $3,000.

24) Why is the firewall made out of Carbon Fiber? A: The mold we made for the firewall allows a very light, very stiff firewall. It looks sharp too.

25) Do you count the weight of the battery in the total weight of your airplane? A: No. We use a quick disconnect connector, so the engine may be started with the electric starter and then the battery is removed from the aircraft before flight. The connector we use is from the RC aircraft industry, and works extremely well.

26) Are doors available? A: Yes.

27) Why are your airplanes so expensive, for instance, compared to a used Taylorcraft or a used Ultralight? My uncle has a ‘puddlejumper froggie’ with an old Rotax 277, and he says he bought it for $2,500 last year. When he is able to get it started, he says it flies great, especially after the white smoke cloud clears! A: Our aircraft are built by skilled workers who are paid a decent wage with real benefits. For cost conscious customers, we offer kits starting at little more than $8,000. Everything in them costs money. We do not cut corners: we use aircraft steel, 6061T6 aluminum, we have parts machined, we weld, we cover with Dacron, we make sure everything works. We even try to ensure that our aircraft designs look like aircraft, not like ultralights or low cost, built cheap concoctions. Our engines are modern designs from good companies. The engine vendors, like us, demand to be paid a fair price for a good product. Used aircraft can present outstanding aviation bargains, but require more maintenance and paperwork of allkinds than our ultralight aircraft. Certainly, if you want a used ultralight, buy it. Or if you want a used classic aircraft and are willing to take on the maintenance and paperwork burden, buy it as well.

28) Why are your airplanes so inexpensive, for instance, compared to new LSAs? A: Our aircraft do not require ASTM or FAA certification, so we save considerable expense. I am very pleased that someone recently told me: “Your aircraft fill the vision of what Light Sport was supposed to be: inexpensive affordable flying.”

29) Why is the base 254 model priced at $25,000? A: It’s a fair price for a hand built aircraft, complete with tubular welded 4130 steel fuselage and hand finished Dacron wing.

30) Why is the trike model priced at $3,000 higher than the base model? A: The additional fabrication and parts required for the installation of the nose gear.

31) Why is the Superlite priced at $42,000? A: It has several significant options: 1) Add BRS parachute ($3K + installation costs) 2) Add big 50HP F23 engine from Hirth 3) Add Carbon Fiber Wings 4) Add Carbon Fiber cockpit interior 5) Add Lithium Polymer battery for starting 6) Add dual EGT / CHT instrumentation 7) Add dual kill switches [OK, no big deal] 8) Add big tires & tubes

32) Why are your aircraft all painted grey? A: That’s a primer coat of Stewart Ekofill. It is a UV protectant. Additional paint colors are at the option of the new owner. (We don’t paint them; paint adds weight.)

33) What covering system do we use? A: Stewart Systems and Dacron fabric.

34) How long before you ship a kit, after I give you an order: A: currently 3 months.

35) How long before you ship a plane, after I give you an order: A: currently 6 weeks or less.

36) What does it cost to ship a kit to Europe? A: $800 for shipping and $500 for crating. Delivery is by boat. Shipping time is about 6 weeks.

37) What does it cost to ship to Australia? A: $1400 for shipping and $500 for crating.

38) Can I avoid shipping and crating charges by picking up in Wichita? A: Yes. However, you will have to pay sales tax.

39) What does the Trike weigh without an engine? A: The Trike weighs 200 pounds with aluminum / wood wings; it weighs 186 pounds with carbon fiber wings and carbon fiber cockpit. This does not include: Engine, Engine Mount, Propeller, Cowl. This leaves an allowance of either 54 pounds or 68 pounds. This means either MZ-34 or MZ-201 will work great.

Please send me emails with other questions you’d like answered: james AT beliteaircraft.com

New Aircraft Models to be introduced this week

Wichita went through a real cold spell in November, December and January. It was a difficult time to develop and test new aircraft models, but that's exactly what we did this winter. We'll put out official news releases tomorrow morning, and they are chock full of information on our two new aircraft models.

One is a tricycle gear model, and we are calling it the 'Trike'. How original!

The other is a very high performance ultralight, and we are calling it the 'Superlite'. Both were developed in response to the multitudes of feedback we've received on our classic Belite 254 ultralight aircraft.

Both are loads of fun to fly!

I had the joy of doing first flights and test flights on them. The Superlite was easy -- it flies exactly like our Belite 254, only on steroids. The Trike was a little more eventful -- since it used a new tail design, I found our first rigging was off and the first test hop required constant firm forward stick pressure. That was easily corrected, and the Trike turned into a flying (and landing) dream.

I just uploaded a video to our youtube channel, with an in cockpit view of flying the new Trike. Later this week, we'll have a video of the Superlite, especially showing its 'best in the world' takeoff performance. Yes, that's a big statement, but this little airplane can compete with the many of the best certified aircraft for takeoff performance and beat them.

Our aviation publicist guru Dave watched the Superlite takeoff yesterday and tried to take pictures, but he kept framing his takeoff shot, then have the plane disappear out of frame as it shot upward. You'll enjoy reading the news release.

You can visit the youtube video post of the Trike here: and if that doesn't work, just go to youtube and search on Belite Aircraft.

Ever since the start of the year, the number of purchase inquiries on our aircraft have increased considerably. That's probably due to a number of things: we've kicked up our advertising a notch, and we've gotten good press in a variety of magazines, both here in the US and in Europe.

Here's a little bit of weight information on the new Superlite.

SUPERLITE Weight in Pounds, then Kilos:

Aircraft with CF Wings: 142.2 64.9
Windshield: 4.5 2.0
Brakes: 6.0 2.7
HIRTH 50HP 2 Cyl: 78.0 35.5
Engine Mount: 4.0 1.8
Wood 2 blade 60 x 36: 4.5 2.0
BIG Tires: 15.0 6.8
Standard 5.0 gallon: 4.3 2.0
BRS Parachute: 21.0 9.5

Weight Totals in pounds and Kilos: 279.5 127.0

The astute reader and follower of Part 103 regulations will notice two things:

1) The weight is 1.5 pounds more than the maximum for a Part 103 ultralight with a parachute (277.99 pounds). Yes, I know. We've got a few things left to do before this new airplane is ready to deliver: swap the elevator to carbon fiber, swap the tail spring to composite, perhaps remove the tubes from the tires. This will shave the necessary weight. We could also swap out the BIG tires to smaller ones and achieve the weight saving objective, but the big tires look awesome and must be kept.

2) The engine is a 50HP powerhouse, and as a result, the aircraft cruises at greater than 62mph. The legal solution per part 103 is to reduce the engine power via a ground adjustable power stop, and we will do this for our Part 103 customers. But anyone who builds and registers it as an experimental can ignore this and fly it full throttle. When configured this way, you have a 50HP engine with a 280 pound airframe. Do the math, it's an amazing power to weight ratio.

Tomorrow morning, I get in a truck and will be driving these two new aircraft designs down to Sebring, and they will be on display at the airshow there. Hopefully we'll fly one of them as well.

I will also be posting pictures of both aircraft to my Flickr account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beliteaircraft/

BTW, we've also changed our production from the red plastic fuel tanks to really good looking spun aluminum tanks. They are more durable than plastic, and weigh about the same. We like them a lot!

Shearer

“Shearer”
© 2009 by James Wiebe

[Jason]
My friend Jason weighs 235 pounds. He is tall (nearly as tall as me) and strongly proportioned, far more so than me. If he was a football player, he would be a wide receiver. He used to wear a beard that made him look like Abe Lincoln. In fact, when he was pointed out to me many years ago, the mutual friend told me to look for the man who looked like Abe. I found Jason easily, and we became lifelong friends.

[1996 – summertime – at Shearer, which is somewhere deep in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness]
I am staring at Jason as he runs at full gallop across my field of view. Just like Indiana Jones, each step he makes is kicking up dust, and it is hard to imagine someone as large as him running as fast as he is. Why is he running so fast? He is running from my left to my right.

Further to my left is a blue and white Cessna, which is sitting near the end of a wilderness airstrip. Far off to my right is the Selway river. If Jason keeps running as fast as he is, he will run into the river. Jason is running from the airplane as fast as legs can carry a man. I have never seen anything like it.
He stops, and I jog over to him. He is looking at his hand. It has four stings in it. Even in the space of 25 or 30 seconds, the stings are forming considerable welts.

“I was last stung by wasps when I was a child,” he says, “and I may be allergic to these stings.” That’s not good news. We are miles from roads, trailheads, human beings, help, doctors, and civilization. We had just arrived in my Cessna Skyhawk, we had just gotten out of the airplane. Jason was in the process of twisting a tie down stake into the dry, sandy soil so that we could tie the plane down.
He had stuck the stake into a convenient hole in the ground, in order to save a little time, and the wasps had flown out and bit him. Only four made it in the instant of initial attack, and Jason’s quick run had left the balance of the wasp pack behind. But four stings in one hand!

We need a doctor – Oh wait, Jason is a doctor, and he tells me what to do in case things go poorly for him. There really is precious little we can do except watch his hand and pay attention to his breathing. My anxiety level rises.
He and I twist the remainder of the tie down stakes into the ground. We don’t put them into any other wasp nests; no more stings.

There is a small cluster of pine trees alongside the runway which provides an ideal camping spot. We set up our tent.

Jason’s hand is swollen and painful. We have the ideal solution to get his mind from dwelling on the hand: flyfishing. That’s what we are here to do. We can fish, and he can dip his hand in the river anytime to cool it off.

We proceed to fly fish in the Selway river. The wilderness fishing is remarkable; each spot of open water provides a new opportunity to catch more trout. Later, we find a deeper hole. Every time our fly hits the water, another round of fish race toward it. Only one wins; the others return to the depths to await another chance. We catch and release the native cutthroat trout, one after another.

The day wears on. Jason and I hike up and down the river, exploring the wilderness. We return to camp, make dinner, and sit around a fire. The sun sets; I see one hundred thousand stars against a flat black sky. Then it’s time to crawl in our sleeping bags.

The next morning, Jason’s hand is the size of small ham.

 
[24 hours before the wasp bites]
We had arrived in the small town of Salmon, Idaho, having flown 999 statute miles from Wichita, KS. We were thrilled. I took mountain flying training earlier the same year, and I am eager to deliver Jason and myself deep into the wilderness. Our destination, Shearer airstrip, has been carefully selected from a mountain flying guide. Although I’ve never flown to Shearer before, a qualified mountain flying instructor has agreed to take me specifically to this remote airstrip to train me on its intricacies. Like most good mountain airstrips, it’s in a valley, also along a river, and is a one way in, one way out strip. In other words, you can only approach from one direction for landing, because the airstrip ends in a side of a mountain or some similar impenetrable obstacle. Takeoff is in the opposite direction for the same reason. Prior instruction is a very good idea for the first time pilot. And I had arranged that instruction.

My instructor was used to flying large airplanes, and my airplane was small, and liked to glide well when the power was reduced. This would be a problem.
The approach to Shearer airstrip will fill anyone with awe, first because of the beauty, and secondly, because of the intricacy of lacing the aircraft through the valley and into the airstrip.

At a normal airfield, the proper pattern for landing is a rectangle. You enter the rectangle and trace its outline, you descend in an orderly fashion; you land. This doesn’t work at Shearer. As I mentioned, Shearer is in a valley. There are no rectangular traffic patterns at Shearer.

A proper approach to Shearer requires a descent into the Selway river valley. A good route is to come down Bear Creek, then turn left (upriver) to head towards Shearer, immediately after passing a private ranch, with a private runway; a small oasis of private ownership surrounded by the wilderness. The ranch briefly provides a glimpse of extraordinary wealth – causing an inflective thought as you consider the difficulty of access combined with the beauty of the location; the perfectly green grass runway, the solar cells for power generation. Who could afford to own this? How was it built in this remote location? The ranch quickly recedes behind you.

You continue to fly over the river valley at an altitude of perhaps five or six hundred feet off the water. You see crystal water rushing over boulders below you, and you see mountains on both sides of you. They move by with impressive speed; always that feeling of speed in your peripheral vision. Trees rush by. Mountains rush by. You keep the airplane roughly on the right side of the valley, because, an airplane may be around the corner, coming in the opposite direction, and there are right of ways which should be observed, even for airplanes. So you are a little closer to the scenery of the right side of the valley, and it is perhaps the closest you’ve ever been to a mountain, while moving so rapidly through the air. You have to remain observant, because the valley is making slight S turns as the course of the river, the mountains, and the trees moves around.

So here’s the next problem: even though the airstrip is close (perhaps two miles away, upriver), and you are rushing toward it, you still can’t see it. It is in the valley, but the river turns sharply, and that will require the airplane to make a sharp right turn as the river does likewise. The approach is therefore difficult and blind. When we get to the proper ridge, we will turn right, and only then will we see the runway. And it will be right in front of us. And when the runway is right in front of us, we’d better check for elk and deer on the runway. If they block our way, we had best apply power, climb out in a slight left turn, and gain altitude over the river heading upriver. This decision has to be made immediately, because when the airplane is committed to land, it will be impossible to change our mind. (A last moment climb out will simply cause us to hit a mountain which lies at the end of the runway.)

Remember, I’m with an instructor for this first attempt, right? Nothing can possibly go wrong.

The airplane has been slowed to about 65mph, and we have some flaps extended, even though we still can’t see the airstrip. We are fully configured for landing. The ridge appears ahead and to the right. I bank the airplane to turn over the ridge, and I see trees shooting below me as I cross the ridge line.

Sure enough, the runway is there. It is the narrowest, most unimproved slit of ground I’ve ever landed an airplane on. It looks exactly like a jeep trail. The only thing going for it is that it is straight. It rises slightly upslope towards the far end, then the terrain rises even faster into a mountain side.
It is also very short. This makes things a little trickier yet, simply due to the lack of room for error. Don’t land short (there’s no runway – just weeds and mountain pasture). Don’t land long (it’s a mountain, idiot.) Just land at the right spot, and do it the first time, everytime.

We are very close to the approach end of the runway. The instructor had me cut power to the engine, and so we are essentially gliding towards our touchdown point.
My little airplane is a Cessna Skyhawk, also known as a 172. They are fun, sprightly little flyers. They hold four people, and are also commonly used for instruction.

My instructor’s regular job is hauling passengers and freight in larger aircraft, such as the Cessna Stationair. A Stationair will not glide well. My instructor has forgotten that the 172 we are in is NOT a Stationair. My 172 is gliding very well. In fact, it is gliding so well that we are both realzing that the plane will not get onto the ground before we run out of airstrip. And there is a mountain beyond that.
About 2/3rds of the way down the airstrip, the wheels of the plane finally touch the dirt. The instructor and I both press the wheel brakes as hard as legs will press. The 172 wheels grab dirt and sink and skid as the mountain in the windshield gets larger. (We’re skidding towards it). Mercifully, about 75 feet of dirt and sand remains as the airplane finally skids to a stop.
I exhale. So does the instructor.

“I think we should try that one more time,” says the instructor. I agree. We turn the plane around, take off, head downriver, reverse course, and come back in and land one more time. With better speed control, the next landing is perfect, and my instructor tells me that I’m hereafter OK to do it in on my own. We fly back to Salmon, and I’m glad to be done with him.

Jason is waiting for me at our hotel room. He’s been shopping for food while I’ve been staining seat cushions. We will reload the plane and depart for our remote camping destination in the morning.

***

--- James Wiebe

PS I've been super busy working on stuff. Hope you enjoyed reading this little interlude from my past. It's basically an uncompleted true story -- I started to write a book about these experiences several years ago and this would have been one of the chapters. My friend Jason is awesome. We've done many adventure trips over the years.