Category: Videos

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One of the most dangerous takeoffs in the world

This BAe 146 Avro is not taking off from a ‘normal’ airport.  It’s not normal to have ground proximity sensors going off during this sequence of flight, but given the circumstances, there is good reason why they do.  Bhutan’s Paro airport has a field elevation of 7,200 feet and the peaks around there top out at 18,000 feet.

It is considered one of the world’s most challenging airports to operate in.  Due to the challenge because of the surrounding terrain and lack of ILS, the airport is only open from sunrise to sunset under VFR flight rules only.

Runways 15 and 33 are just over 6,500 feet long (2000 meters).  Operating out of La Paz, Bolivia also has it’s challenges due to high altitude flying, but lacks the terrain hazards.

It’s enough to give any pilot a serious dry mouth.

Apparently, as of 2009, only eight pilots in the world are certified to land at this airport!

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Flying Is Freedom

Great video from American pilot from his experiences flying over a two year period.

Footage is from Wyoming, Utah, Montana and Idaho.  Watch while he flies through some canyons, follows rivers, weaves through gorgeous mesas and other beautiful landscapes! Thanks “Ranch Pilot”!

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Float Plane Almost Lands on Whale – Video

This dramatic video shows a sea plane just missing a humpback whale as it just happens to be surfacing as the plane is about to touch down.  This footage was captured in the remote village of Angoon, which is 35 miles southwest of Juneau, Alaska, by a San Diego businessman with his cell phone.

The pilot in the De Havilland Beaver was in a shallow descent and is about to land, but pulls up abruptly after a spray from the whale comes up in front of the aircraft. Apparently, the pilot didn’t see the spray, but was distracted by the onlookers waving and pulled up in time to avoid touching down on the whale.  He had no idea he was about to land on a whale.

Whether the pilot didn’t see the spray directly on his flight path or not we’re not sure, as in the video it appears that the pilot pulls up just in time. Pilots on short final especially that close to the ground generally don’t look around – keeping their eyes on the touchdown zone carefully.

We assume he did see the spray and pulled up just in time to avoid the “obstacle.”

 

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Severe Winds Force Super Cubs into the Air

This event happened at the USAF Academy Airfield in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  It caused a dangerous emergency situation for four tow pilots as a dangerous microburst, pushing wind speeds into 55 knot gusts, swept the high mountain airport.   The Airfield sits at an altitude of over 6500 feet and is commonly subject to unpredictable gusts of wind due to it’s proximity to the mountains.

This event happened on April 23, as glider students were waiting for a tow.  The whole incident was filmed from the control tower.

A microburst is a very localized column of sinking air caused by a small and intense downdraft, and is associated with thunderstorms.  It does not last long, anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes, but the force of the event can produce wind speeds so strong it can take out trees.

Two of the Super Cub pilots, who were sitting in the airplanes, were forced to take the the skies or risk having their airplanes flip over while they were inside. This is another example of how wind and performance are related, and example of an extremely short field take off situation. It’s also not the first time an aircraft has been forced to take off due to heavy winds: in one incident, an unmanned aircraft took flight.

No one was injured in this incident.

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Great Aerial Video

This video is pure magic. Captures the romance and magic of aviation beautifully.

When you see a video like this one, it’s hard to get enough of it.  It makes us want to jump in the car and drive to the airport. Go flying right now!

This film was made by Eric Magnan – Director Showreel, made by Airborne films. Enjoy!

Like the song?  It’s “Stay High” by Tove Featuring Hippie Sabotage.

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Piper Archer Narrowly Misses Sunbather

What goes through your mind if you had lay out on the beach on the end of an active runway?  This German sunbather is contemplating this as an airplane nearly landed right on top of him on this island in Northern Germany.

Juergen Drucker, the pilot of this Piper Archer just narrowly missed this sunbather who was lying dangerously close to the runway threshold.  While attempting a landing on the island of Helgoland, he got behind the curve and he landed short and crashed into a low perimeter fence. He damaged his airplane in the incident.

Helgoland is one of the most challenging airfields in Germany. The runways, 33/15 are 1300ft long, runways 21/03 1000ft long, and runways 24/06 is only 700ft long, and all are on a small island in the North Sea. Approaches requires special CFI instruction and minimum 100hrs PIC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13FDDPzQQNg

This incident on a beach in Germany is currently under investigation.