Catalina
Posted on 04/14/2008 6:51:38 AM PDT by yankeedame
I’m surprised Hong Kong or Catalina Island didn’t make the list.
Fascinating. The skills of pilots are incredible, not only on such challenging air strips but also with Mother Nature’s crosswinds... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tt4mW_we1c Bravo to each and every one of them.
No Midway or Migs?(yes it is gone but still)
It’s no longer in use, but when it was, that was a heck of a landing...and a great experience from the ground too. The new HK airport isn’t nearly as much fun.
Aviation ping
Catalina Airport covers 25 acres and has one asphalt runway (4/22) measuring 3,000 x 60 feet (914 x 18 m). Surface elevation of the runway is 1602 feet (488 m) above sea level.[1] The runway is known for being pitched up in the middle, so that on short approach it appears much shorter. Pavement condition varies widely; after recent maintenance it is good, but following the rainy season there are often potholes, soft spots, and chunks of loose asphalt on the runway. Terrain falls off steeply at both ends of the runway. Due to turbulence and downdrafts at the approach ends, lack of normal visual references on final approach, and the upslope of the first 1/3 of Runway 22 (which creates the illusion of being too high on final approach) the airport can be hazardous for inexperienced pilots. Aircraft at opposite ends of the runway cannot see each other. Contact with Unicom is required to obtain permission for landing.
Video of what it is like landing there
I've experienced landing here, and like the video shows, it looks like you making a carrier landing.
A week later the same flight blew all its tires on landing and closed the airport for a few hours.
“in the Hudson “ should be “in the East River”. I must have been half a sleep when I typed the earlier one.
I’ve landed in Teguc many times...it is rough, but Reagan can be just as bad it landing to the south.
I've flown into Gibraltar on Monarch ... the boat I was connecting up with for a trans-Atlantic was docked in the marina to the left of the runway. We had a great view of aircraft arriving and departing. The road you mentioned has a gate not unlike a R/R crossing ... stopping vehicular traffic whenever a flight arrived or departed.
I guess he’s never flown into Love Field in Dallas!
hehehe! :^D
No matter what or where, there’s a Freeper who’s been there and done that.
< }B^)
The worst landing I ever experienced while in the USAF was at Anderson, AFB also. I still have nightmares on occasion. Yikes!
![](http://www.travelandleisure.com/images/slideshows/reagan-national-airport-200804-ss2.jpg")
Who Flies There: All major U.S. airlines.
Why It’s Harrowing: Flying around Washington, D.C., is fraught with peril—just ask the pilot of a small aircraft that drifted into restricted airspace in March 2008, causing Congress to be evacuated and military planes to be scrambled. Located smack in the center of two overlapping air-exclusion zones, Reagan National requires pilots flying the so-called River Visual into the airport to follow the Potomac while steering clear of sensitive sites such as the Pentagon and CIA headquarters before making a steep turn and landing on this natural peninsula. Taking off, too, is a white-knuckle event in which pilots are required to climb quickly and execute a steep left bank to avoid flying over the White House.
Neal, it is Washington, what else would you expect?
My worst landing was in a UH-1 in Honduras. Nobody walked away, but nobody died either.
Bet that landing ruined your day. I got knocked around a bit once on a “bounce” landing on a C-130. Nothing compare to your UH-1 landing however. By the way, thank you for your service to our country. Does anyone ever say that enough?
Regards,
AR
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