So last Thursday I went for a "short and narrow runway" tour of MA. I headed south out of FIT, and went first to Southbridge, MA (3B0). It's not that narrow, but it's about 3.5K ft., so I figured a landing there would be a good warmup.
From there, I headed up to Tanner-Hiller (8B5), otherwise known as Barre. This looked like a strip of electrical tape from the air - it's 3K ft. x 40 ft. wide. The landing there actually was no problem, although the pavement was a bit rougher than I had hoped (but not quite as bumpy as Jaffrey, NH). There were all sorts of beat up hangars and buildings littered all over the place, and there was a live person watching me from the "terminal" building (and I use that word loosely - I have no clue what the locals actually call the place), but it looked like I was the first aircraft to fly there in the last 6 months.
Taking off from 8B5 was like getting shot out of a tube, with trees close up to the runway on both sides, and the wings almost hanging off the edges of the runway. Up to Turner's Falls (0B5), and then on to Sterling (3B3), another 3K ft. x 40 ft. runway, just to the west of Rt. 190 and the Wachusett reservoir. I think the football players at the field just under the short final approach were interested in the strange looking plane overhead. Another uneventful landing on a tiny, deserted runway. Lots of gliders on the ground at Sterling, but nothing living -). The trees/bushes are so close to the runway that I brushed against the right wing while turning around.
I took off from Sterling and headed back to FIT. All four landings were fine - I believe that (at least at low weights) that I'm able to stop in less than 2K ft., and I'm getting better at getting the wheels to touch down where I want them to - I'm not floating as far down the runway as I used to. 1.2 more hours on the hobbs, and 1.6 hrs. to go.
| [Zeitlin's Cozy MKIV Information] [Zeitlin's Cozy MKIV Logbook] [Cozy MKIV Information] |
Copyright © 2002, All Rights Reserved, Marc J. Zeitlin