cat-a-pult
Posted on 02/12/2008 2:50:56 PM PST by U S Army EOD
I have a small LSA airplane that is kind of weak on instruments. One thing I do not have is an attitude indicator so when I am in a cloud or fog, I do not know if I am in a bank, a dive, or a climb. Some of my "friends" and experienced aviators suggested I carry one of my cats with me. I was told to fly with my left hand on the yoke and toss the cat up and down with my right hand. As we all know, cats always land on their feet. I was told to observe which way the cats legs were pointing and then roll or pitch the aircrafte in that direction.
I have an open cockpit, plus I have a pusher prop. Looking back on the event, I guess I should have tied the cat to my leg or been a little bit better judge of how high I was tossing the cat each time.
On the bright side, I was planning to paint my tail section red anyway.
I like a heartwarming story. You probably figured out
which was was down, then...?
Wrong. Just wrong. ;-}
I will always wonder if the cat really knew. Poor, poor, Fluffy.
cat-a-pult
LOL
have you heard of CAT diesels ?
what do you call a CAT motor with real high mileage ?
.
.
.
.
a wore out old pussy
Lol
Just stick to VFR.
I fly IFRR now. Maybe I can get me a GPS soon.
I mean that's what you're really good at.
Right?
...hilarious.
Hang a plumb bob from something.. it always points DOWN.. and leans to the left or right...
Hang it from the cat (I have more cats) or the airplane?
What a CATastrophe
I don’t think certain young feline Scandanavian Marauders are amused.
I can’t understand why this hasn’t hit the “Kitty Ping” list.
To think I thought this was serious when first I clicked on it!... BTW, did you remove the claws before taking the cat into the cockpit? They do tend to grab onto things ...
This incident sort of removed everything. But, I did notice some very long scratch marks on the prop. But I can sand it down.
Uh, I hate to tell you, but that is not exactly what the cat looked like on its way to the ground.
not a cat but it might work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfGMOvPzrvE
You CAN fly IFR without an attitude indicator. It’s more work but doable.
If IFR means I Follow Roads, I am already good at it.
I mean in the soup IFR. Heading, altitude and slip indicators will do the trick when roads not visable. It takes practice.
So far, I just close my eyes, then I am not as scared.
Average time to crash for VFR-only pilot in the soup is 40 seconds.
It helps to declaw the cat.
Sorry.. I approached this way too serious.. Carry on..
I have never been serious about anything in my life.
Actually a plub bob or just a nut on a string will not work. If you are in a co-ordinated turn, it will hand stright. If your air speed is changing due to wind gust it will move back and forth and indicate a climb or a dive even though you are slowing down or speeding up.
What I actually do, is to park the plane in the hanger in those situations.
I got myself in a situation last weekend I didn’t think I could handle so I hit the “goto” button on the GPS for the nearest airfield and put it down. Then I called a friend to come get me.
What Radio Shack has no cheap avionics?...
Maybe a kit? or small radar like for a boat...
I flew from Washington-Wilkes, GA to Blythe, GA which is about 60 miles or so. Going down was great since I was making 95mph ground speed with the tail wind and no turbulence, I elected to spend the night down there due to high winds and take off the next morning before the wind built up. I took off in a flat calm (ground) and climbed up to 2,000 feet and experienced "smooth" air and checked the GPS and noted that I was doing 20mph in the direction I wanted to go. I kept getting lower looking for any turbulence all the way to about 200 to 300 feet AGL and headed home. I was making about 50mph ground speed. When I got about 20 miles from Washington-Wilkes there are a lot of rolling hills and I started getting beat to pieces. I climbed back up to 2000 feet to get in smooth air and slowed down to 20 mph again. By this time my trip computer said I was over 2 hours out and I had 45 minutes of fuel. I headed for Thompson, GA about 3 miles away and landed with the wind coming straight down the runway. I had to go to full trottle to make the runway since at one time I noticed I was flying backwards. I landed and called a friend a learned to pay a little more attention to weather forcast before I plan a trip. The plane handled it just fine.
I flew from Washington-Wilkes, GA to Blythe, GA which is about 60 miles or so. Going down was great since I was making 95mph ground speed with the tail wind and no turbulence, I elected to spend the night down there due to high winds and take off the next morning before the wind built up. I took off in a flat calm (ground) and climbed up to 2,000 feet and experienced "smooth" air and checked the GPS and noted that I was doing 20mph in the direction I wanted to go. I kept getting lower looking for any turbulence all the way to about 200 to 300 feet AGL and headed home. I was making about 50mph ground speed. When I got about 20 miles from Washington-Wilkes there are a lot of rolling hills and I started getting beat to pieces. I climbed back up to 2000 feet to get in smooth air and slowed down to 20 mph again. By this time my trip computer said I was over 2 hours out and I had 45 minutes of fuel. I headed for Thompson, GA about 3 miles away and landed with the wind coming straight down the runway. I had to go to full trottle to make the runway since at one time I noticed I was flying backwards. I landed and called a friend a learned to pay a little more attention to weather forcast before I plan a trip. The plane handled it just fine.
I hate flyin’ backwards....that ‘beep-beep-beep’ is annoying.
LoL...
It sure burns gas.
ping
Next time, carry buttered toast instead
Condolences on the loss of your cat.
(Thanks for the belly laugh, though.)
Buttered toast indeed. LOL. Thanks for the cute picture.
My cat was doing that little spin right before she entered the prop.
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